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Annals of Leisure Research

ISSN: 1174-5398 (Print) 2159-6816 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ranz20

Barriers to adolescent female participation incricket

J. Fowlie, R. M. Eime & K. Griffiths

To cite this article: J. Fowlie, R. M. Eime & K. Griffiths (2020): Barriers to adolescent femaleparticipation in cricket, Annals of Leisure Research, DOI: 10.1080/11745398.2019.1710716

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/11745398.2019.1710716

Published online: 04 Jan 2020.

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Barriers to adolescent female participation in cricketJ. Fowlie a, R. M. Eime a,b and K. Griffithsa

aSchool of Health and Life Sciences, Federation University, Ballarat, Australia; bInstitute of Sport, Exercise andActive Living, Victoria University, Footscray, Australia

ABSTRACTWith the ever-growing number of opportunities for females toparticipate in a range of sports without the previous associatedgender norms, females are starting to become more involved intraditionally male-dominated sports, however, we know littleabout their barriers to participation. In this qualitative study, weinvestigated the barriers to adolescent female participation incricket in a regional city in Victoria, Australia. The socio-ecologicalmodel was utilized to help guide semi-structured focus-groupinterviews with 20 adolescent females aged 10–12 years old. Theparticipants identified the following as key barriers to theirparticipation in cricket: lack of confidence in skills, having to playcricket with males, an absence of pathway opportunities, and nofemale only cricket competitions. These findings highlight theimportance of adequate coaching specifically for females, femaleonly teams and competitions, and the importance of developing aplayer pathway for adolescent girls.

ARTICLE HISTORYReceived 9 August 2018Accepted 17 December 2019

KEYWORDSPhysical activity; adolescent;female; barriers; cricket

Introduction

Recently, there has been a growth of females participating in sport that is traditionallymale-dominated (AFL 2018; Cricket Australia 2017a). To promote and encouragefemales to be more involved in sport, including traditionally male-dominated sports,National Sporting Organisations (NSOs), State Sporting Associations (SSAs), state govern-ments and state organizations such as VicHealth have developed some initiatives such as‘Girls Make your Move’, ‘Her Sport Her Way’ and ‘Change our Game’ (Australian Govern-ment Department of Health 2017; NSW Government 2019; VicHealth 2017). However, assome of these sporting opportunities are within traditionally male-dominated sports,there are likely to be some barriers for female participation that slightly differ fromthe commonly reported barriers to participation in sport in general. There has been con-siderable research within the area of adolescent female participation in physical activityand sport which have focused on barriers to participation (Casey et al. 2009; Craike,Symons, and Zimmermann 2009; Eime et al. 2010; Rowe, Sherry, and Osborne 2017;Slater and Tiggemann 2010; Yungblut, Schinke, and McGannon 2012). There may be bar-riers to female participation in traditionally male-dominated sports that are uniquebecause of the associated societal expectations and gender norms (Abadi 2017),

© 2020 Australia and New Zealand Association of Leisure Studies

CONTACT J. Fowlie j.fowlie@federation.edu.auThis article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

ANNALS OF LEISURE RESEARCHhttps://doi.org/10.1080/11745398.2019.1710716

however, there is limited knowledge of the barriers for females playing traditionallymale-dominated sports.

Literature review

Gender and sport

Historically, sport was created by men to benefit men (Alsarve 2018). It is suggested thatsport transitioned boys to men and that the involvement of females in sport was uncom-mon due to the ‘competitiveness, toughness, aggressiveness and endurance’ (Alsarve2018, 840) traits that sport requires (Norman 2014; Schlesinger and Weigelt-Schlesinger2013; Sherry, Osborne, and Nicholson 2015; Tolvhed 2012; Wellard 2009; Whannel2002). Furthermore, Spaaij, Farquharson, and Marjoribank (2015, 400) explain that‘gender is arguably the most visible site of inequality in sport’. The gender inequalityand gender imbalances in sport can occur on many levels such as less women in corporateboard positions, minimal media representation, less female coaches, and less opportu-nities for participation as a player (Alsarve 2018; Burton 2015; Pletzer et al. 2015; Postand Byron 2015). These imbalances may be due to an underlying power discrepancythat is unconsciously ‘fuelled’ by societal norms and expectations.

The term ‘masculine hegemony’ reiterates the power differences between males andfemales (Connell 2005). Masculine hegemony is described as ‘the way that ideas aboutgender are embedded within social practices such as mass media, religious doctrines,and sport, and especially how those cultural ideals exert institutional power’ (English2017, 185). It can be because of masculine hegemony that females find it difficult to beaccepted in sport, especially in leadership positions. Over time, changes in society havehelped overcome the barriers to female involvement in sport in general, however, thereare still areas of female involvement that needs more research such as female involvementin traditionally male-dominated sports.

