It’s somewhat remarkable that in 2026, guidelines are necessary to prevent cameras zooming-in on female athletes in unflattering positions or filming them in disrespectful ways.
Yet here we are, having to tell broadcasters that focusing on the action rather than sexualising female athletes is probably the best way of covering sport.
Wouldn’t it have been refreshing if the new guidelines for broadcasters, which instructs them to film female athletes less invasively, weren’t needed.
But, despite there being, in general, an acceptance that women’s sport exists for more reasons than to merely give men something to ogle at, guidance has, indeed, been necessary.
For years, female athletes have had to deal with cameras filming them in ways most would prefer they didn’t. And so, finally, something has been done to improve things.
Last month, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) introduced guidelines, which were developed after discussions with female athletes, to avoid invasive, disrespectful, sexualised and, frankly, unnecessary camera angles when covering sport. The aim is the action will be the sole focus, rather than the athletes’ appearance.
The first time these guidelines have been implemented have been this week’s European Athletics Championships, which conclude today in Birmingham and, from an athletes’ point of view, this is not only a welcome development but also an overdue one.
“It's not controversial, it's a very sensible decision. It is a positive guidance and change,” said British pole vaulter, Molly Caudery.
"I have experienced it. For this to change for up-and-coming athletes is such a positive change.
"In pole vault, there are so many angles you can film from, so just taking one out is not going to be an issue. It will hopefully lead to everyone just focusing on performance.”
It’s Caudery’s last point, about focusing on performance, that’s the most relevant.
For as long as women have competed in sport, it’s been an ongoing battle to have onlookers focus on athletic performance rather than female athletes’ appearance. And by eliminating evasive camera angles and filming female athletes from more respectful perspectives (while not diminishing the quality of the coverage of the action), it should make it easier for the focus to be purely on the sport.
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Many of the guidelines are little more than common sense and, frankly, should be happening already (but often aren’t). According to the guidebook, “coverage should reflect the skill, dedication, and excellence that define athletics, and uphold the trust placed in us by audiences and competitors alike.”
It continues, “the sexualisation of women athletes through selective camera angles and editing choices continues to be a significant concern across many sports broadcasts. Lingering shots on bodies, low-angle cameras that capture revealing views, and excessive slow-motion replays that serve no technical or storytelling purpose are among the issues observed in the media coverage of women’s athletics competitions today.” All of these points should be a given but, regrettably, female athletes are objectified regularly and consistently.
There are those who argue that if female athletes don’t want to be objectified then they should stop wearing such skimpy outfits. But, of course, these are the outfits that allow them to perform best and it’s akin to victim-blaming to suggest the athletes’ attire is really the problem here.
The guidelines have, in the main, been followed at this week’s European Athletics Championships and indeed, the quality of competition has entirely justified the argument that female athletes are worthy of coverage based purely on their sporting performance, viewers don’t need intrusive camera angles to hold their attention. This competition has been just as compelling a watch as it would have been with the previous way of filming.
Of course, much of this issue stems from the fact that the sports media remains heavily male-dominated.
As Amy Hunt, who won 100m and 200m gold this week, pointed out, if there were more women behind the cameras and in the production suite, it’s likely far fewer invasive shots would make it onto the broadcast. But, of course, it’s primarily men making the decisions about how to shoot the athletes and what pictures to broadcast.
For female athletes, being filmed respectfully is just another example of a battle they have to fight that male athletes never have to worry about. And while it’s somewhat depressing that it’s taken quite this long for a solution to be put down on paper, better late than never.
So, going forward, there’ll hopefully be more of a focus on the sport and less of a focus on how the female athletes look.
AND ANOTHER THING…
Sticking with the European Athletics Championships, the swathes of empty seats at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium this week have drawn much criticism. And rightly so. There are similarities to the criticisms levelled at the organisers of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, which also saw a significant number of seats (across several sports) remaining empty.
The primary problem is ticket prices, and it remains perplexing as to why organisers don’t realise that charging up to £150 per ticket is far, far too much.
There seems in sport to be either a failure to recognise or a refusal to accept that by pricing tickets too high, they just won’t sell. And despite this being the case time and time again, organisers continue to repeat the same mistakes.
Full stadiums are infinitely preferable to half-empty stands for athletes, fans and organisers alike so why is this not prioritised above all else? The benefits for an athlete of competing in a packed-out stadium are considerable, and the fan experience is enhanced ten-fold if the stands are full.
Yet all too often, organisers’ greed takes precedence. At this week’s European Athletics Championships there are affordable tickets. They have, in the main, been bought. But the inordinately expensive tickets have been deemed just not worth it by many, hence the huge blocks of empty seats.
It doesn’t take a genius to work out that selling double the number of tickets at half the price brings in the same revenue. Full stadiums are what make sporting events special and while reducing the ticket prices won’t solve all of athletics’ problems, it’ll certainly go a long way to solving this particular problem.
It’s an easy fix, and the organisers of the European Athletics Championships should hang their heads in shame that a significant portion of athletes have competed in a half-empty stadium this week.
