Gender biases by women practiser of university sports

Abstract

The present pioneer quantitative and qualitative study, performed in the PUCRS Sports Complex during the months from April to September 2006, aimed at understanding how the practice of sports has influenced the quality of life of 43 women who have volunteered to take part in the University Sports Teams of PUCRS. From the total of volunteers, 12 were handball players, 11 were indoors football players, 10 were basketball players, and 19 were volleyball players. All the volunteers were aged between 17 and 26 years old. In the initial stage of the study, all the volunteers filled in an Information Form, and answered to a Quality of Life Assessment Questionnaire (in short, WHOQL) and to a data sheet for complementary information. During the second stage, the volunteers were submitted to a semi-structured interview containing four questions. The data was submitted to a statistical evaluation and an analysis of content. The findings have shown that these women are highly aware of their quality of life regarding the five dominions assessed through the questionnaire (physical, psychological, social relations, environment and general). Data such as the improvement of self-esteem, health and organizational skills, as well as the friendship network and the ability of team working, which was gathered during the interviews, have reinforced the positive perception of the quality of life. These findings are in accordance with the literature, both domestic and international, about the importance of sports as a factor that promotes health and social inclusion, leading to the enhancement of the quality of life of the general population. Is has also been demonstrated that the questionnaire was insufficient for a comprehensive gathering of data. The semi-structured interview based on the analysis of contents has made it possible to confront the contradictions between the theory and the practice of sports inside the University. The efforts aiming at overcoming the obstacles, such as the lack of technical and financial support, as well as the gender biases related to the practice of specific sports by women, must become a priority in order to mobilize the society as a whole, thus reinforcing the creation of more and better public and private policies for the practice of sports.