sports international magazine issue14

March 2015 1

The Pro SportsMagazine

March 2015

Alexis DeJoria – Drag racer

SIM Unsung Hero, GN4LW, Outstanding AtheleteTop tips and more...

Late Princess Lalla Aicha, Invicta Fighting Championships, Thailand Women’s Cricket Team, Shannon Knapp, Exclusive Interviews & Articles

Photo credit: Gary Nastase Photography

2 March 2015

March 2015 3

who have gone before and paved the way for where things are today. There may not be equality, recognition and all the things people talk about, but compared to then, wow what exciting times we live in! So read and enjoy this issue, tell your friends and in your own way be a force for change.

Thanks for reading and your ongoing support,

Myak-Paul Homberger - Editor

“The further I go the less I know” is an often quoted saying and none is more true than for me with the magazine. When I started this journey ten years ago I thought I knew about the women’s sports being played and yet here I am feeling like I have only just scratched the surface, not only of sports, but of where they are played and of all the people involved - it’s incredible.

A good example of this is Richard Lockwood, who has spent years devoting himself to helping promote cricket in Thailand. His commitment to improving a sport being played somewhere most wouldn’t even have guessed it would be played is amazing. It’s encouraging that there are people like this all over the world and I hope that in some small way the

SPORTS International

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March 2015 Issue No 014

magazine showcases and brings these people to light.

This issue has the amazing Alexis DeJoria on the cover, bringing another sport to the fore that many wouldn’t have seen or heard of. Invicta FC president and founder Shannon Knapp talks all things MMA and skateboard legend Cindy Whitehead spent time chatting with me about her fantastic mission for girls with a great approach. All of these women are at the forefront of their fields and it’s been a great couple of months chatting with them and all the other athletes for this issue.

Our Pioneers feature this month has been really fascinating to research and makes me realise even more the incredible women

WELCOME

4 March 2015

w w w . p a p a y a p h o t o g r a p h y . c o . u k

S P O RT S ● S P E C I A L I S T E V E N T S ● C O R P O R AT E E V E N T S

PapayaP h o t o g r a p h y

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ContentsAlexis DeJoria - Drag Racer 8Pioneer - The Late Princess Lalla Aicha of Morocco 16A sponsors point of view 20Invicta Fighting Championships 24Thailand Women’s Cricket Team 30Move over darling - the girls are here 36Shannon Knapp 44Sylvia Neid 49Girl is NOT a 4 letter word 56Matrix Fitness 64Sports International Magazine’s Outstanding Athlete 72Match Balls over the years 78Sports International Magazine’s Unsung Hero 82Thankyou’s 88Contact 89


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March 2015 Issue No 014

6 March 2015

ContributorsMyak-Paul Homberger

Aside from being a huge sports nut

and champion of women’s sport, has numerous qualifications including being a BAWLA qualified weight training coach, two martial arts black belts alongside his instructor level in Urban Krav Maga. He is also an NLP practitioner and sociologist with an HND in RAB.

Photography is his main passion and he has been published internationally. Myak has worked with men’s and women’s national teams, as well as with premiership teams and individual players.

Steffan Wyman

Starting out in Women’s cycling

team management in 2004, it was never Steffan’s initial goal to work in the sport full time. However as time passed and he became more involved it was clear that’s what he wanted and he began to work full time in the sport from 2008. Previously working in financial services, he’s used his previous management experience to try to bring in a level of professionalism and organization to the teams he runs.

In 2010 he took a step back from professional teams to work on a project with Matrix Fitness to try to develop the UK racing scene and create a new stable team, giving domestic riders the opportunity they needed. After 5 years, the time has come for the Matrix Fitness team to return to the professional peloton and in 2015 they are lining up against the worlds biggest teams in the worlds biggest races.

Kelly Barnes

A former International

amateur boxer and the first woman in the UK to receive Sport England funding for female boxing, Kelly is a passionate all round sportswoman, a keen cyclist and a triathlon newbie with ambitions of GB age group success.

With a successful marketing and PR background she has launched the Yellow Jersey Cycle Insurance brand and is committed to promoting women’s cycling, first step; sponsoring Matrix Pro Cycling. With professional and competitive experience in other male dominated sports including horseracing and boxing, Kelly is able to bring her board level experience into women’s cycling and play a role in increasing participation and championing the development of women’s cycling.

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Isa du Toit

Isa du Toit is a food writer whose love of good, wholesome food includes a wide range of interests - from delicious recipes and the vast array of ingredients that make food enjoyable, to learning skills and traditional ways of food preparation; artisan baking and ‘the real bread’ campaign; the sociology of food: meanings, traditions, diversity and change; the way in which food and eating together can build bridges and bring people together; regional and cultural differences in food; the concept of ‘food as medicine’ and the research into the links between diet, lifestyle and health. She has a positive approach to food, and believes passionately that anyone (including children!) can learn to cook - and that good food doesn’t need to be expensive; to the contrary, that it is possible to make easy, cheap, nutritious and delicious meals.

Harriet Rochester

Harriet Rochester is an award

winning senior PR and marketing practitioner. Driven by a passion for sport, horse racing, equestrianism and business combined with 20 years involved in sport both as a competitor and working through to governance and corporate level, she founded her own consultancy, Rochester PR & Marketing in 2007.

Raising the profile of Women’s sport, encouraging participation and address gender balance is a further area Harriet focuses her interests. She is an active committee member of Women in Racing and has recently launched Rochester Women, communicating the success stories of sportswomen and female teams and in turn encouraging investment into these area via sponsorship.Harriet is also a freelance experiential and sport journalist and competes regularly in Eventing on board Thomas, a former racehorse who she has retrained.

Harriet Rochester @HatRochesterPR

Richard Lockwood

Richard Lockwood became interested

in cricket statistics when he became scorer for the school team and was given a job on The Cricketer Magazine on leaving university. Richard edited The Cricketer Quarterly Facts & Figures publication for almost 20 years while also providing averages for newspapers, then worked as a scorer and statistician for television on cricket broadcasts in England around the world.

Richard decided Thailand would make a good base for this work when he discovered there was so much cricket being played in Bangkok and Chiang Mai and in such beautiful settings. He still works on the Indian Premier League every year but spends most of his time helping to promote cricket in Thailand.

8 March 2015

Drag RacerPhoto credit: Gary Nastase Photography

March 2015 9

A l e x i s DeJoria

Exclusive interview and article by Myak Homberger

By her own admission, Alexis DeJoria had a colourful early life. “I wasn’t always the easiest kid growing up”, she says. And yet here she stands today on the shoulders of giants (and petrol heads) at the pinnacle of Drag Racing in the world. The stakes are high: the 60th anniversary of The Big Go., the U.S. Nationals - it’s the biggest, most prestigious race in NHRA drag racing history with a $100,000 purse which Alexis has won.

Drag RacerPhoto credit: Gary Nastase Photography Photo credit: Gary Nastase Photography

10 March 2015

bottle or a BBQ bottle, strapping you to it, letting some gas out and lighting it hoping that it won’t blow up. Welcome to Alexis’ world. “It’s only a matter of time before a car blows up,” she says matter of factly. She isn’t doing it for the thrill of the risk though, she is doing it because she loves every aspect of the sport.

I asked Alexis what it’s like to drive at speeds like that? “Four seconds of awesomeness!” she says, clearly enjoying and reliving it in her mind. But then she continues to talk about the focus she needs, and how when she gets into the car and straps in, her focus narrows, she controls her breathing and clears her head. As she says, “...you can’t get caught in emotion, you don’t have time to make mistakes”. After shooting at speed down the strip the driver then needs to deploy a parachute manually to slow the Drag car down, but there is a backup auto in case the driver is knocked unconscious! This is a sport with risks in every area and yet Alexis is very matter of fact: she is doing what she loves, so what’s the problem, as far as she is concerned. What a great outlook on life!

Alexis has come up through the ranks, she has

Alexis drives/pilots a Nitro Funny Car in the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association). This is the top of the pile - there is nowhere else to go in Drag racing terms. And let’s be clear, this is a non-gendered sport. As Alexis explains, “...when the hood goes down, the cars don’t know if it’s male or female”. Alexis is racing with the best in the world, male or female.

