Opinion: Sun shines on women's sport

The hot weather has finally kicked in as people drag their post-jandalled feet and sun-kissed bodies grudgingly back to work.

Just as refreshing as an ice block on a stinking hot day is that the papers are full of summer sport news such as beach volleyball, tennis, triathlons, cricket and, of course, lawn bowls.

The gender split with regards to media coverage of these sports also seems to be more balanced.

I hope this isn't because female athletes are more scantily clad in the summer, but because summer sports are less obsessed with portraying a hyper-masculine product.

Perhaps the winter codes could learn a thing or two from their summer-sport colleagues when it comes to promoting and developing opportunities for women.

A little birdie told me that the women's rugby NPC for 2010 might be canned, which will be a huge disappointment considering the women will be competing at the World Cup in England this year, and New Zealand will be promoting itself as a rugby nation for all shapes, sizes, ages, ethnicities and genders in 2011.

I know that sport beats to the money drum these days and when resources are scarce women's programmes, teams and events are usually scratched, but knowing that doesn't make it any less frustrating.

Men in rugby get many bites at the apple, but women get only a few.

Schoolgirls' rugby is still going (just), and with the inclusion of sevens into the Olympics, more opportunities may arise there for promising young females keen to pick up the oval ball and run with it.

But the NPC is one vital stepping stone in making it to higher honours in the 15-a-side game.

OK, I understand how tight the purse strings are for rugby these days, but the problem with canning a competition like the NPC is that once it has gone it will be difficult to reinstate.

The funds are quickly redistributed and people easily (or conveniently?) forget.

If finances improve, the existence of a women's NPC will be a distant memory and they'll have difficulty convincing those who have flagged rugby shorts for a netball skirt or football boots to come back.

In case people think I'm just on my rugby buzz again, it also happens in other sports.

How much of the recent windfall that Football New Zealand received after the All Whites inclusion in the World Cup will go to women's football programmes and teams?

It appears as if very little will go the way of the fairer sex as national administrators suggested they'd be seeking funding for the women's game from Sparc.

It is a recent trend that national sporting organisations fund their women's programme via the taxpayer and gambler.

Is $10 million not enough to fund both men's and women's football?

I enviously watch the ASB classic and how it is promoted, organised and covered by the media and speculate if women in rugby union, rugby league and football wore lycra or skirts while playing, would they survive the financial crisis?

Come on winter codes . . . get your act together and prove that women in New Zealand deserve equitable (if not equal) support and opportunities without having to bare flesh or don jewellery, and don't use the economic recession as an excuse to get rid of a competition you've never really appreciated in the first place.

Where can women get a fair go if not in New Zealand sport?