Fri, July 17, 2026
New camera guidelines introduced in women’s athletics
New “Raising the Bar” camera guidelines have been introduced in women’s athletics which advise broadcasters to consider more respectful angles when filming live female athletics competitions. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which provides sports coverage to more than a billion people across 57 countries, worked alongside female athletes to establish a new 23-page guide to try to help reduce the sexualisation of female athletes through certain camera angles.
Research by The Representation Project, a US non-profit organisation which analysed Olympic coverage, showed that women athletes are roughly 10 times more likely to be filmed in an objectifying way than men. At the 2021 Olympics alone, 2,500 pictures objectifying women athletes were reported. Former US champion runner, Lauren Fleshman, previously called women’s athletics kits “costumes born of patriarchal forces.” American steeplechaser, Colleen Quigley, once stated female kits “were absolutely not made for performance,” suggesting that the kits, alongside the revealing camera angles, both contribute to the sexualisation of female athletes.
As part of the new guidance, in events such as the high jump or pole vault, broadcasters are advised to avoid low camera angles underneath athletes.
Glen Killane, EBU Sport Executive Director, voiced: “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.”
“These choices carry profound implications. They shape audience perception by diverting attention from the remarkable achievements and technical skills of women athletes, and risk perpetuating harmful stereotypes,” Killane added.
British Olympic bronze medallist pole vaulter, Holly Bradshaw, contributed to the guidelines after footage of her competing showed revealing angles and she received online abuse.
She told the BBC, member of the EBU, the following: “How our sport is displayed during live broadcast can be incredibly powerful, yet sometimes harmful to the women competing and the women [and] girls watching…
I first-hand have received social media abuse and witnessed inappropriate videos online of myself and colleagues when slow-motion content of us competing is captured…
Many athletes, myself included have been in competitive scenarios where they are more focused on the cameras instead of their own performance…
On too many occasions cameras are zoomed in, showing super slow-motion action replays of athletes in undignified positions.”
Ivana Spanovic, Serbian Olympic long jumper, expressed that coverage of revealing angles can have “serious long-term effects on an athlete's mental health.”
This new guidance may be applicable as early as August at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham. However, other competitions, such as the Diamond League, which is not affiliated with the EBU, may not see such changes, unless it chooses to adopt them. As said by Sean Abrams, “while they’re recommendations, not hard rules, the goal is clear enough that camera work should help viewers understand the sport rather than make [female athletes] feel exposed.”
The EBU guidance document can be found here
