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As women's sport continues to grow and develop there is an increasing need to critically examine the conditions in which women as athletes operate. The Professionalisation of Women's Sport discusses the processes of professionalisation in women's sports as distinct from, and different to, that seen in men's sport, identifying different challenges that face the growth of women's elite sport. Within this collection, the complex and often fragmented nature of women's involvement across a range of sports are critically discussed. Contributions span the fields of sport sociology, sport history, sport economics and beyond, and across the varying geographical contexts of North America, Europe, Australia and South Africa. Examining American football, basketball, cricket, cycling, golf, ice hockey, tennis, rugby union and rugby league, scholars consider the emergence of professionalisation, the role of the media, and experiences in and of women's (semi-)professional sport. The Professionalisation of Women's Sport is an essential reference point for any student, researcher or professional interested in, or working in, elite women's sport settings.

Are pain and injury managed appropriately in the environment of professional sport?Is sports medicine a tool to empower or to disempower athletes?David Howe considers these and other pertinent concerns and questions whether, in the world of modern sport, it is the participants themselves or the sport's administrators who exert more control over athletes'well being. Exploring the historical transformation of sports medicine and the relationships between medicine, body and culture, Sport, Professionalism and Pain bridges a perceived space in the literature between medical anthropology, medical sociology and sport studies.