Alexis’ car is a 10,000 horsepower Toyota Nitro Funny Car; it is regarded as one of the world’s most powerful race cars. Flying down the strip (the 1,000

foot stretch of road the race is held on) at 320 mph in less than 4 seconds, is not something for the faint hearted! As Alexis says “...there is nothing faster than this”. However that all pales into insignificance when she explains how the car is propelled: “...oh, it’s nitro methane, a liquid form of propane, it’s like a ticking time bomb”. So imagine taking a patio heater gas

“...there is nothing faster than this”


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“...you can’t get caught in emotion, you

don’t have time to make mistakes”


12 March 2015Photo credit: Gary Nastase Photography

March 2015 13

“My father brought me up that you need to learn all the aspects of something if you want to master it,”

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earned her stripes, and has chosen to learn all the various areas of the sport so that she can not only understand how it all works but because she felt it was the only way to race a Drag car at this level and get the respect. “My father brought me up that you need to learn all the aspects of something if you want to master it,” she says.

This has been Alexis’ dream since streetcar racing at sixteen with her friends and going to see her first drag race. As she says, “...it’s such a thrill, it captured my heart. I have a passion for this sport”. Nitro Funny Cars in the NHRA was her goal and she has achieved it the old fashioned way with dedication, hard work and commitment. The way others on the circuit treat her and are with her is testament to this fact.

It’s not just about driving the car though - it’s about how the driver processes everything at such speed over such a short space, as Alexis explained: “...it’s all over so quickly, but after +50 times your brain slows the whole process down, it seems like forever. You drive with peripheral vision; it’s incredible what the brain is capable of.” This for me is part of what is so enjoyable in listening to Alexis talk, not only is she passionate about what she does, but it’s the way that she marvels in all aspects, including how the human body/brain works.

When I first started finding more about Drag Racing, Alexis stood out for me in all the footage I watched and all I read about her. There was talk of ‘team and of family’ and images and footage of her and her team and family having a genuine connection. Without mentioning this observation to Alexis, she almost instantly started talking about the support from her family and her wonderful team. As she said second sentence in, “...it’s great to have my family around, they are so supportive”.

When we talk about her crew she makes it very clear that “...if a driver starts to think it’s about them it’s a

Photos credit: Gary Nastase Photography

March 2015 15

be the fastest driver”. Alexis is already the Quickest Woman in NHRA Funny Car History, recording 3.997 seconds for the track, as well as the most successful female drag racer of all time. This season the team sat at number 2 for a period and this makes her desire and target of number 1 very realistic and achievable.

Alexis is a racer who understands, appreciates and revels in all aspects of Drag Racing - and she isn’t going alone, she is taking her team and family with her. The way Alexis is, is contagious: you can’t help but come away from an encounter with Alexis without her enthusiasm for life and the love of what she does

rubbing off on you. The sense from talking with Alexis is that she has found peace and her place in this world and that makes for a very grounded, focused and exciting racer!

huge injustice to the team. They work so hard to get the cars ready, I couldn’t do it”. As I push her on the ‘team’ v ‘star’, she continues “....I love the team, they are like a second family”, “....they are a great group of guys that work with me on the team, I just steer the car down the strip”. Some may call it humility but I think there is more to it than that. She knows that she is a good driver but more importantly, she knows her role and she is comfortable in her own skin - which makes her for formidable on the track and incredibly grounded off it. Alexis knows where she is going but she wants to go there with the team/family, not over them. When speaking of her father and his support of her she says, “....seeing my dad finally being proud of his daughter means the world to me”. This speaks volumes of the person and where her values are at.

We spoke about women in sport and women who are in mixed sports such as she is and she is very clear: “I see myself as a drag racer, I don’t wave the pink flag, it’s not what I want to accomplish”. Having said that, Alexis is very quick to make sure I understand her, she appreciates the accolades and the records she breaks as a woman, but as she says, “I want to

“...it’s such a thrill, it captured my heart...”


16 March 2015

Pioneer

The Late Princess Lalla Aicha of Morocco When we started this new feature last issue we couldn’t

even have begun to imagine the incredible stories that

we would find as we started our search for

Pioneers of Sport. The Late Princess Lalla

Aicha is by no means an exception to this;

she was an incredible force in the Arab

world not just for Golf but as symbol to

the Moroccan people and to the world for

her diplomacy.

Princess Lalla Aicha was born in Rabat in

1930 to the Sultan (later king Mohammed

V) and his wife Lalla Abla bint Tahar. The Princess

supported her father’s quest for independence and

stood by him when he was deposed by the French

in 1953 and exiled. In 1955 Sultan Mohammed V

successfully negotiated the gradual restoration of

Moroccan independence and returned to Morocco,

after which he became known as Abb al-Watan al-

Maghribi (Father of the Moroccan Nation).

In April 1947 on a visit to Tangiers, the Sultan gave a

speech in which he declared the unity of the Moroccan

nation under his sovereignty, without any reference to

the French and Spanish protectorates. Princess Lalla

Aicha, who was only seventeen at the time, stood on

the podium with her father, without a veil and dressed

like a modern Western woman. Princess Lalla Aicha

and her brother Hassan both gave speeches. In her

speech Princess Lalla Aicha urged women to take

part in the political sphere and fight for their freedom

alongside with men. She emphasised how her father

had encouraged her to study modern languages and

classical Arabic, the lingua franca of public discourse

in the Arab world.

She was the very first princess to give a speech on

women’s liberation in Morocco and became the

symbol of Moroccan independence and

feminism. She called for equal rights for

men and women, and for women’s right

to vote. In 1957 Time Magazine featured

a photograph of Princess Lalla Aicha

on its front cover, the only Moroccan

woman at that time to have been thus

honoured. In the interview with Time

Magazine, Princess Lalla Aicha was

quoted as saying that she had not

realised the impact her speech would make.

The Late Princess quickly became a symbol of Moroccan

independence and feminism. Nationalist leaders sent

their daughters off for a modern education, without a

veil and others soon followed. She accompanied her

Photos courtesy: Association du Trophee HassanII de Golf

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Pioneer

Photo courtesy: Association du Trophee HassanII de Golf

18 March 2015

father in his inaugurations of public schools around

the country and her name became associated with

women’s emancipation. For this reason many schools

were named after her.

Princess Lalla Aicha was the first female Arab

ambassador, holding several diplomatic positions in her

time: Ambassador of Morocco to the United Kingdom

(1965-1969), Greece (1969-1970) and Italy (1970-1973).

In Britain, her example of female leadership in the Arab

world continues: her niece, Princess Lalla Joumala, is

the current Moroccan ambassador to the UK.

Throughout her lifetime, she received many honours

including Grand Cordon of the Order of the Throne

of Morocco (1963), Grand Cross of the Order of

Merit of the Republic of Italy (1970), Honorary Dame

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (DCVO)

(1980) and President of the Moroccan Red Crescent.

She was also the honorary president of the National

Union of Moroccan Women, amongst many other

roles.

“Late Princess Lalla Aicha, aunt of HM King Mohammed

VI, was a pioneer of Moroccan women’s renaissance

and a living and completed embodiment of the merger

between the country’s authenticity and its aspirations

to progress, modernity and civic mindedness.”

Her Royal Highness late Princess Lalla Aicha was not

only a keen golfer but she was hugely instrumental in

the growth of women’s golf in Morocco and contributed

enormously to its development. She participated in

the Hassan II Golf Trophy and Lalla Meryem Cup since

Photos courtesy: Ladies European tour


March 2015 19

the 1970s and amazingly played 18 holes every day until she passed away

on the 4th of September, 2011 at the age of 81.

In 2012, the year after her death, the first edition of Lalla Aicha Tour School

started. Association du Trophée Hassan II Golf (ATH) and the Ladies

European Tour (LET) have developed a strong partnership with shared

vision to grow participation and interest in women’s golf.

The Ladies European Tour Qualifying School was renamed the Lalla Aicha Tour School in honour of Her Royal Highness Late Princess Lalla Aicha.

What an incredible pioneer that has seen her legacy fulfilled in the LET Tour School and all the good it brings to golf not only in Morocco, but around the world. What a person she must have been to talk with.

