Building a national team context based upon the identity challenges and intervention strategies of elite female boxers in their home training environments

Abstract

In this article, we discuss some of the identity challenges presented by Canadian National Team Female Boxers, and their possible implications to the athletes’ well-being and sport performance. Three identity challenges identified by the athletes included: (a) being a female boxer in a masculine sport context, (b) acceptance and tensions surrounding queer identities, and (c) feeling “different” as racial/ethnic minorities. Corresponding to these challenges, intervention strategies are proposed for sport practitioners, comprised of sport psychologists, coaches, and organizational staff seeking to build a culturally inclusive sport environment and support elite female athletes as holistic persons in combative sports through both policies and interventions. This submission is also intended as a catalyst to context-driven explorations and subsequent practical interventions within further elite sport contexts.

Key Words:

• Athlete identity
• cultural diversity
• female athletes
• gender

Notes

1  Queer is an umbrella term that captures various sexual and gender minorities, representing people who are not heterosexual and/or do not conform to gender norms. Not all non-heterosexual people identify as queer (Krane et al., 2010).