Fair Game

Joining us in the Fair Game hot seat this evening is a woman who has represented Ireland in both football and cricket. She became the first woman in 38 years to stand as an umpire in a men’s Grade cricket match in South Australia. She is also the 8th woman to be appointed to the International Cricket Council’s development panel of umpires and most recently was one of six players to earn a central contract from Cricket Ireland. A very FUN FACT about this legend of Irish Sport is that every club she’s played for at senior level in Ireland has won the All Ireland. UCD, St Francis, St Catherines, Raheny United, Shelbourne. So obviously we are very excited for this guest to spill her secrets! 

South African Middle Distance Runner, Caster Semenya is a world record holder and Olympic gold medalist, she competes at distances from 800meters to 5000meters. She stormed to victory in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games to take gold in the 800meters. Semenya comes from a rural village in South Africa, she’s black African woman, she was born, raised and now identifies as a woman, and she is openly gay.

But back in 2008, after she set her personal best of 1:55:45 in the 800meters at the Worlds, it’s reported that Semenya underwent a Gender Verification Procedure. And that is where the story starts. Caster’s performance in this these events were so dominant that the rumours started that she must be a man competing in the women’s field. The IAAF want to protect women’s sport and ensure fairness for female athletes, and have been called on to do so by athletes like Paula Radcliffe, Martina Navratalova and Lindsay Sharpe. One of Caster’s competitors, American athlete Shannon Rowberry said “I think it challenges and threatens the integrity of womens sports to have intersex athletes competing against genetically genetic women. Women have fought for far too long to even have the right to compete and now it is being challenged by intersex and trans athletes and I don’t think that’s right.” And so to try and formally decide what are the criteria for competing in the mens’ and womens’ categories, the Athletics Governing Body have are ultimately trying to define what a female athlete is, what the criteria is, what are the ways that we measure and decide upon the Question: What is Woman and what is Other?  

It's GAME DAY. You're hyped up, you've done the training and gone through all your preparations this morning. Breakfast eaten, coffee drank and kit on - jersey and white shorts. And then suddenly -  TERROR strikes. Well, not terror - but your period. But it’s ok, you can deal with this. It’s not the first time you’ll be performing in white shorts during your period, but then the cramps come. What painkillers can you take that are admissible? Ideally, you’d sleep off this wave of fatigue but that’s not an option today. But the other side-effects are the ones you’re really worried about: changes in body temperature, being faster to fatigue and maybe even a loss of coordination. Then there’s the urine drug testing afterward, the thoughts of which are just making you CRIIIINGE. That’s exactly what happened to British Tennis Ace & British Number One Heather Watson and when she spoke out about how her period affected her poor performance in the Australian Open in 2015. Heather Watson was one of the first and is still one of the few sports stars to talk about this Last Taboo - but we’re joined with two women who are serious about breaking doing the stigma around menstrual health for female athletes.. 

We’ve all seen those motivational mantras - 'it’s mind over matter! keep your head in the game'… but what happens when it’s not that easy? When your mind isn’t playing ball. Well, our guest in the Fair Game hotseat today is going to tell us how they help Ireland’s most successful athletes navigate that very dilemma. 

Miriam Hussey is an integrated wellness coach who specialises in performance psychology - but Miriam knows that success isn’t based on any one thing - cognitive, nutritional, physical and mental health are all important when you’re trying to BE THE BEST.