Just been to Dufftown Highland Games-record number of Highland dancers there (about 150 women and about 2 small boys) and the usual less than 10 men competing in the heavy events (throwing the hammer, tossing the caber etc). So now I know the name of every male competitor broadcast over and over again across the tannoy. I know the names of the track and field athletes also about 10 or less men. But I don’t know the name of any dancer, I don’t know who won the dancing, I don’t know the names of the dances, I don’t know the music they danced to. Neither do the 5000+ spectators who would be family and friends of the competitors, and vast quantities of tourists. Statistically, they would be 50:50 male to female but I suspect a female bias as many of the dancers would have come just with their mum and sisters to support them and help them change dance costumes. Women don’t count although at a Highland games the dancing starts first in the morning and the dancers, who are no less athletes than the men (you try doing some of those leaps) are on the stage all day.
I complained to one of the games organisers – they did not see the problem and blamed the female dance judge as she organises everything herself. They did say however that she had a microphone and if she spoke it would cut off the male announcer and they would take it in turns to announce things. Well, that didn’t work. I sat at the dancing end of the field for a good portion of the day and hear not a squeak of female announcer.
So every weekend in the summer, across Scotland hundreds of women athletes are being treated as irrelevant in a major tourist draw for the country.