References:

Responsible Communication, Association du Trophée Hassan II de Golf

http://www.moroccoboard.com/viewpoint-5/124-zouhair-baghough-/5413-

morocco-princess-royal-lalla-aisha-dead-at-71

http://www.golftoday.co.uk/ladies_golf/2012/LET/let_school-morocco.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Lalla_Aicha_of_Morocco

http://www.ladiesontour.com/news-mobile/4659-lalla-aicha-tour-school-

extended-for-three-years

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/princess-lal la-aicha-

womensrights-activist-and-first-female-arab-ambassador-2370954.html



20 March 2015

Sports International Magazine Promotion

A sponsors point of view - The attraction of Women’s Cycling By Kelly Barnes

Yellow Jersey Cycle Insurance is a leading brand

specialising in bicycle insurance for the enthusiast

market and a sponsor of Matrix Pro Cycling. Yellow

Jersey alongside many other brands are capitalising

on the huge success of team GB cyclists and triathletes

at London 2012. Post Olympics, the cycle industry has

seen a tremendous uplift and women’s cycling is fast

becoming the strongest area for commercial growth

within cycling.

Kelly Barnes, Yellow Jersey Cycle Insurance Head of

Marketing, tells us why women’s cycling is an attractive

proposition for sponsors...

Why sponsor women’s cycling?

I will start by saying that I first met the Matrix Pro

Cycling owner manager, Stefan Wyman at the Tour De

France stage in London and was impressed by how

passionate he was about women’s cycling and playing

an active role in helping to develop the sport – not

just his team. Meeting Stefan filled me with confidence

about placing our marketing budget in a women’s

cycling team.

However...as a marketeer, it’s not all about seeing your

brands logo on the jersey of a pro cycling team – as

impressive as that may be. With marketing budgets

under pressure, all spend has to be accountable

against KPI’s and generate a measurable return for

the business. That’s why I championed the decision

to sponsor Matrix Pro Cycling. I’m a keen cyclist, a

pretty slow triathlete and passionate about supporting

Photo credit: Huw Williams

March 2015 21

women’s cycling, but it was commercial factors that

drove our sponsorship decision. For Yellow Jersey, it

provided a clear return on investment.

Yellow Jersey specialises in insurance for the mid to

higher end of the market (bicycles ranging from £1000

right up to £30’000) and so we needed to reach an

audience who would own and ride this type of bicycle

– we call this our enthusiast market. As a new brand

the key for our marketing is brand awareness, product

visibility and educating the enthusiast market about

why they need cycle insurance - and women’s cycling

provides that marketing opportunity while offering us

immense value for our marketing spend. From research

we know that women’s cycling is a rapidly growing

sector within the enthusiast market and through our

sponsorship of a British female professional team

we can target not only women but also a large male

audience who are interested in, and watch, top flight

women’s cycling.

I firmly believe that women’s cycling provides sponsors

with unrivalled value across many areas. As part of our

sponsorship we receive a number of benefits which

spread across the whole marketing mix. The following

sponsorship elements provide Yellow Jersey with

multiple opportunities to reach, educate and engage

our target audience:

Yellow Jersey cycle insurance logo placement in a

prominent position on the team jerseys is a big brand

awareness win for us.

Corporate days with the team allow us to engage


22 March 2015

on a B2B level and provide a rewarding experience for our top affiliates

(yellowjersey.co.uk/affiliates)

VIP access to the team on race days allows us to engage with fans and our

target market face to face.

Logo and links on matrixprocycling.cc link back to our website and provides

us with measurable SEO benefits.

Media exposure via television and the press gives us large scale visibility.

Marketing assets including imagery, video content, and rider blogs provide

engaging content for our audience and drives traffic to our website.

Personal appearances from the team/riders to support Yellow Jersey

activity helps to build interest in our brand. A recent example of our activity

at the London Bike Show.

A corporate social responsibility channel for us to demonstrate our active

involvement with promoting the development of women’s cycling and

encouraging healthy, active role models for young women.

Sports International Magazine Promotion


March 2015 23

Our key sponsorship benefits allow us to ultimately promote our cycle

insurance product to our target market and a wider audience. Job done.

Sponsorship – essential for growth in women’s cycling?

Sponsorship plays a huge role in the progression of women’s cycling,

without commercial investment the gulf between men’s and women’s

cycling will be extremely difficult to bridge any time soon. An increase in

tier one sponsors will undoubtedly help to grow women’s cycling - if large

and international brands bring investment, this will impact on the level of

the sport and in turn encourage increased media attention. Although the

issue is that until women’s cycling is given equal media rights (bringing

richer rewards for brands), larger sponsors may not see the value in placing

their sponsorship budgets in women’s cycling.

The development of women’s cycling must therefore be firmly placed in

the hands of media and broadcasters who should commit to serving their

audience with the content they wish to consume. With a rapidly growing

women’s cycling market and superstars including Laura Trott, Nicole

Cooke and Victoria Pendleton winning the hearts of the nation, there is no

real argument why women’s cycling is not getting a better deal and more

airtime from broadcasters. While professional women’s cycling is receiving

more cover than before, there is still a way to go.

Sponsors themselves have a role to play in promoting women’s cycling,

by activating sponsorship deals the brands can use marketing campaigns

and PR to highlight and bring added momentum to the sport, helping to

encourage increased media and public interest. As a sponsor, Yellow Jersey

plan to play our part in promoting women’s cycling by working closely with

Matrix Pro Cycling and proudly help to develop the sport.

To protect your passion visit Yellowjersey.co.uk and get an instant quote online.

24 March 2015

Invicta Fighting Championships


Women’s sport globally has many challenges with

some sports being better funded, or with more media

coverage and attention than others. As well as this

there is a huge disparity between the ‘haves’ and ‘have

not’ sports - and yet on top of all of this there are some

sports that have the challenge of not only showing

the public it is right and acceptable for women to

participate in these sports, but also legally (as in the

– the birth of a new world

case of boxing, see our other article in this issue).

MMA (mixed martial arts), cage fighting, UFC (ultimate

fight club) are all terms used to describe a full-contact

combat sport that allows the use of both striking

and grappling techniques, both standing and on the

ground; and that differentiates it from a variety of other

combat sports and martial arts.

March 2015 25

The sport has been an incredibly hard one to sell

to people around the world for numerous reasons,

and yet now it seems to finally be emerging from its

dingy reputation into a sport that is being watched

internationally, with women as the headline on male

fight events and a respectability being brought to the

sport. Step forward Shannon Knapp.

Shannon has spent her life in the world of MMA on

the mens side of things, working across all aspects,

working for and with many of the big names that

would be familiar to those who know the sport. When

Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, purchased its

rival Strikeforce in 2011, Shannon had a number of

conversations and calls from female fighters who were

afraid of what the future might hold for them since the

UFC had never promoted a women’s fight. As Shannon

reflects “...women were scared, they were worried”.

Much time was spent looking into the situation and

researching what it would take to establish a women’s

Photo credit: Esther Lin, Invicta FC

Photo courtesy: Invicta FC

26 March 2015

Photos credit: Esther Lin, Invicta FC

March 2015 27


28 March 2015

only MMA promotion and by her own admission there

was a great deal of negativity and many people who said

that a women’s only MMA promotion wouldn’t work.

Shannon laughs as she recalls those conversations.

“Every time I told someone what I was going to do

they laughed at me. They said I couldn’t do it.” But as

she explains, “I love it when someone says that you

can’t, it’s just more motivation for me”.

Against the odds, on the 28th of April 2012 Invicta FC 1

was held after a year in the making. Shannon was very

clear in her desire to use the word Invicta and in a way,

it sums up both Shannon as a person and how she sees

things. The term Invicta, a Latin word for invincible and

incomparable, was chosen as the promotion’s name

since the terms invincible and incomparable are very

masculine, but the term appears in the feminine form in

Latin - and Shannon thought it was a good description

for women’s MMA and what she was wanting to

achieve. She comments that “I had no idea if it would

work, but it did and with a bang!”

The event was streamed live around the world for

free to showcase what was happening, history in the

making. As Shannon says, “...we wanted all to watch

and be involved and so it was all streamed free to

start”. The event was a success and Invicta has grown

from strength to strength, with Invicta FC 11 just

announced for the 27th of February 2015.

One of the things that has really impressed me in all

the dealings and conversations with Shannon and

the team at Invicta FC is the total commitment to the

athletes, the sport and its global promotion. This is

refreshing to see in a sport where this so often doesn’t

happen. The feeling coming from all of the team is very

much one that the athlete comes first and that they are

all there to promote and improve the sport they love.

Talking with Shannon it is clear how passionate she is

about the athletes. “I am protective of the athletes,

I will fight for them and they can always call me,”

she says of how she feels about them. In our long


March 2015 29

to put on the best show and the best fights, you have

to go find the best and they don’t always live in the

USA.” She continues, saying that “...the best matches

around the world give the best opportunities”. Who

could have said it any better?

