IT can be a pretty fascinating looking at the history of any sport. However, where women in sport is concerned there has been, and will continue to be, many gaps. That is not to say that there is no history attached to women in sport, and it’s not to say they have not been participating in sport for many years. It has more to do with the fact that, largely, their achievements have not been recognised.
Scottish Golf is changing that and they have taken this issue to heart.
Dr Fiona Skillen of Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) is heading up a project – a partnership between GCU and the British Golf Museum in St Andrews which is run by The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. They intend to chart the development of the sport from the Second World War onwards and are on the hunt to recruit a full-time researcher and are expecting applicants from far and wide.
READ MORE: Tennis is serving up inspiring and powerful women
As Scotland is the home of golf, it is only fitting that Scotland should be leading this research and in this momentous year when The Solheim Cup will take centre stage at Gleneagles in early September with Catriona Matthew, who is one of Scotland’s golfing stateswomen, captaining Team Europe.
This quote from Dr Skillen cleverly sums it up: “If you look into the history of Scotland’s sporting past, it is likely you will find lots of fascinating and inspiring stories of sportsmen past. It is unlikely you will find many sportswomen on the pages of Scotland’s history books. That is not to say that there are no Scottish sportswomen in our past who deserve recognition, on the contrary there are many, who until now have largely gone unrecognised.”
So, now is the time for all sports to ensure that we don’t lose any more of our history. Keep records, take photographs and hold on to artefacts. Early indications from this year’s historic Solheim Cup are positive, with plenty of pre-tournament media coverage and strong images of women golfers popping up in various places throughout Scotland. This will ensure the next generation know exactly who their female sporting heroes are.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here