Higher Goals

Winner of the 2001 North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Book Award

Offers a fascinating ethnography of physicality and gender relations in women's team contact sports.

The most extensive treatment to date of women's experiences in team sports, Higher Goals provides an ethnographic account of the "Blades," a Canadian team that plays at the highest levels of women's hockey. With a vivid depiction of life on the Blades, the book follows the team over two seasons, tracing their journey to a national championship. Key issues in the sociology of sport and gender studies are explored, including the construction of community among women athletes; the "feminine apologetic" and pressures on athletes to conform to feminine ideals; homophobia and the experiences of lesbian athletes; physicality and women's experience in contact sports; the contribution of sport to ideologies of gender; the impact of commercialization on women's sport; and the changing relationship between women's and men's sports.

"In Higher Goals, Theberge effectively ties broader themes of gender and sport to the experiences of the Blades and examines the complex ways in which team members view themselves as women athletes in light of the social pressures surrounding that identity. This makes Higher Goals an ideal read for those interested in sport, women's hockey, and the politics of gender in women's sport." — Gender & Society

"An in-depth look at the personalities who have led in the growth of women's hockey. This is not a history book but an intriguing look at the steps taken by a team responsible for creating women's hockey history. This is an outstanding book for anyone interested in an accurate portrayal of the growth and development of women's hockey. It follows the women's hockey program responsible for raising the bar for all others to follow." -- Margot Page, Niagara University Women's Hockey Coach, former member of the Canadian National Team, and hockey analyst for CBC and TSN television networks

“A powerful and well-crafted analysis that provides a unique insider's view of the social world of women's ice hockey.” — Richard S. Gruneau, coauthor of Hockey Night in Canada: Sport, Identities, and Cultural Politics

"Nancy Theberge provides her readers with a clear view into two seasons in the life of an elite women's hockey team. Her highly readable account documents, in full detail and with great immediacy, the excitement of sport in the lives of young women today. The book provides flashes of recognition at the same time that it furnishes new insights into familiar moments. This solid ethnography is an important addition to the field." -- Susan Birrell, coeditor of Reading Sport: Essays on Power and Representation

"Girls' and women's ice hockey is an up and coming sport and many parents, sport coaches, sport organizations and management, women's rights advocates, etc. will find this book extremely useful and insightful." -- Cynthia A. Hasbrook, coauthor of Learning Experiences in Sociology of Sport

Nancy Theberge is Professor in the Departments of Kinesiology and Sociology at the University of Waterloo. She is coeditor of Sport and the Sociological Imagination and coauthor of Why People Recreate.