Our Book Club selection for this season is Girls Don’t Play Sport, a non-fiction story by Olympic gold medallist Chloe Dalton. Part memoir, part manifesto, Dalton blends her own story with those of other female athletes, using her platform as a sportswoman and founder of The [Female] Athlete Project to spotlight women’s voices and challenge the gender inequalities, publicity gaps and impossible standards that still shape sport.
Dalton began playing rugby at eight years old, practising during the half-time breaks of her brothers’ games. When told she should play at a higher level, she replied, “Girls don’t play rugby.” Sixteen years later, in 2016, she won Olympic gold in Rio as part of the Australian Rugby Sevens team, defeating New Zealand 24–17 just a year after joining the squad. In 2018, she was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for Services to Sport and went on to train with the Australian Sevens for Tokyo 2020.
Truly a triple threat, Dalton began in basketball, playing in the Women’s National Basketball League for the Sydney University Flames before switching to rugby in 2014, then crossing codes again in 2018 to AFLW. She played every match in her 2019 debut season with Carlton, before closing her career with the GWS Giants in Sydney. During Covid lockdown in 2020, she founded The [Female] Athlete Project, beginning with a podcast dedicated to female athletes whose stories were going unheard. Girls Don’t Play Sport, her first book, followed in 2023.
The book advocates for women in sport through stories, anecdotes and statistics. Some facts are confronting: 50% of girls drop out of sport by age 17, despite two-thirds reporting that sport makes them feel more confident. Dalton explores grassroots access, funding and sponsorship, the female athlete paradox, and the social and cultural barriers that limit women’s opportunities at a professional level. As she writes, “It’s time for women in sport to receive equal opportunity, pay, representation and respect.”
In an early chapter, Dalton recalls watching Cathy Freeman win Olympic gold at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 as a defining childhood moment. Further childhood anecdotes help explain Dalton’s drive, credited in part to Freeman and women like her: visible, powerful and inspiring.
Dalton’s dedication to advocacy is clear throughout. As a multi-sport athlete, she draws on examples from Aussie rules, netball and rugby union, from under-12s teams to elite clubs. True to her commitment to representation and acknowledging her own privilege as a “white, able-bodied woman” in the opening Author’s Note, Dalton includes perspectives from Paralympians, First Nations athletes, and trans and non-binary athletes.
Girls Don’t Play Sport celebrates women’s achievements across sporting disciplines while remaining accessible to readers less familiar with each sport. Dalton’s contextualisation of women’s sport within the broader cultural landscape, paired with her easy, conversational writing style, makes the book informative and engaging. She writes with honesty and clarity, her frustration for women in sport as evident as her celebration of them.
Thoroughly researched, the book draws on news articles, academic papers and voices from across sport, including Aussie Sevens teammate Sharni Williams and netballer, and former basketball player, Gretel Bueta. It also includes Louise Sauvage, the first para-athlete to reach “Legend” status in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, and Ash Barty, whose Australian Open trophy was presented by Evonne Goolagong Cawley, with Cathy Freeman – Dalton’s own inspiration – watching from the stands.
By including the stories and voices of other women, Dalton strengthens her argument while staying true to her objective: using her own platform to uplift others.
If we’ve piqued your interest, you can borrow a copy of Girls Don’t Play Sport from our Library during your stay, or visit local bookshop Cursive Knives, where you’ll find our Book Club selections, past and present.