Participation in sport traditionally was largely driven by and for males and, untilrecently, there were some traditionally male-dominated sports that females were largelynot permitted to play. In order to have sport fit the needs of females, we need toexplore the barriers to them participating in traditionally and largely male-dominated cul-tures and clubs. As such, there has been comprehensive research investigating barriers toparticipation in physical activity and sport, especially for adolescent females. However,there is limited knowledge regarding female participation in traditionally male-dominatedsports, such as cricket. Studies to date (Casey et al. 2009; Craike, Symons, and Zimmermann2009; Dwyer et al. 2012; Eime et al. 2010; Langille and Rodger 2010; Mooney, Casey, andSmyth 2012; Slater and Tiggemann 2010) have focused on determinants of sport partici-pation in general and not a specific sport or one that is traditionally male-dominated. Overtime, the concept of females playing sport has changed, however, there are still societalexpectations regarding what sports females should and should not play. According tosocial norms, there are some sports that females are not suited to engage with due tothe nature of physical contact, size and strength of players and aggressiveness (Green2010). Furthermore, some female participants have reported receiving negative feedbackfrom others, such as family, friends and strangers, due to their participation in male-domi-nated sport (Migliaccio and Berg 2007).

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There are some studies that have investigated female participation in male-dominatedsports. For example, Abadi (2017) reported that some female participants dropped out oftheir chosen sport, which was viewed as male-dominated, due to consistent commentsfrom other people regarding the sport not being appropriate for females. With thesesocietal pressures and expectations of social norms, it is understandable why somefemales do not participate in male-dominated sports. In recent years, many Australiansports such as cricket, Australian football and soccer have provided more opportunitiesfor female participation, both at the elite and grass-roots clubs. Not only does this givefemales more opportunity for sport participation, it also has the potential to engagethose who are not physically active at all due to not having a range of choices.

Cricket

Cricket is a sport played globally and is a popular Australian activity. In a report by the ASC(2016), cricket is in the top 10 most participated sports by children outside of school hours,however this is predominately males. As of recent times, it has become a strategic focus ofCricket Australia to increase female participation in cricket (Cricket Australia 2017b).Women have been playing cricket in Australia since early 1900s (Howell, Howell, andBrown 1989) however it was not until 1958 that the International Women’s CricketCouncil (IWCC) was developed (ICC n.d.). There were five founding countries in this associ-ation. The IWCC merged with the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2005 and currentlyhas 11 countries in the association (ICC n.d.). Until recent times, elite women’s cricket hasonly been semi-professional where players were still required to work to provide anincome (Cricket Australia 2017a).

Recently, there have been some initiatives to help assist females in participating incricket and other sports. The ‘Growing Cricket for Girls Fund’ was developed to supportthe development of girls’ cricket competitions at a community level. The funding canbe used to provide payment to a coordinator for the competition, purchasing equipment,marketing and promotion and ensuring coaches have accreditation (Cricket Australia2018). The ‘Change our Game’ programme provides funding through VicHealth forsports including those traditional male-dominated sports of Australian football andcricket in order to try and get more females active though sport (VicHealth 2017).Whilst these initiatives have the potential to positively influence females participating inmale-dominated sports such as cricket, there has been minimal research within the areaof female participation in cricket and the barriers to participation. It is likely that some bar-riers to participation are similar across sport in general, however, there are likely to besome barriers specific to male-dominated sports. A model often used to understand bar-riers to sport participation is the socio-ecological model.

Socio-ecological model

The decline in physical activity and sport participation during adolescence is widelyacknowledged (ASC 2016; Bélanger et al. 2011; Farooq et al. 2018; Hallal et al. 2012;Lubans, Sylva, and Morgan 2007; Zick et al. 2007) and many studies have investigatedthe barriers that affect physical activity and sport participation for adolescents andmore specifically, for female adolescents (Casey et al. 2009; Craike, Symons, and

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Zimmermann 2009; Eime et al. 2010; Rowe, Sherry, and Osborne 2017; Slater and Tigge-mann 2010; Yungblut, Schinke, and McGannon 2012). A framework that is implementedto assist in understanding the wide array of factors influencing behaviours is the socio-eco-logical model (Stokols 1996). The socio-ecological model concerns ‘the interrelationsamong environmental conditions and human behaviour and well-being’ (Stokols 1996,285), meaning the ‘dynamic interplay’ (Stokols 1996, 285) between determinants is ana-lysed rather than determinants exclusively. The determinants within the socio-ecologicalmodel are: intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, environmental and policy. Thesocio-ecological model has been utilized by a range of studies investigating the influenceson participation in sport and physical activity specifically for female participants (Caseyet al. 2009; Eime et al. 2010; Eime et al. 2015; Gargari, Hosseini, and Ahmadi 2018;Jenkin et al. 2016). Qualitative studies have allowed more in depth understanding ofthe barriers to participation and how some of the factors are interrelated (Casey et al.2009; Eime et al. 2010, 2015) thus providing a holistic approach to understanding thebehaviour (lack of participation). The aim of this study is to utilize the socio-ecologicalmodel to identify barriers for adolescent females who have none to minimal experiencein playing a traditionally male-dominated sport.

