Professor Celia Brackenridge OBE (d. 2018): Women in Sport’s first Chair, Celia believed strongly in sport as a tool for achieving wider social change. She was the most capped Great Britain lacrosse player of her time, the first physical education student in the UK to graduate with a first-class degree, and a tireless campaigner for sports equality and child protection for which she won her OBE.
Dr Anita White OBE: A subsequent Chair and significant driver of the charity, Anita captained the England Hockey team to World Cup victory in 1975 and established the inaugural International Conference of Women and Sport in 1994. A teacher and academic, Anita was a Director at the Sports Council before playing a leading role in international women’s sport through her foundation.
Sue Campbell, Baroness Campbell of Loughborough DBE: An England netballer and GB pentathlete, Sue has also been highly influential in sport. Sue set up and led the National Coaching Foundation before founding and leading the Youth Sport Trust. She chaired UK Sport through its most successful period from 2003-2013 and went on to transform women’s football, ultimately leading to the historic Euros victory for England in 2022.
Professor Margaret Talbot OBE (d. 2014): A highly influential academic, author and activist who acted as a champion for women and disability sports. Margaret was a life-long advocate for universal access to physical education, influencing our National Curriculum and becoming President of the International Council for Sport Science and Physical Education.
Derek Wyatt:Inspired by Billie Jean King’s US charity, The Women’s Sport Foundation, Derek Wyatt convened the first meeting of these four powerful women. He played rugby for Bedford, Bath, the University of Oxford, the Barbarians and for England. Derek was MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey between 1997 and 2010 and part of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee between 1997 and 2005.
Our Impact
Women in Sport’s vision is that no one is excluded from the joy, fulfilment and lifelong benefits of sport. Yet all too often, women and girls are still missing out.
In 1984, the year women were first allowed to take part in the Olympic marathon, a group of inspirational advocates for gender equality started a new movement to champion women’s sport in the UK. The Women’s Sport Foundation, now Women in Sport, was formed.
Inspired by Billie Jean King’s U.S. charity, Derek Wyatt, an early male ally, convened a meeting of extraordinary women from across the sports sector, including Dr Anita White OBE, Professor Celia Brackenridge CBE, Sue Campbell, Baroness Campbell of Loughborough DBE, and Professor Margaret Talbot OBE.
These women, all talented sportswomen, shared the belief that sport could transform lives and that girls and women were missing out. Angered by the lack of opportunity for women and girls in sport at every level, and frustrated by the paltry recognition for women’s sporting achievements, they set out on a journey for change.
