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As long as there have been balls, there have also been humans looking for sticks to hit them with. Cricket, Baseball & Softball are the most popular hard ball and bat sports played by women in Australia today.
With the recent surge in the popularity of womens cricket in Australia you would be forgiven if you thought that the sport has come out of nowhere, like a whirlwind. You might be surprised to know however that women's cricket is even older than Australia! The first recorded match was in England in july 1745. It's safe to say that they weren't wearing chest protectors in cricket or even helmets back then.
With the average life expectancy in that period being around 45, who had time for safety, Right? Sadly Australia’s Cricket safety equipment requirements haven't changed much since then. Even at the highest levels of play outside of helmets, the requirements are scant. Abdomen guards are an available option however many players choose not to wear them due to discomfort and impacts on performance.
At least corsets are no longer required, that's a win. However the breasts remain unprotected from cricket balls flying at your boobs at 125k/ph. Apart from the pain which may affect performance, deep bruising of breast tissue can result in the formation of hard lumps which although not in themselves cancerous can be difficult to differentiate from breast cancer.
Boob Armour inserts are incredibly lightweight and sturdy. Our protective breast inserts are designed to fit the contours of your body as well as discreetly fit into your favourite sports bra. No fittings required, no bulbous padding, no movement restrictions.
If a ball isn't bad enough, try a stray baseball bat. The Australian Women's National Baseball team, nicknamed the Emeralds represents Australia in international women's baseball tournaments and competitions. They have been around since 2001 and are currently the 3rd ranked women's baseball team in the world! Aussie women really have taken up the challenge of competing at the highest level of almost any sport they come across.
Even a softball is not your friend, don't befooled by the name. Although the sport was named softball because it was played with a “softball”, hardballs have been used for many years now. Whether it's a hardball, softball or even a tennis ball it really doesn't matter because anything being pitched at your boobs at more than 110kph is going to hurt.
In a recent (2018) study of female collegiateathletes at four U.S. universities, 60% of softball players reported a breastinjury during their career. Although 18.2% indicated that breast injuryaffected sports participation, only 10% of the injuries were reported tomedical personnel with 2% receiving treatment.
Boob Armour inserts are designed with a balanceof impact protection and comfort for your breasts. Whether you are fielding, upto bat or covering a base, you can wear the same inserts without needing tochange padding.
To find out more click here.
Netball, Volleyball, Basketball and Futsal are the most commonly played court sports by women in Australia. Women’s court sports are set to explode with all the upcoming world championships and sporting events.
As of December 2020 the Aussie Women's Basketball team known as the Opals are ranked 2nd in the world. The Opals will be proudly representing Australia at the Olympics in July 2021. With three silver and two bronze medals already under their belt, captain Jenna O'Hea says they are ready for gold.
In 2022, Australia will also host the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Sydney where our Opals will have the chance to outshine the United States and finally seize that coveted number 1 world ranking.
Some basketball injuries you have probably heard about are achilles tendinitis, sprained ankles, and ACL injuries at the knee. However until recently little was known about breast injuries in female basketball. In a recent (2018) US study of 194 female college athletes, 48.8% of the women's basketball players reported receiving breast injuries over their career. Staggeringly that is nearly 50% of all women who played basketball during their college years. The reason you may not have heard about these figures is that only 9.6% of the women in the group studied reported their injury to medical personnel.
These injuries can be very painful and cause significant drops in performance. Also, deep bruising of breast tissue can result in the formation of hard lumps, which although not in themselves cancerous can be difficult to differentiate from breast cancer.
Fortunately, the need for breast impact protection for women in basketball is now being recognized. Boob Armour protective inserts are contoured to fit comfortably into your sports bra. While strong to cushion against impact, they are also flexible and don’t restrict body movement.
Netball is also very popular, as new research from Roy Morgan shows that over 1,476,000 Australians watch Netball on TV annually. The upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 will see the Diamonds representing Australia and taking on the world's best Netballers. They will be looking to better their 2018 silver medal performance.
As with basketball Netball provides the opportunity for female breasts to be injured from impacts with balls, opponents elbows, or other body parts. Research has shown that painful breast injuries can affect sports participation, from difficulty playing, to missing games
In addition, you might have experienced breast pain during repetitive bouts of running and jumping. This is due to excessive movement of the breasts on the chest wall, especially if you have larger breasts. It’s tempting to stay in tight clothing as the restrictive movement makes you feel better. However, the temporary relief that this may provide actually makes the whole condition worse by compressing the lymphatics within the breast and within the skin. This increases the amount of fluid retained within the breast and typically causes pain in the front of the breast.
So it’s clear that female breasts need adequate support to prevent excessive movement during sporting activities and most importantly protection against impact.