Method

Context of location of study

This study was conducted in Ballarat, a regional city in Victoria, Australia. Ballarat isapproximately 110 km north-west of Melbourne (City of Ballarat 2018). The populationof Ballarat in 2016 was 105,668 (ABS 2018) with a Socio-Economic Indexes for Australia(SEIFA) score of 965 which is ranked 296th in Australia or 32nd in Victoria based on dis-advantaged to advantaged local government areas (ABS 2016). Within Ballarat and thesurrounding suburbs, there were 32 primary schools and 10 secondary schools (ACARA2019).

At the time of conducting this study, there were 15 cricket clubs in the Ballarat CricketAssociation that provided opportunities for junior cricket with the far majority of partici-pants being male (Ballart Cricket Association 2019). Subsequently, opportunities forfemales to be involved in cricket in Ballarat was scarce. The schools in this study providedfemales the opportunity to play cricket in a mixed team against other schools within theregion. In regards to club cricket, adolescent females had access to Milo into Cricket andT20 Blast which were entry-level cricket programmes, however, it was only available bylocal clubs who conducted these programmes and a majority of participants wereyoung boys. Additionally, adolescent females had access to play junior club cricket withand against boys. Ballarat is the hub of Cricket Victoria’s Central Highlands region.Central Highlands has been successful over the past 15 years in fielding under 14,under 16 and under 18 female teams in the State Championships conducted by CricketVictoria. In terms of senior cricket, similarly to junior cricket, females had access to playwith a local club but it is with and against men. Females also had the opportunity toplay in a senior women’s cricket team in the Victorian Premier Cricket Community.There were no opportunity for females to play in a senior women’s cricket team at a com-munity club level in Ballarat.

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Participants and procedure

Ethics approval was gained from the University Human Research Ethics Committee andthe Catholic Education Office. School principals from all eight primary Catholic schoolsin the Ballarat area were contacted and invited to have their school participate in thisresearch study. Three schools replied with an expression of interest in the researchproject, two of which were randomly selected to participate. One school selected to par-ticipate had 245 enrolments with 51% female students, and an Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) score of 1082 (ACARA 2019). The ICSEA score takes intoaccount parents’ occupation, parents’ education, geographical location and proportionof Indigenous students (ACARA 2014) and the average ICSEA score is 1,000. Schoolsthat have a higher ICSEA score have a higher level of educational advantage for their stu-dents. The second school selected to participate had 332 enrolments with 56% female stu-dents, and an ICSEA score of 1026 (ACARA 2019).

Purposive sampling was utilized within this study to allow for only females to beinvolved (Patton 2002). This was to ensure that data from the study was reflective offemale thoughts, feelings, beliefs and opinions. A personal visit to the two schoolsoccurred and the research project was thoroughly explained to all female Year five andsix students in jargon-free language. Plain Language Statements and consent formswere also distributed. Students had the opportunity to clarify any questions they hadprior to giving consent. Year five and six students were approached due to their age(10–12 years), and research suggests (ABS 2012) that this age is the peak for whendrop-off in sport occurs. Consent forms were signed by a parent/guardian and student.Students were randomly selected from the returned consent forms.

Focus-groups were conducted to encourage discussion between participants abouttheir own experiences (Lambert and Loiselle 2008). Four focus-group discussions wereconducted in total by one researcher, with two conducted per school. There were fourto six randomly selected female students in each focus-group (n = 20) with each focus-group ranging from 30 to 60 min (average length was 39 min). All participants wereborn in Australia where English was the first language spoken in every household. Onehousehold also spoke French as a second language. Most (90%) participants lived in ahousehold with two adults and a majority (95%) of participants had siblings with whomthey lived with. All participants participated in regular physical activity on a weeklybasis, with all participants involved in sport such as netball, basketball and swimming. Fol-lowing the completion of the focus-group discussions, students completed a demo-graphics questionnaire and were thanked for their participation in the research project.

Utilizing the socio-ecological model

The socio-ecological model was utilized throughout this study to develop the interviewguide, develop the coding tree and reporting the results. The interview guide was devel-oped based on the structure of the domains in the socio-ecological model and previousliterature that has utilized this model. By following the structure of the domains, thesemi-structured focus-group discussions were able to follow a clear direction startingwith the participants themselves, then their family and friends, their school, the environ-ment surrounding them, and finally, the rules and regulations that dictate how cricket is

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facilitated. Additionally, it ensured all focus-group discussions followed a similar, if notsame, question order. In relation to the coding tree, the transcribed data was codedinto main themes that were the domains of the socio-ecological model – intrapersonal,interpersonal, organizational, environmental and policy. From there, sub-themes such asfun, family, school, club environment and girls’ only competition were identified withineach theme.

Instruments

The demographics questionnaire that students completed after the focus-group discus-sions included open-ended questions that asked their age, country of birth, languagespoken at home, how many adults and children live in their house, activities they do forfun (e.g. reading, spending time with family, taking my dog for a walk) and physical activitythey participate in on a regular basis (e.g. at least once a week).

