Dare to Compete: The Struggle of Women in Sports

A Peabody Award honoree last year for the consistent excellence of its sports documentaries, HBO Sports continues its impressive run with two more awards for programs produced in 1999. The first, Dare to Compete: The Struggle of Women in Sports, chronicles the achievements of women in sports with intelligence, insight and an appreciation of both ability and achievement. In the talented hands of executive producer Ross Greenburg, senior producer Kendall Bridges Reid, co-producer Julie Anderson, the expert narrative of writers Mary Carillo and Frank Deford and eloquent narration provided by Lauren Hutton, the history of women in sports is traced from the Victorian Age to the present. Using landmark moments of American history as a barometer for women’s athletic achievements, this superb documentary reveals how the suffrage movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the feminist movement of the 60s and the more recent Title IX legislation set the stage for the rise of today’s female athletic superstars. The presentation is a vivid combination of rare footage, archival photos and revealing interviews with tennis stars, golf greats, Olympic legends, sports administrators and historians. For telling an important story with the level of excellence that has become its standard, a Peabody is awarded to HBO Sports for Dare to Compete.