Female athletes changing the sporting landscape in Australia
SUPERCAR DRIVER SIMONA DE SILVESTRO (LEFT) AND AUSTRALIAN WOMENS' RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER CORBAN MCGREGOR ARE HELPING TO CHANGE THE FACE OF SPORT. PICTURE: HAMISH BLAIR
THE sporting landscape has been changed by women who are leaving their mark in male-dominated events.
While Corban McGregor will represent the Jillaroos against archrivals New Zealand in Canberra on Friday night, fellow athlete Simona De Silvestro will continue to prove she is not just a token Supercars driver making up the numbers in Perth.
Women are at the forefront of action this weekend across the nation.
Helping lead the charge is Harvey Norman chief executive Katie Page.
“Go to any rugby league game; club, rep or Test and the crowd is a sea of families — mums and dads with their kids,” Page said.
“I have been to Bathurst for the past two years and was at Clipsal in March. Exactly the same. The fans are all families supporting their favourite teams, their favourite driver or player.
“Harvey Norman has been supporting women’s sport for over 10 years. We started with the NRL and Women in League and it has just grown from there.
“Harvey Norman is all about the fans and so many of them are women. It made sense to us if the girls and the women had the talent and the determination they would have a fan base.”