The focus-group discussions were semi-structured but had guided questions based oneach domain of the socio-ecological model to ensure all topics were covered (Interviewquestions are provided in the appendix). The questions focused on the students’ views,beliefs and attitudes towards female adolescence barriers and facilitators in relation tophysical activity, sport and more specifically, cricket. Examples of guided questionsinclude: ‘How did you get involved in [said] sports?’; ‘How can cricket get more girls toplay?’; ‘Do your friends influence your participation in physical activity and sport?’; ‘Doyou know of any cricket clubs around where you live?’; and ‘What are the top threethings stopping girls your age playing cricket?’ The focus-group discussions were audiorecorded with a digital recorder which were then transcribed verbatim with pseudonymsassigned.

Analysis

The transcribed data was analysed using N-Vivo software – version 11. The transcript wasinitially read and coded by the lead author. Qualitative thematic and content analysis wereundertaken (Clarke and Braun 2017; Elo et al. 2014). This data was analysed through a con-stant comparison and coded into themes based on the socio-ecological model. The con-stant comparison was repeated until no new themes were identified within the data.Collaborative coding occurred with the other researchers, in which a coding tree wasdeveloped together to clarify themes and sub-themes. Once data was coded, mainthemes were established. Sub-themes were developed to help explore the data more rig-orously (Miles, Huberman, and Saldana 2014). Standardization also occurred through usingthe same semi-structured interview questions and demographics forms for all focus-groups as well as one researcher conducting all of the focus-group discussions.

Results and discussion

Intrapersonal – ‘I want to do it for fun, but I also need skills’

Fun is a frequently occurring theme when focusing on female sport participation (Caseyet al. 2009; Skille and Osteras 2011; Slater and Tiggemann 2010). This study supports

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the idea that fun is a crucial aspect for adolescent female participation in sport in general,and more specifically in the context of a fast-developing female sport, cricket: ‘I want to doit for fun’ (focus-group three). Slater and Tiggemann (2010) found that adolescent femaleswere more inclined to stop physical activity or sport if they did not enjoy it, or if they werebored. However, fun is more complex than just having a good time. Enjoying sport has alsobeen linked to having an adequate level of competence, and confidence in themselves(Casey et al. 2009; Skille and Osteras 2011; Slater and Tiggemann 2010). Skille andOsteras (2011) suggest that adolescent females are self-conscious about their skill level,in turn, affecting their confidence. Cricket was identified by the participants in thisstudy as a highly technical sport, therefore requiring a certain level of skill, and that alevel of skill was required to enjoy playing. For example, one female stated that in relationto cricket skills, in general females: ‘Are not advanced. They don’t have the basics’ (focus-group one). Females may not have the basic cricket skills due to their exposure tocricket has been limited. Casey et al. (2009) established that if the females were in ateam where the skill level was not strong, they were more confident as opposed tobeing in a team that was strong and feeling pressured to perform. If female adolescentsdo not have appropriate skills, it could affect their level of competence and, therefore,affect their level of confidence which is summarized by another study participant: ‘A lotof girls can actually do it (play cricket) without realising. They think they’re really bad, butthey’re awesome’ (focus-group two). This strengthens the importance of children develop-ing fundamental motor skills when they are young. O’Brien, Belton, and Issartel (2016) con-cluded from their study that approximately 11% of participants had either mastered ornearly mastered all nine of the fundamental motor skills (run, skip, horizontal jump, verticaljump, kick, catch, overhand throw, strike and stationary dribble) by the age of 13. Whilst itis not impossible to attain the core fundamental motor skills in early adolescence, it wasrecognized by participants in this current study that some individuals may be required topractice more to improve: ‘If I put in the time to improve, I could probably play’ (focus-groupfour) and ‘You can’t just say, I’m not good at cricket. You have to try and practice’ (focus-group two). Individuals who have not mastered the core fundamental motor skills byearly adolescence nor practice the fundamental motor skills may find it challengingand, at times, intimidating participating in sport with sport specific skills required.

Interpersonal – ‘Some of the boys don’t let us play because we are girls’

Boys were commonly reported to be a barrier to participation in sport in general andspecifically to cricket for adolescent females. Consistently, research has established thatboys sometimes tease the females, intimidate them and were too competitively focused(Bevan and Fane 2017; Eime et al. 2010; Slater and Tiggemann 2010, 2011). The issue ofmales teasing, may also be emphasized in the case of cricket, whereby females mayfeel intimidated by their skills, since this is a traditionally male-dominated sport. This isreinforced in the current study as participants mentioned that they were apprehensiveabout joining in at cricket due to the boys’ attitude, judgement and intimidation: ‘Theboys might say something’ (focus-group four) and ‘They make fun of you’ (focus-groupthree). Another key factor in the relationship between males, females and physical activitywas the notion that females often have less motor skill abilities therefore making them ‘notas good’ as the males. The participants in this study often felt that their perceived lack of

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competence excluded them from playing with the boys: ‘If you tried out for the cricket team,mainly boys would get in, unless you are really good’ (focus-group two) and ‘Boys are justselfish, they think they are the best, and they can do it better than girls’ (focus-group two).It may be that the female participants felt that in order to reduce teasing from theboys, they needed to have a high level of competency in male-dominated sports. Thisis supported by Casey et al. (2009) who were able to conclude that due to the females’lack of motor skills, the males intimidated, embarrassed and excluded the females.However, some participants noted that some boys are able to help improve cricketskills by teaching based on their experiences: ‘The girls can encourage you, but the boyscan teach you’ (focus-group one).