Huge respect to Shannon for achieving what seemed

like an almost impossible job in creating a women’s

only promotion, one that is global and whose aim is to

both serve the athletes and improve the sport. What a

great ethos to have as a promotion.

Note: In January 2015 the Promotion beat the UFC by 4% of the community vote, winning the 2014 Best Promotion Award in the Awakening Fighters WMMA Awards.

conversation this theme is interlinked with everything

we talk about. This is not a sound bite for the media

but how Shannon feels - and she has surrounded

herself with a like minded team. The interesting thing

is that what is best for the athlete is also what is best for

the fans in the long term - and so it’s a smart business

decision as well. So often promotions are built on a

short term plan to bring in a lot of money, but Shannon

and Invicta Fighting Championships are marching to a

different drum.

As a global magazine the obvious thing for us is that

we want to see true ‘global’ sports where athletes

cross borders to compete and it’s exciting to hear that

Shannon and Invicta FC feel the same. As Shannon

said, “...if you make a commitment that you are going


30 March 2015

Thailand Women’s Cricket Team A sporting success story from the Kingdom of smiles

By Richard Lockwood

Thailand is not best known for playing cricket but the country has had a long history of expatriates playing cricket and some wonderful grounds have been developed both in the nation’s capital Bangkok and in the northern city of Chiang Mai.

In recent years Thailand’s women’s cricket team has put the country firmly on the cricketing map by winning two Asian Cricket Council women’s competitions and by giving a fantastic account of themselves in the 2013 ICC Women’s World

T20 Qualifier held in Ireland. Better things could still be ahead for the Thailand girls as Bangkok has been chosen to host the next ICC Women’s T20 Qualifier in November 2015 where home advantage could help them make their way into the main World T20 competition which will be played in India next year.

The beginning of this success story for Thailand women’s cricket is to be found in the schools cricket program that has been developed by

the Cricket Association of Thailand from the early 2000s. Dedicated volunteers working for organizations such as Chiang Mai Schools Cricket Association started softball cricket in the schools and recent years has seen more concentration on hard ball cricket and National Youth Championships are now held every year.

Cricket has become part of the Sports Association of Thailand’s National Youth Games which

Photos credit: Richard Lockwood

March 2015 31

gave cricket official status in Thailand with boys and girls competitions involving provinces and late last year cricket took its place in the Senior Games as an official sport for the first time.

Girls from around the country now have the chance to go to school at CPP School in Doi Saket near Chiang Mai and at the new Rattanakosin Cricket Academy near Bangkok and concentrate on practising cricket every day as well as to get a good education.

This pathway continues beyond school age as girls are sponsored to go to college and university and several of the players now work full time


32 March 2015Photos credit: Richard Lockwood

March 2015 33

34 March 2015

with the Cricket Association of Thailand and are fully trained coaches, umpires and scorers and they will be fully involved in the next National Youth Games in March. The women’s team also plays against men’s team in the Bangkok Cricket League so the youngsters and the older players can be involved in cricket on a full time basis.

The Cricket Association of Thailand’s efforts began to pay dividends at ACC U-19 Women’s Championship held in Thailand in 2008 where the girls finished third and the senior matched that achievement by beating Nepal in thrilling fashion in the ACC Women’s T20 Championship held in Kuwait in 2011.

The introduction of cricket at the 16th Asian Games held at Guanggong International Cricket Stadium in Guangzhou in 2010 gave Thailand’s women some wider international exposure as they played in a group with Pakistan, Malaysia and China. Results were mixed as they lost to Pakistan by eight wickets, beat Malaysia by 31 runs and narrowly lost to China by one run.

Thailand’s next major competition saw them take part in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup also held in Guangzhou in October 2012. It was the first time that the country’s team had taken part in a competition with the four main Asian countries.

Thailand finished with an encouraging win against Hong Kong winning by 8 runs. Hong Kong had won the previous ACC Women’s Championship so it was another step in the right direction.

A trip of a lifetime for the Thai girls as they qualified for the ICC Women’s World Twenty20

Qualifier in Ireland in July 2013 and the team again surpassed all expectations. They won three of their five matches in the competition. Although they just missed out on the semi-finals by losing to Zimbabwe in their last group match, victory over the same opposition in the Shield final meant they had won their second trophy of the year. Thailand could be delighted with their performance in this important competition.

The team convincingly won the Shield competition and Thailand were now ranked as high as twelfth place in women’s 20-over cricket which is an outstanding achievement. The country of Thailand could be proud of their women’s team which had put the country very much on the cricketing map.

The icing on the cake for Thailand came as they were named as women’s team of the year by the Asian Cricket Council and then they also won the International Cricket Council’s women’s award to

March 2015 35

more matches against this standard of opposition if they are to progress further and their chance will come as Bangkok will stage the next edition of the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier in November 2015.

Two of the bodies that should get great credit for supporting junior cricket development are the Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes which is an annual tournament now in its 28th year which makes an annual donation to junior cricket every year and the Chiang Mai Schools Cricket Alliance (CMSCA) which has paid for coaches to work in the schools for the last 15 years and holds regular Sawasdee Cricket tournaments.

For more information about Thailand women’s

cricket see: www.lannacricket.org

The Cricket Association of Thailand and Asian

Cricket Council also both have their own websites

and facebook pages.

complete a wonderful year for Thailand’s women cricketers.

Thailand’s women’s cricket team took to the world stage again, as they competed in the women’s 20-over cricket competition in the Asian Games which was held in Incheon, South Korea where they were hoping to win a medal.

Pakistan went on to retain their Asian Games women’s cricket title as they overcame Bangladesh in the final. Thailand need to play



36 March 2015

“Move over, Darling

...the girls are here”Photos courtesy: Aintree Racecourse

March 2015 37

“Move over, Darling

...the girls are here”

38 March 2015

By Harriet Rochester

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, a feminist’s attempt to promote the cause of votes for women resulted in her tragic death in the Epsom Derby. The suffragette Emily Davison was fatally injured after throwing herself under the King’s horse Anmer. No single event in the years of campaigning drew as much attention or sympathy, and within ten years, women had the vote.

Horseracing was the stage for a women’s rights breakthrough, but generations later, has it provided women with a level playing field? Not yet, but women are making headway on the racecourse and in the C-suites.

Analyze the diversity within horseracing today and the outlook is refreshing. Alongside a Lord you can find industrialists, farmers and postmen admiring their racehorse in the paddock. Strenuous efforts by racecourses and centrally by Great British Racing, the promotional arm of the sport, are being made to market race-going to a broader and younger demographic, including young women, via fixtures with music and ladies days as examples.

British horseracing offers plenty of female role models, particular in the training ranks. Two of the last six winners of the Grand National were trained by women - Venetia Williams (2009) and Sue Smith (2013), and in that time, fifty per cent of winners at Grade 1 Saturday fixtures were trained by women. Plenty of talent has emerged among female jockeys, too. Following in the footsteps of international role models like Emma-Jayne Wilson and Julie Krone, Hayley Turner became the first woman to win a British Group 1 race outright in 2011 and a year later Amy Ryan was the first to win the apprentice jockey’s title.

“They’re only men sitting on horses,” said 21 year old Lizzie Kelly after beating top jockey Richard Johnson

last November. Lizzie is one of the country’s most promising conditional jump jockeys. Yet despite her achievements and those of such as Lucy Alexander, women are still under- represented on the racetrack, particularly in jump racing. One statistic of concern is the lack of conversion of female stable staff to jockeys. At the UK’s Northern Racing College, seven

Photos courtesy: Aintree Racecourse

March 2015 39

out of 10 youngsters on the stable staff foundation course are women – but on the apprentice jockeys’ course, the proportions are reversed.

This could be danger-driven; the racecourse is only workplace where two ambulances follow the payroll as it goes about its daily routine. However, any jockey

will admit she (or he) accepts the risk in return for the ‘buzz’ of race-riding.

“Men ride a stronger a finish” is sometimes dusted off as a trainer’s pretext for favouring a male jockey booking. It’s the soft option; there are plenty of examples where women riders are as effective as

40 March 2015

men. In Eventing, an equestrian sport where the cross-country phase has similarities to race riding, nine of the top 20 British-based riders are female.

“We need to ensure we treat every individual on merit rather than preconceptions,” says Steve Harman, chairman of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). “We’re running training programmes for jockeys, with ‘jockey coaches’ providing mentoring and guidance, equally to young male and female jockeys.”

