Women Sport Australia (WSA) applauds our most admired and successful female sporting champions – Ash Barty and the all-conquering female cricketers – being awarded the top honours at the Women’s Health Women in Sport Awards but warns the fight for equal pay, access, opportunity and media continues.
The ever-gracious World No1 tennis champion Ash Barty won two of the top awards – Sportswoman and Moment of the Year – at the red-carpet Sydney event.
“We salute Ash Barty for being a champion who is gracious in victory, pragmatic and polite in defeat, she respects the rules and her opponents and she cherishes her culture,” WSA Communications Director Louise Evans said.
Australia’s unstoppable world champion female cricketers won Team of the Year and captain Meg Lanning won the Leadership Legend award.
“Let’s celebrate their amazing success, applaud their deserved achievements and not forget the fight for pay parity and equal media is ongoing,” WSA’s Louise Evans said.
“Next year our famed female cricketers will play in the 2020 ICC T20 World Cup in Australia where the ICC prize money pool is $US2.4m for the women’s event compared to the ICC men’s prize money pool of $5.6m. That’s less than half. We’ve still got a very long way to go in the fight for equal pay, equal opportunity and access and equal media.”
WSA also commends pioneering netball world champion Liz Ellis being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“Liz’s feats on and off the court have paved the way for the next generation of champions,” Evans said.
The Women’s Health Women in Sport Awards Winners for 2019 are:
Women’s Health Sportswoman of the Year – Ash Barty, Tennis.
Moment of the Year – Ash Barty, Tennis. A-Team of the Year – Australian Women’s Cricket Team.
Leadership Legend – Meg Lanning, Cricket.
Federal Government Award for Outstanding Woman in Sport – Hannah Green, Golf.
Comeback of the Year – Lauren Parker, Paratriathlon.
Local Sporting Champion – Lucy Grills, Polocrosse.
One to Watch – Lani Pallister, Swimming.
Hall of Fame – Liz Ellis, Netball.
Person of Sporting Influence – Lynne Anderson, Chair, Bulldogs NRL, and CEO, Paralympics Australia.
