The 2023 Women's World Cup Begins

 

The Women's World Cup has began. The host countries are both Australia and New Zealand. This is the ninth competition to be held since 1991. The competition will go from July 20th to August 20th. The final match is going to held in Sydney Olympic Stadium. Fans can watch the Women's World Cup on FOX, FS1, and the FOX Sports App. It will also be available on their website as well. The opening matches were between Australia and Ireland. This was flowed by New Zealand and Norway. Nigeria will be facing Canada. The Philippines will go against Switzerland followed by Spain and Costa Rica. Vietnam will compete against the United States. Megan Rapinoe announced she will retire after this Women's World Cup. US Women's Soccer has won many victories and her contribution cannot be underestimated. The athletic talent is expanding in women's soccer. As more nations send there athletes having one nation become dominant is not ensured. The unusual aspect of the Women's World Cup is that two nations are acting as hosts. FIFA has run into controversy considering when Qatar did hosting duties. Some female athletes might not approve of   the Gulf monarchies having a high level of financial influence on soccer. The objection comes from the fact women's rights  in those nations are limited. The hope is that the 2023 Women's World Cup does not come with massive controversy. Some countries are going to absent. Afghanistan was developing a women's soccer team, but Taliban rule has stopped that. Russia has been banned from the Women's World Cup. This is unfair, due to the fact athletes did not develop policies for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. These two issues cannot be ignored no matter how much sports reporting tries to omit them. Despite these concerns the hope is the competition will generate high TV ratings and ticket sales.   

Flexing Females #6

 

American Gladiators Documentary Muscles And Mayhem Is Coming To Netflix

 

Muscles and Mayhem : An Unauthorized Story of The American Gladiators will be streaming on Netflix. The show ran from 1989 to 1996 and was a popular game show that featured a number of bodybuilders facing off against various contestants. The show was the essence of 1990s American  culture. Sports, prevalent commercialization, and the image of action hero are the best way to describe the American Gladiators craze .   The documentary will look at the rise of popularity, the lives of the gladiators, and the challenges that came with producing such a unique show. There have been attempts to revive the series. The 2008 version only lasted two seasons. The original American Gladiators ran for 208 episodes and seven seasons. The Netflix documentary will cover some of the controversial elements surrounding the show. Performance enhancing drug use, conflict during competition, and injury rates were concerns. Granted the Netflix production will have a good amount of sensationalism to gain viewership. While their documentaries are fascinating they sometimes feel too much like a tabloid. ESPN also has produced a documentary about the show. The fact these two documentaries are being produced indicates there could be interest in having the franchise revived. At its height the show had products like shirts, lunchboxes, video games, and action figures. A cartoon was rumored to be in development, but nothing came of this. Although it seems that American Gladiators remains in pop-culture dormancy, it hold a special place in nostalgic memory. Muscles and Mayhem : An Unauthorized Story of The American Gladiators  should  be a must watch for any devoted fan.  

Dana Shemesh Is Coming Out Of Retirement

 

Dana Shemesh is coming out of retirement. The most notable Israeli bodybuilder will step on stage again, which she confirmed on her Twitter page. Dana will be heading to Romania to compete in the Olympia Masters. The contest will be held August 26th. Dana announced that she was retired from competition in 2020. Two years she was away, but did not stop training. Dana Shemesh will be the first Israeli woman to compete in the Olympia Masters. The reason she returned was due to her love of the sport. Dana has been active in bodybuilding and fitness since 2010. To her this is an pure enjoyment. Maybe the retirement in 2020 was not an actual one. It was more of a brief hiatus. Competitors going into retirement and then reappearing is not a rare occurrence. Lenda Murray returned to competition in 2002 and won another Ms. Olympia in 2003. Another incentive to return is the prize money. Winners can get up to $229,000. Dana Shemesh did not say that was a major motivator to return. The possibility of getting that reward could be athletes that push to get back on stage. So far, Dana Shemesh has not revealed much about her strategy for competition. Seeing as her experience is vast getting back on stage should be easy. Dana Shemesh has competed in fitness, physique, and bodybuilding. She never really retired in a sense, rather took a two year break.   

Tori Bowie Has Passed Away

 

Tori Bowie a three time Olympic gold medalist was found dead in her home. This comes as a major shock to the sport. The cause of death is not known. Bowie was only 32 years of age. Little information has been given about what her health condition was. Law enforcement claims no evidence of murder has been found. Suicide could not be an answer. No note was left or implication was given.  Friends, family, and fellow athletes have been mourning the loss of  at talented track and field competitor. Born in 1990, her athletic career began in high school. She won school championships and during her 20s made an incredible rise. The 2016 Rio Olympics she was able to win a silver, bronze, and gold medal. The 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, and the 400 rely were the events she excelled. More rumors surrounding her death continue to circulate. Nothing is certain until a thorough investigation is conducted. The findings might not become public, depending on her family's wishes. Track and field will not be the same without her.   

World Athletics Bans Transwomen From Competition

 

World Athletics has officially banned transwomen from competition. No category is provided for them and transwomen would not be allowed to compete in the men's category. Another ban has been issued to women with differences in sexual development. Women with SDS are not transwomen, so it is puzzling why they were included in the new policy. The argument is that both transwomen and women with SDS have an unfair athletic advantage. There are few transwomen active in sports and there is not enough data on their performance to say it is impossible for cisgender women to compete with them. Sexual reassignment surgery and hormone replacement does reduce testosterone levels. World Athletics intends to within a year address the issue of transwomen's inclusion. Sebastian Coe President of World Athletics admitted that there are no transwomen currently active in elite international competition. The assertion of protection of female athletes is dubious. Scientific data has shown that transwomen do not remain the same athletic performance, prior to transition. The question remains whether or not all physical advantages can be reduced. If bans can be applied to one group and can be done to others. Russia and Belarus are being excluded based on politics. Policing this new policy could revive sex testing. The argument of ensuring fairness is covering obvious discrimination. World Athletics could have avoided human rights violations and criticism by creating an open category. The formation of an open category would allow transwomen to compete and prevent discrimination against  LGBTQ athletes. The controversy will not go away with a ban. More protests and objections will be directed at World Athletics due to this decision. 

The W Series Funding Challenges

 

The W Series announced that its season has been cut short. Funding issues are cited as a reason. The women's only  motorsport competition was designed to get more women involved. There are some criticisms about the W Series. There is no reason that women cannot compete with men in other established races. Physical fitness such as strength and running speed are not major factors. The sport is non-contact. The physical challenge is the amount of G-force present and being skilled with the car. The great aspect of this is that a large number of female athletes in motorsport are together. The other dimension is unnecessary sex segregation. A man would not be allowed to participate in the race. If there was an official rule to keep women out of racing the objections would be numerous. Motorsport does not need a women's only gym. The motivation is understandable, but there are issue that come with that. Perhaps the W Series could be a training ground for female athletes to compete in Formula 1 or NASCAR. The races could be used to increase skills and develop new talent. Jamie Chadwick has shown promise winning three championships. Although the W Series  can be criticized, one should not hope for its failure. Sponsorship and fundraising efforts must increase to save the W Series. Then ticket sales must increase, along with building a fan base. Funding challenges are one of the biggest obstacles to women's sports. CEO Catherine Bond Muir must develop a new business model based on these solutions. What can be speculated is that the W Series in the 2023 season will have fewer races.