One feature of British racing’s treatment of lady jockeys is worth a salute: on the flat and over jumps, men and women are paid the same riding fees. Set against females regarded as second-class citizens in many other sports, that’s something for British racing to be proud about.

John Baker of the Jockey Club’s north-west region racecourses recognises that female jockeys deserve more opportunities. In 2011, he introduced Carlisle racecourse’s Ultimate Ladies Night, the only fixture in the world where all the jockeys riding are women.

“We wanted to add a new dimension to Carlisle’s traditional ladies night. How better than staging an exclusive opportunity for lady jockeys to showcase their talent? It’s important for horseracing that we nurture female role models – and that’s in management as well as on the track.”

March 2015 41

Examine the business side of horseracing, and women appear to have been left in the stalls, particularly at senior level. Change is in the air, however. In December, the BHA moved to balance their board by appointing six new non-executive directors, three men and three women. “There’s proof everywhere that more diverse businesses are more successful,” Steve Harman points out.

Sally Rowley-Williams, founder and chair of Women in Racing, and organisation supporting women’s careers in the sport, hails the move: “Change needs to start

from the top, and the BHA’s new appointments are good. All parties engaged in the sport need to evolve into more gender-balanced organisations, with at least 30 per cent – as a start – of boards and executive directors made up of qualified women”. On Twitter, Helen Grant, the UK’s sports minister, also tweeted her approval.

Aintree’s ladies day has been labeled by the UK’s tabloid press as more about partying than the horse, but this year Rose Paterson, chairman and first lady chair of a UK racecourse, together with

Photos courtesy: Aintree Racecourse

42 March 2015

Women in Racing, will host the first Grand Women’s Summit, featuring a panel from horseracing and other sports. John Baker explains that the summit, “recognises the importance of women in sport and business.”

So what next? Katie Walsh is tipped to become the first woman to win the ultimate test of horse and jockey – the Grand National. She finished third in 2013 riding Seabass, the best result so far by any female.

Not only would a woman piloting a Grand National winner be worldwide news, and a coup for inspiring women in sport, but @geoffbanksbet offered me 25/1 against a female jockey to win this year’s event. I’ll take that, thank you - as well as any other wager on women featuring at the head of British horseracing’s future.

Note: Steve Harman and Rose Paterson will join the

panel at the Grand Women’s Summit followed by a

walk of the Grand National course with Katie Walsh,

on Ladies Day of the Grand National festival, 10 April

2015. For further information www.womeninracing.

co.uk

Photos courtesy: Carlisle Racecourse

March 2015 43

FRIDAY 10 APRIL

LADIES DAY at THE CRABBIE’S GRAND NATIONAL FESTIVAL

Be a part of the first ever Grand Women’s Summithosted by Aintree Racecourse and Women in Racing,

with an excellent panel of speakers including:DR DENISE BARRETTBAXENDALE MBE

BETH TWEDDLE MBEROSE PATERSONSTEVE HARMAN

Plus, a course walk around the iconic Grand National Fences with KATIE WALSH

Tickets cost £70 for Women in Racing members and £99 for guests.

Includes Champagne reception and breakfast, The Grand Women’s Summit, course walk with Katie Walsh,

raceday admission to Ladies Day in the Earl of Derby and Lord Sefton enclosures. Men and women welcome.

For information and to book visit www.womeninracing.co.uk

GRAND WOMEN’S SUMMIT

Photos courtesy: Carlisle Racecourse

44 March 2015

Shannon KnappPresident and Founder of Invicta Fighting Championships

Photos courtesy: Invicta FC

March 2015 45

Shannon Knapp


“The reason Invicta is here is because there is a need for it, to provide opportunity and make sport better,” is part of Shannon Knapp’s opening gambit as we sit to discuss her, MMA (mixed martial arts) and Invicta Fighting Championships, the only global women’s MMA promotion, founded by her. The interesting thing is that all of the interview with Shannon could be distilled into those opening words. She is as passionate as the best, but it’s a lot more than passion. It’s a total, unwavering belief in what she is doing and the desire to improve the sport and the platform for the athletes. As Shannon says, “I came in thinking I could make a difference. They needed a platform and someone to roll their sleeves up and get involved.” And that is what she did and what is driving her like a sandstorm to do it.

The politics of combative sports, in particular Boxing and MMA, can be huge. When I asked Shannon how she deals with the politics, she didn’t hesitate with her answer. “I don’t get involved in politics, its black and white, I don’t have time for it.” I found her reasoning interesting: by getting involved in politics “...you’re taking effort away from where it belongs. You are taking focus away from what’s important.” It’s great to

Photos courtesy: Invicta FC


46 March 2015

see influential people being so clear on matters like this.

This is a notoriously tough industry and one that has not welcomed women very easily, so setting up and having a successful women’s only promotion was like pushing water uphill on every level for Shannon, but she tackled each issue with the charm and steel that her grandmother taught her. As she regales, “...my grandma used to say you can catch more bees with honey than vinegar”.

What sets Shannon apart is an unwavering set of principles that ensures there is no compromise and these are:

• A desire to see the sport grow• No exit clause in the contracts of her athletes (if

you are here it’s cause you will be loyal)• To be a platform for female fighters• To provide opportunity • Create and provide depth to the sport• Exposure for the sport and athletes • Put on the best show and the best fights• Proud, respectful and pleased with what they are

doing for the sport• Athletes come firstThese nine principles may seem obvious, but the world is full of stories to prove this is far from the norm. For Shannon however, it is the norm and anything else is not an option.

I asked Shannon about some of the stories that I have

heard regarding how she is with the athletes and the level of care she gives them, it clearly is second nature to her, just part of what she does.

The first is that she spends one on one time with each athlete getting to know them. As she then explains, “...for me it’s about having conversations about what they want and their dreams.” Shannon wants athletes in Invicta who are clear on what they want and where they are going, but also so that she can help them grow and develop to their potential. And if

this means them leaving Invicta FC at a point and she believes this is right for them, she won’t stand in their way. She wants committed but happy athletes and going about it this way really engages the athletes.

Second, and this may sound simple and obvious but it isn’t, multiple pregnancy tests are done minutes before a fight. This may seem late, maybe it should be done a week before or even as some promotions do, leave it to the fighter to sort out, but for Invicta FC it’s about the best possible care and if a test was done a week before that could have changed, and multiple tests also ensure that one isn’t inaccurate. Shannon’s motivation is that she cares about the athletes and this is her chance to, as she says, “...make a difference”.

In doing these sorts of things Shannon is gaining huge loyalty and thankfulness from athletes who would have never had the opportunities had she not created them. As Shannon excitedly describes this, she says”...you know how gratifying it is when

“The reason Invicta is here is because there is a need for it, to provide opportunity and make sport better,”

March 2015 47

started talking about her struggles. These are not the struggles I would have assumed before I met her but ones that make perfect sense now I understand more about her. As Shannon explained “..my biggest struggle has been the responsibility I feel for the athletes.” This theme continues as she explains her desire to do the best for the athletes both on and off the fight scene - and that this is what drives her to make Invicta FC a success, a fear that if she doesn’t

athletes turn up with that sparkle in their eyes and they are so happy to be there? That’s why I do it.” For Shannon this is what it’s all about and she is buzzing, you can just hear how excited she is and how she can see a dream becoming a reality as these athletes get opportunities and a platform they never had before but which they now have.

The interesting thing in all of my time with Shannon is that money hardly comes up and doesn’t feature in the conversation. For Shannon this is about everything but. As she explains, “...it’s not about money, it never has been, everything is about making the sport better.” And that’s it. Simple as that, Shannon is on a quest, a mission and it’s about doing the right thing and not about the money.

This is further illustrated perfectly when Shannon


48 March 2015

manage to do so, all the athletes would have nothing and nowhere to go. This admission says so much about the person that Shannon is as well as so much about what she isn’t.

Invicta is not about a promotion business for Shannon Knapp, it’s about making a choice to be counted, standing up and being a pioneer in a sport, it’s about wanting to change an industry for good and to improve the lot of the athlete. It is plain to see and hear not only the passion but the love of the sport that Shannon has and it is this that motivates her. “That’s what this is about, providing opportunity and giving back to a sport that has given me growth, years of development and enjoyment. I love this sport”.

These aren’t merely words - you can sense the emotion and the conviction she speaks with and this is what makes her so special: her motivation is to

6875s Spur UK Kids Ad.indd 1 2015/02/19 12:34 PM

improve the sport and the athletes who love to do what they do. Is this not what those that went before us and those that compete out of a love for the sport thought and felt when they invented these sports, the desire to improve a sport? Well, Invicta and Shannon have nailed it and you would be hard pressed to find anyone more passionate.


