Chloe Knott resigned from the Phoenix, citing problems balancing professional sports and income. Photo / photo sports
It's been another year of tremendous growth for women in sport. More record-breaking crowds, more viewers, more coverage and more fan engagement. As the women picked up the pace, we saw things falter
Speed limit for men in sports. There was a downsizing of venues, withering governance reviews and a collapse in attendance rates. The two products are at very different points in their life cycle, so it's no wonder they move at a different pace. But the fate of men suggests that we are reaching the natural limits of growth in sport.
It was folly to think that things would just keep growing forever. There would always be a limited number of fans, a limited pool of talent, and a limited amount of resources to fund it all. In our national game we saw our governing body doing everything in its power to extract every last bit of value. We are giving ourselves more and more rugby to consume, inventing new competitions and enacting changes in the law to maintain interest.
We expanded to accommodate the ambitions of our administrators, and bloat occurred. We duplicated governance structures and established multiple levels of professionalism for men in the game, which required exponential growth to maintain. The core of the sport was left to a team of volunteers, to whom the fruits of their labor were ultimately sold back for a bonus.
Globally, we are seeing similar signs that sport is struggling for sustainability. The next Commonwealth Games in 2026 have yet to find a host. The sheer cost wall proved too high for Melbourne, the Gold Coast and the UK to overcome. The alternative is for sports associations to sell their values to keep the lights on at their major events. For all their talk about the business of sports, it is often charities that fund men's exploits.
So it's no wonder that women who finally come to the party aren't greeted enthusiastically by everyone. They face an economic reality that their fathers and brothers never dared to dream of. These women must be athletes and accountants who are already in the red in their sport.
So if the core belief of infinite growth falls apart, how can sport transition to a post-growth reality? The first step is to apply this understanding to all elements of this code. We can no longer write checks for one part of sport that is paid for by sacrifices in other areas. We cannot overlook new opportunities by shackling ourselves to tradition. By understanding our limitations, we can reconnect more strongly with our values. In doing so, we are redefining our successful versions.
When our vision is aligned, we can re-prioritize our structures according to their implementation. We can remove the pump to give the pump more shoulders. Collaborate off the field to be more competitive there.
For the athlete, this means looking more holistically at the sport, their place in it, and their place in their life. If we as professionals cannot afford to pay our top bill, we cannot expect them to act as such. This is a lesson we understand as we keep women's progress in line with our budgets. But it is something that still needs to be taught domestically as we observe the overvaluation of men's wages.
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If we want sport to be sustainable, a circuit breaker is needed in the way we currently operate. Even though there is little room left to grow, there is still much more to achieve. A future where we can all be proud and take our place in the game.
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