Issue 1 - March 13, 2024
covering nontraditional, emerging and niche sports with a focus on women and LGBTIQA+ people
Issue 1 - March 13, 2024
Hello and welcome to the first issue of Beyond the Big 5!
Introduction
My name is Mary Kimball (pronouns she/her), and I’m the person behind everything here. I’ve been writing on the internet in some form for over 20 years. I live in the Pacific Northwest region of the US with my partner and dog. I started Beyond the Big 5 for two reasons. Firstly, about 9 years ago I fell in love with an emerging sport and lately there’s not as much media around it as I’d like. Secondly, there’s a serious lack of coverage for women and LGBTQIA+ people in sports more broadly, especially from outlets that reflect the communities they’re covering.
A study in 2019 found that, “95% of total television coverage as well as the ESPN sports highlights show SportsCenter focused on men's sports.” One of the study authors said, “News media focus on the 'big three' men's sports --football, basketball and baseball--creating audience knowledge about and excitement for the same sporting events over and over.” Women’s sports are thankfully getting more attention now, but it’s still a fraction of what men’s sports get. Mixed gender sports are getting a fraction of a fraction of that.
But that’s enough negativity! There’s a lot of positivity on the horizon. Let’s dive into some of it today.
The Podcast
BB5 has a podcast too! You can listen on Spotify. The first episode was posted today, and the next 2 episodes will go up on Thursday. Season 1 will focus on quadball (the sport I fell in love with in 2015) and a big change in the gender rule that’s being implemented worldwide. Episode 1 is a profile on nonbinary player Peter Lawrence. Episode 2 will be a conversation on gender and player development with Ally Manzalla and Kennedy Murphy. Episode 3 will be a primer on this weekend’s European Quadball Cup with Fraser Posford.
Inside the Big 5
You might be wondering what is the big 5? That’s basketball, baseball, hockey, American football, and soccer. Most of my focus will be on other sports, but I’ll occasionally talk about the big dogs in the context of women and LGTBTQIA+ folks.
March Madness for NCAA Women’s Basketball starts soon! Here’s the schedule. Snaps to Cleveland for hosting the finals this year! Last year Seattle hosted some of the elite 8 games and I got to watch Ohio State vs Virginia Tech in person. It was a blast! Women’s college basketball has been a key driver of news, TV, and social media coverage for women’s sports over the last year. We’re seeing more players become household names too, like Caitlin Clark from Iowa and Sabrina Ionescu, formerly from Oregon and now with the WNBA team the New York Liberty.
The PWHL’s inaugural season is going so well! Last month, over 16,000 people came in person to watch a 3-on-on showcase during the NHL All Star Weekend. Currently Toronto is the number one team, followed closely by Montreal, but the season goes on through May, so maybe a US team will be able to dethrone them by then (a girl can dream!).
Upcoming Tournaments for Mixed Gender Sports
Quadball has 2 marquee tournaments this weekend. The Canadian National Championship takes place in Oshawa, Ontario, featuring 10 teams. Here’s the schedule. The Kijiji Pitch will be streamed on YouTube. I might tune in on Saturday, but Sunday, bracket play, is when I'll be paying most attention. I'm rooting for Vanguard, which is a club team in British Columbia.
Across the pond, the massive European Quadball Cup (EQC) takes place in Salou, Catalonia. 56 teams will be competing across two divisions. This is Europe’s largest quadball tournament to date! Pitches 1 and 2 will be streamed on YouTube.
Here are some of Fraser Posford’s recommendations for this weekend. Note that EQC takes place in CET or Central European Time, which is UTC +1. It’s 5 hours ahead of the East Coast, and 8 hours ahead of the West Coast.
In preparation, watch the finals from last year, Antwerp vs Werewolves of London. For those who tuned into the IQA World Cup last summer, some of Team Belgium’s players were on Antwerp’s EQC team, like beater Louis Lermytte.
Much of Saturday’s group stage takes place during the early hours of US time. Fortunately, bracket play starts at the end of Saturday, meaning those who sleep in a little can still watch some games live. If you’re an early riser, at 11:10am CET on pitch 1, watch Rheinos Bonn (Germany) vs Paris Titans (France). They’re in Group C. All of group C’s games are going to be fun to watch. Paris Titans have won EQC 4 times.
Also on Saturday, at 1:40pm CET on pitch 2, watch Siena Ghibellines QC (Italy) vs SkyWeavers (Poland)
As a bonus rec, check out the Saturday 1:40pm CET game on pitch 1 between Caracals Lyon Q (France) and Prague Pegasus (Czech Republic). All teams in D1 at this tournament are required to play 3 max, which means they can have a maximum of 3 players who identify as the same gender on the field at one time (out of 6). D2 teams, however, do not have this requirement. Caracals Lyon Q is one of 5 teams in D2 who are electing to play 3 max. That’s awesome!
If you miss any of these games, never fear. You can go to the links above and watch games after they happen. And for the Saturday EQC schedule, your best source for info is the Facebook event here.
For a deeper dive into EQC, check out Total Quadball Podcast’s recent episode, which Fraser hosted.
The Western Ultimate League season starts in a couple of weeks, March 23, and the Premiere Ultimate League follows a couple of weeks after that, April 6-7! The WUL and PUL are pro ultimate leagues for women and gender expansive people. The WUL is based on the West Coast of the US; the PUL is the East Coast/Central US.
Giving Snaps
Feisty Media’s newsletter is one of my favorite things right now. It’s mostly about endurance and mass participation sports, with a side of general women’s sport news.
Vogue recently covered the rise of women’s sports bars. In the PNW we’re fortunate to have 3 - the Sports Bra in Portland, Rough & Tumble Pub in Seattle, and Icarus Wings & Things in Salem, OR. One just opened in Minneapolis, called A Bar of Their Own. I’ve been to the Sports Bra and Rough & Tumble, and I was fortunate enough to hear Rough & Tumble founder/owner Jen Barnes speak at an International Women’s Day event last week.
The WUL raised over $100,000 during their recent fundraiser with apparel company Breakmark!
Random Rec
Blind Landing is a podcast series by Ari Saperstein. Season 1 is about gymnastics and season 2 is about figure skating. It’s so engaging! With the World Champs for Figure Skating this weekend, season 2 is worth a listen to gain an appreciation for the trail blazers of one of winter’s most popular sports.
In Closing
Thanks for reading! I’ll see you next week.
Beyond the Big 5 is written by Mary Kimball.