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Cathy Devine
Independent Researcher

  • Twitter

(1) Cathy Devine (researchgate.net)

 

My academic specialism is in sport policy. My focus is on equality and human rights for girls and women. I was a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Physical Activity at the University of Cumbria for 23 years. I have published on:

 

  • the value of sport (axiology);

  • the London 2012 Olympic Games human rights legacy (human rights theory);

  • sex sport and justice in European and British sport policy (feminist political philosophy);

  • sex sport redistribution and the British Sports Councils investment strategies (feminist political philosophy, distributive justice);

  • female Olympians’ voices on female sport categories and the IOC Transgender guidelines (feminist political philosophy);

  • female sports participation, gender identity and the British 2010 Equality Act (feminist philosophy, embodiment).

Research Interests

Contact: via researchgate or twitter:

  • Twitter

My research is on the human rights of girls and women in sport. It focuses on domestic and international sport policy. At the moment I am working on the human rights deficits for females manifest in eligibility criteria for female sport categories which privilege transgender inclusion over female inclusion both at elite and participation levels. I argue fairness and inclusion are aligned rather than 'in tension' and that the human rights of females in sport depend on fair eligibility criteria which acknowledge human sexual dimorphism.

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I am an Independent Researcher and former Senior Lecturer in Sport and Physical Activity at the University of Cumbria, UK, where I worked from 1995-2018. I have a B.Sc. Zoology from University College London and an M.Sc. Nutrition from Queen Elizabeth College London, now King’s College London. I have coached gymnastics trampoline and windsurfing, including residential weeks for women in windsurfing. I worked initially in sport development and sport policy settings including the UK’s National Coaching Foundation (now UK Coaching) for 5 years, with responsibility for developing women coaches; and the UK’s National Federation of Women’s Institutes as Head of Sport for 3 years. I am a member of the Karabiner Mountaineering Club and the Climbers Club. I was a Member of the Organising Committee for the first International Women and Sport Conference in the UK in Brighton in 1994, organised by the British Sports Council and supported by the British Olympic Association and the International Olympic Committee.

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In my academic career I have taught sport development, sport policy, sport nutrition, public health and feminist philosophy; and was Programme Leader for the M.Sc. Physical Activity and Health. My academic expertise is in human rights and sport policy development. My research has focused on the human rights of girls and women in sport policy formulation. I am a Fellow of the UK’s Higher Education Academy and a former Secretary of the British Philosophy of Sport Association. I have published on the value of sport; the London 2012 Olympic Games human rights legacy; sex sport and justice; female Olympians’ voices on female sport categories and the IOC Transgender guidelines; and female participation, gender identity and the British 2010 Equality Act.

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