How to watch (and talk about) women at the Olympics
Who's ready to couch sit for 2.5 weeks?????
Happy Olympics eve, friends! Yes, the Opening Ceremony is on Friday, and most sports don’t begin until Saturday, but here at Power Plays there is no such thing as easing into the Paris Games — the women’s soccer tournament kicks off in less than 12 hours, and all 12 teams will be in action tomorrow.
Well, at least we think they will!! The tournament is already embroiled in scandal, with New Zealand accusing Canada of spying on their practices with drones! Two members of the Canadian staff have already been sent home, one guy has been given an eight-month suspended sentence, and head coach Bev Priestman has stepped aside for the New Zealand game. This story is far from over — remember, Canada won gold three years ago in Tokyo!
Anyways, #WoSoSpyGate aside, this newsletter is going to serve as a bit of an Olympics primer, with key information on how to follow the Olympics, how to talk about the Olympics, and what you can expect from Power Plays during these Olympics.
Speaking of the Olympics, in honor of the Olympics, upgrade your subscription and get 25% off a paid Power Plays membership today!
You’ll get access to our private Slack channel, where we will be watching the Olympics together basically 24/7, plus special Olympic newsletters dedicated to looking at the history of women at the Olympics. You don’t want to miss it.
(Have I mentioned I love the Olympics?)
This edition of Power Plays is sponsored by the Working Family Party’s “Basketball House,” which throws events that seek to build political power for the multiracial working class by creating community in our fandoms and making collective civic engagement convenient, accessible, and fun.
This Thursday night (tomorrow, July 25), Basketball House is hosting a viewing party for the documentary “Power of the Dream” in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For more information and to RSVP, click here!
How to follow women’s sports during the Paris Olympics
Last week while I was preparing for the Olympics I started to create a spreadsheet and google calendar for myself, and it occurred to me that you all might find this useful, too!
Introducing, the Power Plays Olympics Calendar!
Now, the Power Plays Olympics Calendar does not include absolutely every women’s event. But it does include A LOT:
Medal rounds/games/matches for every single women’s sport and mixed event — if a medal of any color can be claimed by someone in women’s sports at that moment, it’s on there.
Every single group stage women’s basketball, women’s soccer, and women’s 3x3 basketball game.
Team USA’s group-stage/pool games in rugby sevens, volleyball, field hockey, and water polo.
Everything women’s gymnastics.
Semifinals *and* finals for swimming and track & field events/races.
If you click on this link, it will take you to the calendar. If you want to add it to your own google calendar or iCal, copy the link and follow the instructions under “Use a link to add a public calendar.”
(PLEASE NOTE that as of Wednesday, July 24, I am still in the process of adding all of the medal events to the calendar. The major sports — soccer, basketball, gymnastics, track, swimming, etc. — are already there, and the calendar is completely updated through this weekend, and everything will be in there before Saturday, I promise, except for the things like tennis OOPs, which I will update as they become available.)
Additionally, a TikTok user named Beks took things multiple steps further than I did, and created a database/calendar on AirTable of every single women’s event, medal round or not, AND they also included a database of openly queer athletes (that they’re aware of) in the Games, which I absolutely love. Because, to borrow from Megan Rapinoe, you cannot win the Olympics without the gays.
Thank you, Beks, you are a legend.
Oh, and everything will be available to watch live on Peacock in the United States. It will be airing on linear television, too, and that information is here.
How to cover women’s sports, during the Olympics and beyond
I recently worked with UltraViolet and The Inclusion Playbook to help create a Women’s Sports Media Guide. And there is no better time than the Olympics to dive into it.
As you all know, women’s sports are on the rise, and with that comes a lot of long-overdue media coverage. But not all coverage is created equally. I believe this guide will help journalists (and fans!) cover and talk about women’s sports with more nuance, confidence, and intersectionality.
Here are a couple of slides, to give you a taste.
You can download the whole thing here or send it to everyone you know via this link.
A few recommended reads to get you ready
Here at Power Plays over the next few weeks I’m going to be pretty Olympics-focused. My goals are to help us learn women’s sports history by digging through the archives to unveil coverage of momentous moments for women in Olympic history; to write features that take us beyond the IOC’s claims of equality and explore the barriers that women still face in Olympic sport and beyond; and to stay tuned into the daily action and be ready to add our patented Power Plays perspective and context to the biggest (or most under-the-radar) women’s sports stories in Paris.
To say I’m excited would be an understatement.
But, of course, there are A LOT of great journalists, both inside and outside Paris, who are producing phenomenal work this Olympic cycle. Here are a few stories I recommend reading to get you ready for the first few days:
Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic on Katie Ledecky’s evolution. Ledecky’s Olympics will begin on Saturday afternoon around 2:30pm ET in the 400m freestyle.
Kevin Baxter of the LA Times on the U.S. women’s water polo team and their unlikely cheerleader, Flavor Flav. The U.S. women’s water polo team pays their first match at 9:35am ET on Saturday against Greece.
Rick Maese of the Washington post goes long on women’s Olympic surfing, which begins on Saturday in Tahiti. (Yes, I said Tahiti.)
ESPN on 30 Olympians to watch.
Marc J. Spears of Andscape on Brittney Griner’s return to the Olympic stage. Team USA’s women’s basketball team tips off on Monday at 3pm ET against Japan.
The USWNT (soccer edition) kicks off tomorrow at 3:00pm ET against Zambia. Here’s a great piece by Ed Dodd of ESPN on the evolution of the Zambia women’s national team, and why they should not be taken lightly.
Okay, I better go to sleep, it’s almost time!! Thanks for your support, as always.