Additionally, as cricket is seen as a traditionally male-dominated sport, some of the par-ticipants felt that cricket and other traditional male sports were portrayed exclusively formales therefore making it unusual for females to participate: ‘Some of the boys don’t let usplay because we are girls’ (focus-group one) and ‘They might think there is more boys that likeit, it is their game’ (focus-group four) and ‘I think it would be weird if I did cricket. Only boys doit’ (focus-group one). This is reinforced by Abadi (2017) who suggest that females do notparticipate in certain sports to conform with gender roles and social norms. Furthermore,Green (2010) states that there is a perception of females not suiting certain sports becauseof social norms. These social norms can be also be reinforced or negated by parents andtheir views of physical activity and sport (Nielsen et al. 2012).

Additionally, parents play a crucial role in female adolescent physical activity partici-pation (Casey et al. 2009; Craike, Symons, and Zimmermann 2009; Eime et al. 2010;Ferry and Lund 2016; Hardy et al. 2010). The support that family provide adolescentfemales plays an important role in exposing them to physical activity and ensuring thatthey can attend through facilitation of transport. As this current study suggests, theparents are responsible, and often expected, to organize transport for their children tophysical activity or sporting events:

They would say if I really wanted to (I could play cricket), but I’d probably have to give up asport… They would probably say you would have to give up one of them because wecan’t keep driving you to everything. (focus-group two)

Results of this study also propose the idea that parents would allow their children to playwhichever sport they wish such as cricket, however, they may have to drop out of anothersport: ‘I tried to get my parents to let me play in (cricket) Summer, but they said I did too muchsport already’ (focus-group two). This could be due to time restraints as cricket, in compari-son to many other sports, is played for many hours. Some parents may not have the timeto watch their child play cricket on a weekend. Whilst the reasoning behind why is notclear, Craike, Symons, and Zimmermann (2009) claim that their adolescent female partici-pants were forced to reduce the variety of sports they were playing as they got older. Itcould be assumed that parents prefer their children to play a couple sports over theyear as opposed to many sports once they are older so they can also focus on schoolwork as well.

In relation to siblings, they can play a significant role in the exposure to specific sportsor physical activity. This is reinforced through the findings of this current study, thatsuggest that siblings, especially older male siblings, enabled the exposure to sportssuch as cricket and, provided opportunity to play in a casual setting, and taught skills

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relevant to the sport: ‘My brother played cricket, so I just played’ (focus-group one) and ‘Theymight encourage you to come out and practice with them. Like do you want to come andplay, and I will teach you how to play’ (focus-group one). The exposure that siblings canprovide to sport is crucial as young females may not have a similar exposure at schoolor within their community. Research conducted by Casey et al. (2009) and Craike,Symons, and Zimmermann (2009) explain adolescent females were likely to ‘follow inthe footsteps’ of their older siblings and the siblings provided encouragement and theopportunity for adolescent females to be active. Although, sometimes the exposure tosport does not come from within a family, but from friends at school (Laird et al. 2016).

The influence of friends on adolescent girls is, at times, underestimated. Females whohave not been exposed to physical activity or sport by their parents or siblings rely ontheir friends to guide them into participation. Friends are relied on due to the assumptionthat playing sport with friends leads to a key intrapersonal factor of fun and enjoymentwhich is supported by Casey et al. (2009) and Skille and Osteras (2011). Participants in thiscurrent study identify that making new friends motivates them to play sport: ‘I am doingnetball, part of it is that I enjoy the game, but also making new friends’ (focus-group two)and ‘I started playing sport to get better at sport and to make new friends’ (focus-groupone). Physical activity not only allows for friends to participate together, but also facili-tates the development of new friendships which is important for adolescent females(Eime et al. 2010). Lee, Lee, and Min-Haeng (2004) suggested that adolescents wereencouraged greatly if their peers valued and participated in physical activity. Thiscurrent study strengthens the views and influence of friendships on adolescentfemales’ participation in physical activity and sport: ‘One of my friends asked me to join,so I did’ (focus-group three) and ‘The reason I joined basketball is because I liked it, andbecause lots of my friends played’ (focus-group two). Also, within this study, the idea ofhaving someone of the same gender to participate in cricket with is crucial. Adolescentfemales are more inclined to play cricket if they know there is another female whenthe rest of the team is boys.

Organizational and environmental – ‘You don’t really see female cricketers’

Within this current study, it was established that exposure to physical activity, sport, andmore specifically, cricket, at school can sometimes be the students’ first experience. Resultsfrom this current study show that adolescent females enjoying implementing skills theyhad learnt in Physical Education classes into informal games at lunch-time and intomore formal competitions at interschool sports: ‘I always play cricket at school’ (focus-group two) and ‘I went to a school competition for cricket’ (focus-group one). This gives stu-dents a chance to develop their skills and test their skills against others within a schoolenvironment. The exposure to physical activity and sport is supported by Casey et al.(2009) and Craike, Symons, and Zimmermann (2009) who found that school Physical Edu-cation provides an opportunity for students to learn a range of new skills. Furthermore,Langille and Rodger (2010) established that Physical Education should not just be aboutexposing students to physical activity and providing them with opportunities, but alsoteach them and influence their perceptions on health. In addition to Physical Educationclasses providing exposure, schools providing opportunities for students to compete atlunch-time and against other schools is important.