March 2015 49

By Myak Homberger

This is your third time as coach for the World Cup, how do you feel going into this competition?

Every tournament is a challenge and very special. I am really looking forward to the World Cup in Canada.

Since the last World Cup what areas of the team do you think have improved most?

The international Women’s Football keeps improving and so it has for years. The quality on the pitch has grown, technically and tactically as well as athletically.

The team is one of the most successful in the world what do you think is it is that makes them successful?

On the one hand, the German FA (DFB) has supported women’s football

Sylvia Neid, manager of the German Football Team

Photo courtesy: FIFA

50 March 2015

Photos credit: Myroslava Terlecky

March 2015 51

for years. In Germany we have excellent conditions to improve our sport, with a good structure and an outstanding youth and talent development. On the other hand we have the Allianz Frauen-Bundesliga with its Top-Clubs, so that the players perform on a high level.

You have blended experience with youth very well how do you ensure the young are focused on the game rather than playing and training with their heros?

Of course the young players have a lot of respect playing together with their role models for the first time. But the experienced players take away their anxiety very fast, because we see ourselves as one team and we do live the teamspirit. That was one of the reasons why we became European Champion in 2013 with such a young team.

The team only conceded 4 goals in qualifying but scored 62, this is a very impressive record but also that you have done this for two

World Cups. Some teams are happy to qualify with draws and losses, you clearly don’t, why is this?

We could not take it for granted that we win all the matches. We went in all matches with a high level of concentration and respect for our opponent. That was a mental challenge and we did very well with the brilliant results.

Injuries have been a challenge in the past and yet your bench has supplied you with very good alternatives, is the injury situation a concern to you?

With Lena Lotzen, Saskia Bartusiak and Nadine Keßler we have three important players who are still injured. At the 2013 EURO we had to change numerous positions because of injured players. Every coach worries about player injury, because it is important to go through a tournament healthy to be successful.

You are one of the most successful and well known coaches in the world, what is it that has made you who you are?

I learned a lot by Gero Bisanz, the first women’s national coach. Although

“As a coach you have to bear responsibility. Indeed you are part of a team, but in the end it is your job to make a decision on your own responsibility.”

52 March 2015

I learned a lot by Tina Theune in my years as Assistant-Coach. The experiences with those wonderful headcoaches have influenced me a lot.

What is it that makes you get up in the morning, what motivates you?

I love my job, the sport and the big challenge coaching a national team. On top of that it is a lot of fun to work with the players.

Regarded as one, if not the best German player ever was coaching the obvious next step for you?

Yes it was.

Many women talk of the challenge of transition from player to career after playing, how was the transition for you and what were the challenges?

As a coach you have to bear responsibility. Indeed you are part of a team, but in the end it is your job to make a decision on your own responsibility.

What is the difference for you between playing and coaching?

As a player you can live your emotions rather than as a coach.

How do you keep the teams’ feet on the ground when they are so good and a definite contender to lift the cup? To keep their focus?

I am very happy to have such intelligent players who know exactly that we have to go step by step to be successful. My team is modest and focused and not so arrogant to believe that they win a big tournament for granted.

Photo credit: Myroslava Terlecky

March 2015 53

Do you feel any pressure based on your past success?

As a German team you are always under pressure of expectations. But you have to work hard for such a situation and we did by being successful. So for us it is not a new situation.

How do you motivate your players?

It is important to find the right words and the right tone.

When the team is under pressure what do you say to them at half time? How do you handle things?

It depends on the situation. You always have to try to find the right words and the best decision.

You are one of only 7 female coaches at this World Cup, what would your message be to aspiring female coaches?

Dare!

Photo courtesy: FIFA

54 March 2015

“I think sports gave me the first place where this awkward girl could feel comfortable in my own skin. I think that’s true for a lot of women—sports gives you a part of your life where you can work at something and you look in the mirror and you like that person.”

Teri McKeever

(first woman to serve as the head coach of a U.S. Olympic swimming team)


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March 2015 55


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56 March 2015Photos: Ryan Ashburn / Skaters Beverly Flood & Cassie Oseguera

March 2015 57


Every now and then you stumble across something different, exciting and something that really resonates with you. When I came across the “Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word” (GN4LW) website and campaign I was very keen to understand what it was as there seemed so many components to it, so when I spoke to Founder Cindy Whitehead I was not disappointed at all.

GN4LW was born out of Cindy’s experiences in the 70’s being one of the leading pro-skateboarders in a very male world. By the time she was sixteen, Cindy had become one of the top female professional vert skateboarders. With this backdrop Cindy explains to me what the phrase means. “Girl is often used as a slur as in ‘you skate pretty good... for a GIRL’ or when you hear people say things like ‘Steve, you throw like a GIRL.’ Those are instances of people using

58 March 2015

the female gender as a putdown. A 4 letter word is also known as a cuss word. So ‘Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word’ covers those bases and makes it known that the word GIRL is neither.”

This is an incredibly powerful message that Cindy has harnessed and in so doing created the GN4LW campaign. The way Cindy has approached things is unique, creating a clothing line as well as agreeing a couple of collaborations that make real commercial sense as well as complementing her vision, and a slogan/logo that makes a statement. The clothing range is so far removed from the heat pressed-one-colour-tees you so often see and given Cindy’s background, you would expect no less.

Cindy explained the concept behind her range: “...because people who didn’t even skate liked the message and wanted t-shirts, as did the skater girls”. This is the key: people liked the message and wanted to buy into it - and for any campaign capturing the imagination is key. Cindy has realized that and

delivered the goods. People can promote the message and still feel cool, something that is often overlooked.

Dwindle Inc/Dusters California and XS Helmets have both seen Cindy’s vision and they are working with GN4LW in a ground breaking way. Yes, it’s about companies that understand the mission - but Cindy is very clear that this isn’t just a shelf filler and being seen to be ‘doing something for girls’, but that there has to be real sales from it and it needs to work for both parties. Cindy expanded on her view of the companies she is working with, saying that “..the companies I chose to be involved with are not doing this as a vanity project; they are in it for all the right reasons and working with me to create a product that is both functional and geared for women”.

However, it doesn’t stop there (and this is the bit I find exciting) - as part of a collaborative project with GN4LW the companies have to join in giving back to the sport that gave so much to Cindy. For Dusters

March 2015 59

“...people who didn’t even skate liked the message and wanted t-shirts, as did the skater girls”.

Photo: Todd Fuller / Skater Minna Stess

60 March 2015

Photos courtesy :GN4LW/Ian Logan

Photo: Todd Fuller / Skater Beverly Flood

March 2015 61Photo: Ian Logan / Skater Cassie Oseguera

62 March 2015

WOMEN’S SPORT TRUSTWORKS TO: • RAISE VISIBILITY • PROMOTE ROLE MODELS • INCREASE MEDIA COVERAGE • IMPROVE FUNDINGOF WOMEN’S SPORT

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edit:

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GET INVOLVED womenssporttrust.com@WomenSportTrust

@Sport_Beautiful

that means Cindy selected a female based non-profit organization that helps girls in skateboarding and Dusters donate a portion of the sales of each board to them; XS Helmets will be donating a bunch of the GN4LW helmets to a non-profit that helps kids in inner cities learn to skate.

When I asked Cindy how she talks these companies round, she said “You need to connect with women and girls, be involved in ALL aspects of the project and really be 100% excited about what you are doing and those around you (like the big companies) will be onboard”. So this ticks every box: the companies are involved because they see the vision, they are getting sales because people love the message and they are giving back with each sale and the message is spread further. What a result!

Photo: GN4LW / Skater Kyra Williams

March 2015 63

The logo for GN4LW has again been thought out very clearly, as Cindy explained: “my thoughts were, there is nothing that says a girl can’t like pink and also be totally kick ass. I honed in on the idea of a pink heart and doing the edgy lettering to balance it out. We also felt that the three colors (pink, gold & black) all worked well together.”

This theme continued as I asked Cindy about her views for GN4LW and athletes. She says “...we are all athletes, but yes, we are female. There is no denying that. But I think we are all on the same path here – people should never say things like “you are good for a GIRL.” It should be “you are good at what you do” PERIOD. For example, when Alana Smith did a backflip on the mini mega ramp in South Africa

this past year she was the only girl in that event and the first girl to accomplish this move on a mega in competition – but at the end of the day she is a PERSON who had the balls to do an insanely hard trick on a huge ramp.” A trick so hard it would scare most people rigid. Yet, Cindy adds, “...she pulled it off flawlessly – she won first place and it was well deserved. No one (that I know of) has ever said ‘wow, that was good... for a girl’. It’s frigging amazing.

