F1 grid girl dumping sparks calls for other Australian sports to follow

THE move to dump grid girls at Formula One races, beginning with Melbourne, has prompted calls for more Australian sports to ban cheerleaders, ring girls and other scantily clad women for promotion.

Ring girls are among the “archaic practices” employed in sports like boxing and rugby.

THE move to dump grid girls at Formula One races, beginning with Melbourne, has prompted calls for more Australian sports to ban scantily clad women for promotion.

Melbourne will become the first grand prix without grid girls after a shock decision to axe the glamour models from Formula One races.

Children aged 10 to 14 who dream of following in the footsteps of Aussie F1 ace Daniel Ricciardo will instead fulfil the duties of “brollie dollies’’ on the starting grid at Albert Park. Next month’s race will signal the end of an era after F1 management deemed grid girls “clearly at odds with modern day societal norms”.

FORMULA ONE AXES ‘GRID GIRLS’ STARTING AT AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

Grid girls have been axed by Formula One. Picture: Alex Coppel.

WENDY TUOHY: GOODBYE AND GOOD RIDDANCE TO ‘GRID GIRLS’

PICTURES: GRID GIRLS AT THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX OVER THE YEARS

Australian Grand Prix chief Andrew Westacott said the change would allow aspiring motorsport enthusiasts to  get  closer  to  their  heroes.

“I’m very comfortable with the decision and … the opportunities that this now presents,’’ he said.

He also said it could lead other sports to review their treatment of women.

“When a high-profile organisation makes a change, it is important for others to query their own approaches,’’ he said.

Women Sport Australia spokeswoman Louise Evans welcomed dismissal of the “archaic practice”.

Ring girls are among the “archaic practices” employed in sports like boxing and rugby.

Women should be provided with opportunity, pay and conditions to participate in sport, Women Sport Australia spokeswoman Louise Evans said.

“Women in sport should be celebrated as strong, skilled athletes, not as a titillating decoration to a male-dominated sport,’’ she said.

“It’s time other sports scrapped ring girls, walk-on girls and podium girls and provided women with equal opportunity, equal pay and conditions to participate in sport, not pose.’’

Former F1 boss Bernie ­Ecclestone branded the move “prudish’’, and ex-Melbourne grid girl Yana Portnoy said it was a “terrible   mistake”.

“In all my years being a grid girl, I never felt exploited or sexualised,” she said.

“I will never forget the immense excitement I felt standing beside the driver and representing their team and country. I felt so proud and fortunate.’’

The UK’s Professional Darts Corporation recently banned “walk-on girls’’ from the stage, while Carlton’s “Bluebirds’’ and Sydney’s “Swanettes’’ were consigned to the AFL history books years ago.

Walk-on girls have been banned from darts tournaments. Picture: John Walton

The NRL is among the Australian leagues featuring cheerleaders. Picture: Sarah Reed

But NRL teams such as Melbourne Storm and Newcastle Knights, where Miss Universe Australia Jennifer Hawkins got her career break, still feature scantily clad cheerleaders.

NBL teams including Melbourne United send cheerleaders in revealing outfits on-court to entertain crowds.

And ring girls wearing crop tops and tiny shorts still work at boxing bouts.

For decades, grid girls were considered part of the glitz and glamour of F1. Traditionally, skimpy uniforms were often emblazoned with sponsorship logos of tobacco and alcohol companies.

More fashionable attire was favoured recently, particularly in Melbourne where outfits were designed by the likes of Alex Perry.

F1 managing director Sean Bratches said: “We don’t believe the practice is appropriate or relevant to Formula One and its fans, old and new, across the world.’’

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