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Whilst the school provides some opportunities for females to participate in physicalactivity and sport, adolescent females do not feel in general that there are enough oppor-tunities for them to participate. The notion that opportunities are limited for females insport, and in particular, sports that males traditionally play is reinforced by Slater and Tig-gemann (2010), Ferry and Lund (2016) and Bevan and Fane (2017). Slater and Tiggemann(2010) found that boys had more sports to choose from when looking to play a sport asopposed to females. Results from this study demonstrate that the female participantsfelt that if there were the opportunity to participate in an all girls’ team, more femaleswould play: ‘I think to get more girls we should encourage them more. Like a girls’ teamand a boys’ team’ (focus-group two) and ‘If they get the chance to, and they like it, theyshould play’ (focus-group two). Additionally, Ferry and Lund (2016) concluded that sportparticipation is often limited by gender expectations in society. These expectations canbe established by family, friends, peers and strangers (Migliaccio and Berg 2007) andcan lead to drop out or not participating in certain sports due to the sport been portrayedas not appropriate for females (Abadi 2017). Bevan and Fane (2017) conducted a studywhich investigated adolescent females opinions about participating in traditionally malesports. The participants stated that participating in a traditionally male sport can be ostra-cizing and not conducive of creating an enjoyable environment because of the negativeconnotations associated with females playing traditionally male sports. This strengthensthe concept that there are societal perceptions about which sports and activities areappropriate for females and males instead of the person, themselves, playing an activerole in participating in something they enjoy.

The pathway for females to aspire towards is also not as clear or acknowledged as thepathway for boys. This could be due to the ideology of sport is not females, therefore,there have been no developed or proven pathways for females to progress their sport.Findings from this current study explore the less-than-regular viewing of female cricketon television: ‘You don’t really see female cricketers’. (focus-group one) and ‘I think if wewant to get more girls, we should actually like have it as advertising’ (focus-group two). Pav-lidis (2018) explains that females have been excluded and marginalized in many forms ofsport thus shaping the perception, value and coverage of female sport. Although, the lackof female cricket coverage on television that the participants discuss may be due to theinfluential role of their parents and what their parents allowed them to view. Due tothe generational gap between parents and their children, some parents may not beopen to or aware that female cricket is on television as it would never occurred duringtheir upbringing. Slater and Tiggemann (2010) found that adolescent females believedthere were less opportunities for females to play elite sport as a career. Additionally,there is the likelihood that adolescent females do not see other females playing cricketin their local communities.

By not having exposure to seeing female cricket locally or on televisions, adolescentfemales are unable to see or aspire to play cricket as there is no clear pathway to reachan elite level or role models to follow. However, the importance of a visible pathwayacross the lifespan to accommodate for young females aspiring to play elite levelcricket, and young female adults who wish to play community club level, is vital as it pro-vides a clear path to follow to reach their goal. It also assists young cricketers who wish tofollow a similar path to their role model. The findings from the research Caple, Greenwood,and Lumby (2011) conducted strengthen the idea of females not receiving television

10 J. FOWLIE ET AL.

coverage. Caple, Greenwood, and Lumby (2011) determined that female sport receivessignificantly less air time than males on Australian television regardless of the level ofsuccess which does not allow females to get the recognition for their achievements norshow a pathway for young adolescent girls to follow in the footsteps of. Furthermore,Toffoletti (2017) suggests that the media coverage female athletes receive is generally sex-ualized in nature which discredits the athletes and their achievements. Conversely,females who are fans of sport can sometimes be viewed as disingenuous which strength-ens the concept that sport is a male domain (Toffoletti 2017). As a consequence of discre-dited female athletes and female fans who do not want to appear as ‘fake’ fans, theconcept of role models may not be as influential as it could be. Meier (2015) suggeststhat female sport role models play an important role in being an ambassador for theirsport and female participation.

In addition to this, female sporting role models have the ability to advocate for andmotivate young females who aspire to hold a powerful position, which in turn, breaksdown the barriers to stereotyping and societal gender barriers. Results in this studydrew comparisons to the Australian Football League (AFL) who have recently introduceda Women’s AFL (AFLW) competition which is on par to the Men’s AFL. The participantsidentified that the AFL is now encouraging females to play, and maybe cricket shoulddevelop in a similar way: ‘Footy is starting to encourage some girls to play because nowthey have got the women’s AFL teams’ (focus-group one). Interestingly, Cricket Australiareleased the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) – the equivalent of the Men’s Big BashLeague (BBL) – in the 2015/16 season, which completed two seasons before the AFLWbegan their first season. This reiterates the lack of exposure women’s cricket has receivedas the participants in this study were able to comment on the positive things the AFLwere doing for women’s sport, but they were not aware of a national women’s cricketcompetition that is aligned with the BBL franchises. Therefore, a lack of exposure tofemale cricketers at both elite level and bottom grass-roots level, is likely to influence par-ticipation for females. If they do not see it as an opportunity for females, if they do notsee other females playing, they are not likely to see club-based cricket as a viable optionfor them to play.