To prevent pain during exercise your breasts should not be compressed tightly against the chest wall. The breasts should preferably be encapsulated in a cup shape, as recommended by Professor Joanna Scurr, Head of Research Group in the UK Breast Health Institute. Boob Armour protective inserts are contoured to the shape of the breast and meet this requirement.
Federation of Australia Futsal (FAF) founded in 2013 is the governing body for futsal in Australia. It has a small but dedicated community that is mostly self run and self managed.
While shin guards are mandatory, there has been nothing suggested or provided to protect the female breasts from impact. It appears that knowledge of breast injury in court games like Futsal is unknown.However as you are aware Futsal is similar to soccer played on an indoor court. In a recent (2018) US study of 194 female college athletes, 47% of the women's soccer players reported receiving breast injuries over their career.
These injuries can be very painful and cause significant drops in performance. Also,deep bruising of breast tissue can result in the formation of hard lumps, which although not in themselves cancerous can be difficult to differentiate from breast cancer.
So you can understand that in most of these popular sports female breasts are particularly at risk, and more than a sports bra is required to be safe.
Boob Armour protective inserts are incredibly lightweight and sturdy. They are designed to fit the contours of your body as well as discreetly fit into your favourite sports bra. No fittings required, no bulbous padding, no movement restrictions
The most popular field sports for women in Australia are Australian Rules Football, Soccer, Field hockey & Lacrosse.
To say that Australia is looking forward to hosting the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, is an understatement. The pressure is on the Matildas asthey represent their country in front of their family, friends and communities on home soil.
To AFL and AFLWs credit they have introduced many safety measures focused on supporting women who play Australian Rules Football. Mouth guards have a definite role in preventing injuries to the teeth and face and for this reason they are strongly recommended at all levels of football. However until recently injury to the breasts of the female footballer was poorly understood.
In 2020, the results were published of a custom-designed breast injury survey completed by 297 female Australian Football, Rugby League, Rugby Union (XVs) and Rugby 7s players. Fifty-eight percent of players reported ever experiencing a contact breast injury and 48% perceived that their injury affected their football performance.
It is shocking but probably no surprise that half of the 242 coaches and medical professionals surveyed were not aware that breast injuries were a problem for female contact football players.
Apart from the pain which may affect performance, deep bruising of breast tissue can result in the formation of hard lumps which although not in themselves cancerous can be difficult to differentiate from breast cancer.
Boob Armour protective inserts are contoured to fit comfortably into your sports bra. While strong to cushion against impact, they are also flexible and don’t restrict body movement.
Boob Armour is proudly an AFL/AFLW officially licenced product.
Going back to our ball and stick obsession, field hockey and the world famous Hockeyroos renowned for a golden generation through the 1990s and early 2000s, they dominated world hockey during the period with back-to-back gold medals at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games as well as the 1994 and 1998 World Cups as well as five consecutive Champions Trophy titles.
Lacrosse is as close as you can get to a combat sport onthe field. Despite having only a smallfraction of the playing pool of other countries, Australia's national women'steam have won two senior women's world championships (in 1986 and in 2005), aswell as the inaugural Under 19 world championship in 1995.
Unfortunately there have not been any studies that have investigated the incidence of female breast injury in these sports, however as you can imagine it is possible that this can occur during heated clashes. Boobarmour inserts are easy to position inside your sports bra so why take the risk of breast injury on the field?
The most prevalent combat sports for women in Australia are boxing, MMA and karate. Once a fringe sport, MMA has soared in popularity over the past decade. A combination ofboxing, jiu jitsu and wrestling, Mixed Martial Arts is promoted at the top level by the UFC. Ronda Rousey (pictured below) is known as being the best female MMA fighter on the planet and has since become a household name and a champion for women in the sport.
The women's international boxing association (WIBA) was founded back in 2000 in the united states and has since become the global standard for the sport. Currently our very own Suzie Q Ramadan is the super flyweight champion of the world. She is widely regarded as being the best pound for pound boxer in Australia (including men!)
Karate is widely known to offer self defence classes for women and girls of all ages While initially women are attracted to the sport to learn how to defend themselves or to boost self confidence. However many women state that the reason they keep participating in the karate’s because it tends to be an ideal weight loss tool as it tones and tightens both the upper and lower body.
Whilst competing or even sparring in some combat sports you may be required to wear a full chest guard similar to that shown. While effective in protecting from impact as they are made from strong rigid material, some participants may not find them comfortable, or that they limit free body movement. We recommend to always follow the rules of the governing body as a MINIMUM.
Boob Armour offers a lightweight alternative to a chest guard. It fits into your favourite sports bra. Whether you are ducking and weaving in the ring, up against the cage in the octagon or practicing on the mat. It is always going to be safer to wear Boob Armour than risk the impact to an unprotected breast.