Period”. No one can argue with that!

What I like is that it is such a strong message that is in no way diluted or ashamed, yet not sensational and

very importantly, it is commercial as well. Commercial in the sense people want to wear it and use it and a project that the companies see the benefit of fiscally as well.

Cindy is giving so much of her time to GN4LW because she believes in helping women & girls get visibility and get ahead in whatever they choose to do, and because she wants to give back to a sport that she feels has given her so much. As she says “I feel that skateboarding has done a lot for me. Being a female skater among mostly guys, gave me strength, confidence, and motivation and I feel that has helped me so much in my career as a stylist and in life”.

It may have started as a skateboard focused mission given Cindy’s history, but it is already changing - so watch this space and see where this goes because this a great vehicle to promote girls and women in sport with a logo and slogan that’s fantastic and says so much of todays culture as well as challenging a lot of misconceptions head on.

Photo: Ian Logan / Skater Beverly Flood

Photo: Benedetto / Skater Zoe Benedetto

64 March 2015

By Steff Wyman

The final approach to the season is a hectic time behind the scenes. There are so many moving parts in a professional team and ensuring each of those potentially vital factors have a firm tick next to them involves making lists, many many lists. Another part of this is surrounding the team with good people that you can trust to work alone and communicate all needs and wants back to the team. We need to do all we can to ensure the first impressions we make on and off the bike are positive and lasting. You don’t get many chances to impress, so taking care of the details off the bikes hopefully helps lead to success on it.

The final element of the pre-season routine for Matrix Fitness is the team launch. This year that’s to be held at Staffs Uni, in Stoke on Trent. We

Matrix Fitness

Team launch, training and start of the season

Photos credit: Huw Williams

March 2015 65

are launching a partnership with them that will form a major part of our Sports Science Strategy for the season. The step up to professional level isn’t about simply doing more training; it’s about improvement in all areas and leaving no stone unturned. We might be a small team, but we have to do everything possible within our budget to emulate the very best. We will be racing against the biggest teams, the best riders, in the hardest races. We can’t do that unprepared and still have any expectations of gaining results.

The purpose of the team launch is different for all teams, but the general theme is to present the team to cycling fans and media. We use the opportunity to complete a full photo shoot with the team, meet with sponsors, and commence our video content. For a team like ours, with a diverse range of riders and ambitions, this launch is most likely the only time that all riders and all staff will be in the same place at the same time during the year. In an ideal world that situation would be very different, and a lack of face-to-face contact does make forming good



66 March 2015


March 2015 67

understandings of each other pretty difficult, but you have to work with the cards your dealt. Women’s Cycling is rapidly growing, budgets are increasing in line with the increased media and prestigious races on offer, so I can see a time on the horizon where we’ll be together as a team far more often.

Staffs Uni will be assisting us with regular lab testing of the riders, performance analysis and even sports psychology support. On that front, the team has also engaged Jack Blake (Sports psychologist) to work with the team throughout 2015 as the teams’ sports psychologist. He will be travelling to events with us to ensure riders have the best possible input to the their race preparation, and will also be working with the staff on the team to ensure all communication pathways are optimal for the specific athletes we are working with. This will be a huge step forward for the team and one we hope can help close the gap to the front of the peloton.

The winter months in the Northern Europe seem to drag on and just as the weather improves it takes a dip for the worst again. This can add frustration and stress to a rider’s routine as we approach the first event of the season. Each rider deals with it differently, and when you add a sprinkle of inevitable

sickness over the winter, it’s really important to make sure everyone gets the support they need. Our first race will be Omloop het Nieuswblad in Belgium, a major classic, with

cobbles, shorts hills, and generally the bitter cold wind of Flanders. Everyone in the team is nervously excited for the event and I’m sure there will be more than a few sighs of relief once it’s out of the way.

We had the core of our team down in Limoux for a second training camp during January and February. The training was tough, but the weather was better than the home locations for the riders and certainly

The step up to professional level isn’t about simply doing more training; it’s about improvement in all areas and leaving no stone unturned.


68 March 2015

more consistent. The training program set by team coach James Spragg, was far more specific than the earlier camps. This trip included a lot of team time trial efforts, which serve several purposes. Firstly, team time trials are vital when they appear in a stage race; we need to keep our leaders in contention. Secondly, they are a similar effort to working in a break, or even chasing a break back that we happened to miss. Finally, they help the team bond on the bike, and encourage constructive communication about how we can work better as a team.

Living in a group environment, when the personalities have been blended correctly in team selection, should lead to a good bond off the bike. But transferring that onto the bike, in an intense situation, isn’t always a natural thing. For some riders, joining a team like Matrix Fitness will be their first real introduction to team work as a cyclist, where they are being relied upon to be a vital piece of a well oiled chain.


March 2015 69

But with only really days to go until the season starts I think we can be sure we’ve done all that we have in our power to help our riders hit the cobbles confident they are better riders than they were when they hung their bikes up at the end of last season. As always in early races we’ll be looking at performance over results, but so far, thanks to a huge team of people off the bike, we can be proud of what we’ve achieved.


70 March 2015

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OUTSTANDINGA T H L E T EI had the privilege of spending time with Kelly a couple of days before she announced that she was retiring and thus her last international interview.

Kelly has impacted Football both in England and abroad in a phenomenal way and has been at the forefront of a seismic shift in women’s football.

Born and raised in Watford, Kelly reached 117 international appearances and became England’s all time record goal scorer in September 2010, when she scored her 41st international goal against Switzerland and surpassing the previous record of 40 goals held by Karen Walker, finishing her career with a record 46 goals.

Kelly’s list of achievements is huge:

• awarded an MBE in 2008 • featured in the top five of the FIFA Women’s World

Player of the Year rankings four times • played in 4 UEFA European championships winning

a silver medal • played in 2 FIFA World Cups

Kelly Smith – Footballing legendBy Myak Homberger

• part of Team GB at the London Olympics 2012• in Arsenal’s ‘Quadruple’ winning season of 2006–

07, Kelly scored 30 goals in 34 games since 2005; she appeared in 5 different competitions making a total of 112 appearances and 100 goals.

Kelly started this journey in style on 1 November 1995, three days after turning 17. The 1-1 draw against Italy saw her win Player of the Match from her position on the left wing. Her first international goal came on the occasion of her second cap, against Croatia on 19 November 1995. But her favourite memory is of her first World Cup goal that she scored against Japan, as she told me with a real sparkle in her eye as she relived the moment. “We had tried to qualify for 12 years and we did, after all that dreaming. So to come out and score (big smile) was amazing.”

What makes Kelly more of a remarkable athlete is that she has been dogged with injuries her whole career and yet she has achieved so much - it is a credit to her dedication and focus. As she said to me, “...you have to have a hunger” - and it’s this hunger that saw her through recovery each time and made her the person and athlete she is today.

March 2015 73

Photos courtesy: Getty Images/The FA

74 March 2015


March 2015 75

The mark of a legend and a world class athlete is when their peers speak out about them. Having spent many years in the USA plying a successful career there, former United States head coach April Heinrichs asserted that Kelly would have been an automatic choice for the United States Women’s National Team if she had been eligible. Vera Pauw, the Dutch coach, called Kelly “the best player in the World” after she scored a hat-trick against the Netherlands in a 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier. Regarded by many as the best footballer ever, Mia Hamm said of Kelly, “I remember the first time I saw Kelly play. She’d just graduated from Seton Hall. She’s incredibly technical, with great speed of thought and play. Her touch is different class – everything’s clean everything’s with a purpose. The pace of her passes is always perfect and she can score


76 March 2015

at will too.” Great praise from those around her and a mark of what people thought of her international career.

We talked a lot about Kelly’s awareness of being a role model and the importance of doing the right thing - and you can’t but help but respect and admire an athlete who despite all she has done and achieved, wants to talk about the next generation and role models. For Kelly this is what is more important, not talking about herself.

Kelly Smith is one of those players who come along only once a generation and if she was a man you would be talking about Maradona or Messi: a player with a unique talent - and that’s what Kelly has given to football. So we wish her well with her future and thank her for what she has given to the beautiful game. It was a privilege to spend time with Kelly and get to know her a bit. A remarkable athlete and humble human being.