Whilst role models and player pathways are influences on female participation in sport,the actual clubs and sporting organizations play an important role in attracting and retain-ing players. Results of this current study show that adolescent females are more inclined toplay for a club who support, include and encourage them, as well as challenging themwhen it was needed: ‘Support, encourage, and teach us’ (focus-group one) and ‘Challengeyou, so you are not doing stuff you already know, but you are doing stuff you don’t know’(focus-group one). However, some of the adolescent females were not comfortableplaying for a club where winning was crucial: ‘Like if you don’t win something, theymight get really angry at you and the team, because you didn’t win’ (focus-group four).Research conducted by Eime et al. (2010) and Slater and Tiggemann (2010) validate theconcept that adolescent females were not comfortable with aggressive, unsupportive,strict and unfair coaches within community sports clubs. This was supported by Caseyet al. (2009) who found that club sport was more competitive and exclusive than schoolsport, thus making adolescent females more apprehensive about joining sporting clubs.

A unique finding in this current study, which has not previously been reported, is cricketsporting clubs only recognizing male sporting achievements: ‘You go into the club rooms

ANNALS OF LEISURE RESEARCH 11

and there is just photos and jumpers and trophies of people, the men, who have won’ (focus-group one) and ‘If you give the men the achievements, but some ladies would have done ittoo’ (focus-group three). This is because cricket in Australia, until recently, has been a male-dominated club-based sport. The club environments are important influences on partici-pation, and for adolescent females, they need to feel welcomed (Eime, Payne, and Harvey2008) and a lack of visibility of females throughout the club is a deterrent for female par-ticipation. Additionally, Pavlidis (2018) stated that clubs need to make their female players‘feel special and bring them in part of the club’ (p. 349). Results in this current study showthat adolescent females would feel undervalued and that their achievements are not equalto the boys and males within their sporting club if they are not having their achievementsrecognized. The adolescent females wanted their achievements to be valued the same astheir male counterparts: ‘A bit like, I have done something great, why isn’t my picture on thewall’ (focus-group four). Sporting clubs can counteract the masculine stigma attached tosport and their club by supporting and encouraging the adolescent females within theirclub, that includes their on-field performance, but also recognizing and valuing theirsuccess. Additionally, sporting clubs are able to develop policies that focus on equityfor participants, a culture that facilitates enjoyment and fairness for all, and a welcomingenvironment.

Policy – ‘I would play but I would at least have to have another girl in with me’

Findings from this current study also show that adolescent females would rather playcricket in an all females’ competition: ‘If there was lots of other people doing it, and lotsof other girls doing it’ (focus-group one) and ‘I would play but I would at least have tohave another girl in with me’ (focus-group two). This reinforces that National SportingOrganisations and State Sporting Associations need to consider female only competitionsand teams to encourage participation that filters down into communities. Cricket Australiahas a strategic focus of being the leading sport for females by providing opportunities,making participation for females sustainable, providing welcoming environments andmaking female cricket a viable career (Cricket Australia 2017b). The participants in thisstudy were open to the idea of starting in a girls’ only competition to develop skills,and if they wanted to challenge themselves, to play with the boys: ‘You could start withgirls against girls, then try for mixed’ (focus-group three). To our knowledge, no otherstudies have researched females’ only competitions in traditionally male-dominatedsports such as cricket by females who do not play cricket. By having a females’ only com-petition, adolescent females are more likely to participate in cricket as opposed to playingin a boys’ team against other boys.

Limitations

It is important to recognize the limitations within this study. The sample of participantswas limited to two Catholic primary schools within Ballarat, thus limiting socio-economicstatus and diversity. Of government and Catholic primary schools in Ballarat, the Catholicprimary schools have an Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA)average score of 1,053.6 compared to 974.8 of government primary schools. The ICSEAdifferences between the Catholic and government primary schools in Ballarat may

12 J. FOWLIE ET AL.

suggest that students at the Catholic primary schools could be exposed to differing par-ental values, education, affordability and accessibility regarding physical activity andsport. Additionally, due to time restraints, focus-groups were limited to an hour with 20participants overall. Finally, all participants participated in weekly physical activity there-fore their views about physical activity, sport and cricket may differ to those who donot participate in physical activity. It was encouraged for the participants to think abouttheir peers who were not active, and empathize how they may feel in regard to physicalactivity, sport and more specifically, cricket participation. It is imperative to be cautiouswhen generalizing findings due to these limitations.

Future research and practical implications

As it is one of the first studies in the specific area of females and participation in tradition-ally male-dominated sports, future research could strengthen the research in this area.Future research could delve into further conversations with females to understand whatwould encourage them to participate in more sport in general; parental attitudes abouttheir children, more specifically their daughters, participating in traditionally male-domi-nated sports; adolescent males and their views and attitudes towards females participat-ing in traditionally male-dominated sports; and evaluating strategies that are currentlyimplemented by sporting bodies. Practical implications of this research could lead tolocal, regional and/or state level cricketing organizations to assist in developing an allgirls’ cricket programme, which in turn, may provide more opportunities for females toparticipate in cricket. Additionally, this research could assist in evaluating current girls’only cricket programmes to identify if they implement some of the key factors thatinfluence female participation in cricket. Finally, this research can provide considerationsfor decision makers at all levels of sport. For example, this could include player pathwayclarity from a national and state perspective, development of female only teams and com-petitions and ensuring coaches have the correct accreditation to assist players in their skilldevelopment, and developing policies on an inclusive and supportive environment andculture from a club perspective.

Conclusion

This paper contributes to research in the area of adolescent female participation in a male-dominated sport such as cricket. Whilst some of these barriers may be similar to sport ingeneral, they are exacerbated in male-dominated sports because females have not hadprevious opportunities to play and develop skills due to societal expectations thatcricket is not a sport for them. Whilst participation in sport is not for everyone, weprovide some recommendations specifically for females in traditionally male-dominatedsports. To reduce the barriers to participation in cricket for adolescent females, multiplekey factors should be considered. To enhance participation in cricket for adolescentfemales, it is recommended that the following be considered; implementing skill develop-ment for adolescent females, which in turn, may provide confidence, and therefore theopportunity, to compete confidently and competently; develop a females’ only cricketcompetition which incorporates skill development, and facilitates friendships. By havinga females’ only competition, it gives females a choice as to whether they play with

ANNALS OF LEISURE RESEARCH 13

females or males; having a clear and visible pathway across the lifespan for females. Thisincludes those who aspire to play elite level cricket, but also those who wish to play com-munity club level cricket; and finally, sporting clubs to be supportive encouraging andinclusive, but also recognizing and valuing female achievements on the same level asfor what they do for males. This could be further enhanced through the media valuingand representing female achievements. These recommendations can heavily beinfluenced by decision makers at a national, state, regional and club level. For example,changes could include; ensuring coaches are qualified to provide adequate skill develop-ment to retain players; developing female only teams and competitions with appropriaterules to encourage success; providing a player pathway; and ensuring clubs have a suppor-tive and inclusive environment and culture for all players.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

J. Fowlie is a Ph.D. scholar and Research Fellow at Federation University. She is a member of the Sportand Recreation Spatial team (http://www.sportandrecreationspatial.com.au/).

R. M. Eime is a Professor at Federation University and Victoria University. She is the Director of Sportand Recreation Spatial.

K. Griffiths is a lecturer at Federation University in the School of Education.

ORCID

J. Fowlie http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5878-968XR. M. Eime http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8614-2813

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Appendix: Interview questions

Background

. Do you participate in leisure-time physical activity?- What activities do you participate in?

. What sport(s) do you participate in?

. What age did you start participating?

. How did you get involved in that/those sport(s)?- Did family/friends/media coverage/school influence this?

. Are there sports that you did participate in but then stopped?- Why did you stop?- Would you participate in that sport again?

Intrapersonal factors

. If you participate in sport or did, why do/did you?- Did friends/fun/social reasons/pressure from family influence this?

. If you do not participate in sport, why?- Not enjoy it, don’t have time, other interests

. Do you feel you have adequate skills to participate in sport?- Were you taught skills at schools?

. Have you been introduced to or played cricket before? If so, where?- Family, friends, school, Christmas

. Do you have any experience playing cricket at all?- Beach, backyard, community club, school, T20 Blast

. What do you think your skills are like in cricket?- Can you bat, bowl or field?- Which do you prefer to do?

. What are your thoughts on participation in cricket?- Do you think you might participate if the opportunity was there?

Interpersonal factors

. Do your friends influence/impact/support your participation in sport?- How?

. Do any of your friends/family participate in cricket?- Community club, beach, backyard, social, indoor

. Does your family influence/impact/support your participation in sport?- How?

. Now thinking about cricket, does your family/friends influence your participation or not in cricket?- Why and how?- Do you play/not play because your family member does/does not?

. Do sporting role models (e.g. elite players, school PE teachers, playing parents) influence your par-ticipation in sport?- Do you participate in sport because of certain sport stars?- In cricket, do you know any ‘famous’ female cricketers?

. Does cricket, being a traditionally male sport, influence your choice on types of sports to partici-pate in? For example, netball is traditionally more of a female sport.- Do you not play because you don’t want to be seen a ‘tomboy’?

18 J. FOWLIE ET AL.

Organizational/environmental factors

. Are there any factors relating to the cricket clubs that influence your participation in cricket?- Do they have a welcoming environment?- Why would you choose one club over another?

. Do you have access to community facilities to participate?- Do you have access to ovals, courts, gyms, nets

. Would you play competitive cricket?- Why or why not?- Could it clash with other sports such as netball on the same day?

Policy factors

. How could things be changed for you to start participating in cricket?

Conclusion

. Is there anything you would like to share about barriers to female adolescent participation incricket?

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