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Years of phenomenal growthFIFA decided to stage the first FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in 1991 (China PR) to give the best female players in world football the opportunity to play on a world stage, thus marking a milestone for the growth of women’s football all around the globe. Around half a million spectators attended the matches. Since then, the women’s game has taken huge strides forward in every aspect, whether in terms of the players’ technique, physical fitness and tactics, or the media coverage, TV viewers and sponsorship interest.

One of the pillars of FIFA’s mission is to touch the world through our tourna-ments. We take great pride in staging these entertaining and unique festivals of football across the globe.The FIFA Women’s World Cup™ is a shining example of our commitment to ensuring that women’s football goes from strength to strength in the future.

78 March 2015

With thanks to Adidas and FIFA for information and images

It’s amazing the amount of research and time taken to develop the next World Cup ball, but Adidas have done a great job over the years, here is a quick history. Did you know women didn’t always have their own football?

Match balls over the years

Photos courtesy: Adidias

March 2015 79

The adidas conext15 Official Match Ball will replace the hugely successful Brazuca as the Adidas official match ball for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015. The conext15 features a new design inspired by the elements of nature: earth, wind & fire. This is the most tested ball ever by Adidas, involving a process lasting over two and a half years and involving more than 600 of the world’s top players and 30 teams in 10 countries across three continents, ensuring that it is suited to all conditions.

Speedcell was the Adidas official match ball for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011™. ‘SPEEDCELL’ stands for speed, power and team spirit.

The Match Ball for the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup featured the same performance characteristics as the adidas +Teamgeist, the Match Ball of the FIFA World Cup 2006. The design is inspired by the event logo and the traditional Chinese colors red and blue.

Adidas’s Fevernova™ soccer ball was the official ball of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2003. This was the first World Cup Match Ball since 1978 to break with the traditional Tango design introduced in 1978.

Engineered to the same specifications as the Equipment Tricolore (the Official Match ball of World Cup France 98’), the Adidas Equipment Icon was FIFA’s Official Matchball for the Women’s World Cup in 1999. This ball was the first one designed specifically for the Women’s World Cup. The Equipment Icon’s design features colorful “icons” from the eight venue cities of Women’s World Cup 99’. These icons are integrated into the Adidas “Tango” pattern, with an overlay of stars in honour of the US flag.

1995: Questra was the the Adidas official match ball of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 1995, this ball was from the previous year’s FIFA World Cup 1994.

1991: Etrusco was the the Adidas official match ball of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 1991, this ball was from the previous year’s FIFA World Cup 1990.

2015

201120072003

1995

1999

1991

Photos courtesy: Adidias

80 March 2015

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“Age is no barrier. It’s a limitation you put on your mind.”

- Jackie Joyner-Kersee

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Photos credit: Papaya Photography

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UNSUNGH E R ODoing this job means that I get the privilege of meeting and spending time with people like Jimmy Rogers, listening to their stories and learning from such incredible people.

Jimmy Rogers started playing Basketball in the 1950’s and was the only black person playing competitively in England. By the early 1980’s, having had a short successful playing career, Jimmy set up Brixton Topcats in an underprivileged area of London. As Jimmy recalls the instant success “...it was way more than I imagined, it was jammed every Sunday and not just with kids wanting to play but with support”.

Thirty four years later and this one club, started by one man, has produced more basketball players and alumni than any other club in England and all from a deprived area. The list is remarkable of those that have gone on to do more, thanks to the impact Jimmy has had on their lives. These include Lou Deng NBA Hall of Famer, numerous doctors, lawyers, head teachers, teachers, Ivy league scholarships, US college scholarships, double honours students, Time magazine correspondent, Grammy nominee and 5 Team GB players at the London Olympics (out of 12).

Listening to the man in front of me and knowing the success above it’s hard to imagine that he has had to fend off closure, eviction and lack of funding to be where the club is today. With each example and question

Jimmy Rogers

Basketball Coach


84 March 2015

I give about the tough times Jimmy waves it off. It’s part of life, but he wants to talk about more important things. The next generation, funding for sport and support for those playing for their country, to him these are far more important to be taking about. “If you can’t show kids people to aspire to, how can they aspire?” he asks. And he is right, but it also shows where his heart is: he is always thinking about the next generation and the next and what are we doing.

Jimmy has a very clear set of values and rules for those who want to play at his club:

• You must pay (it as to cost them something, it’s not a hand-out)

• Zero tolerance for losing your temper, instant 5 match ban

• No bouncing the ball unless it’s a drill (need to be paying attention)

• You are here to play Basketball, whatever else is going on it stays outside

Jimmy is unapologetic about how strict the club is. “We are strict because they aren’t going to learn otherwise”. But the interesting thing is that in balance to this he talks about the fact that every kid is treated the same and that all are given the opportunity to shine. He then tells a story (one of many) of a short kid who came to play at his club and was accepted and coached to his strengths, eventually going on to be one of the leading scorers in English history playing for his country - all because Jimmy believed in him, gave him a chance and coached to his strengths. Jimmy’s view is that everyone is good at something and they need identify what it is and what their role in the team is.

Everything Jimmy talks about is about team; there are no ‘ball hogs’ or ‘individuals’, despite his desire to see each person be the best they can be. What is it all about with a team? I ask him. “It’s not about winning a game of basketball; it’s about winning the game of life. Yes to the positive and no to the negative,” Jimmy replies. “It’s about a winning attitude.”

And that’s it, that’s what has made him so successful, an ability to see the best in someone and work with it, to instil discipline and give kids a reason to be and to


March 2015 85

instil life skills beyond the court. That’s why so many have gone on to be so much more than just another kid from a deprived area.

Does he see himself as an amazing coach? No, of course not. The hallmark of any unsung hero is that they don’t shout about it and they do what they do for the love of it. As Jimmy said when I ask him, “I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would get the pleasure I have from coaching.” That’s great to hear from someone who has given so much. I ask him why he still does it and he leans over and says “..as mad as it sounds, when I get those little ones, I’m learning something about how you teach them and get them to respond”.

What an incredibly humble view to have at seventy three, having coached for thirty five years. The

interesting thing is that Jimmy wants this to continue when he is gone, not for him but for basketball. As he explains, when a fellow coach died so did his club, Jimmy says “I don’t want that happening and so we are working on that now”. He wants the success to continue after he is no longer here, it’s bigger than him, he says.

“I still buzz like I used to. I’m very lucky to have done something all these years that I love,” Jimmy says - and I think this is a fitting summary of a man who has devoted his life to the inner city, to basketball and to instilling life skills and values in countless kids and generations.

86 March 2015

“A trophy carries dust. Memories last

forever.”

- Mary Lou Retton


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88 March 2015

Smith thank you for your time, it was great to spend it with you; Jimmy Rogers your humility, lessons and conversation where an amazing experience, thank you sir!

Finally to all the athletes who share their highs and lows, and you the reader without whom it would be a pointless exercise - so a huge thanks to you for reading and sharing the magazine!

Myak.

Thank you’sSo many thank you’s that I don’t think they can really be captured in a few short words but I will try. This issue we have made so many new friends and met some incredible people doing truly amazing things, often under the radar.

So thank you to Alexis for your time, openness and sharing, petrol fumes all the way, you are a legend! Thanks also to Allison for all your time and support. To Richard, thank you for your time, effort and selfless support not just of the magazine but cricket. Thanks to Sylvia for her time and honesty and the Deutscher Fusball-Bund for their support and assistance. Cindy, you rock! Such vision and passion, it’s great to share with others what you are doing. Kelly at Yellow Jersey, thank you for your belief and refreshing way of looking at things; the Moroccan tourist board, Lalla Aicha Tour School and the LET for their information and access to The Late Princess Lalla Aicha images; Harriet for your writing and education in a new sport. Shannon, such a star, love what you have done and are doing, thank you for all your time, input and access; the Invicta FC team that has helped with all sorts for this issue.

Thanks to Roger at Digital Forest for his ongoing support and amazing work; my ever faithful and long suffering proof reader, couldn’t do it without you! Huge thanks to Adidas and FIFA for their images, information and help with so much, not just within the magazine but for the World Cup in general. Kelly

The views and opinions expressed by the writers in this magazine are their own and not necessarily those of

Sports International Magazine. © Copyright 2015 Sports International Magazine. All Rights Reserved

March 2015 89


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