For Ohio University varsity swimmer Carine Souza, experiencing the thrill of cheering fans and teammates was something she had never known in Brazil.
Here
fans get crazy for all sports. I was fascinated at the basketball game with the band and all that support. In Brazil people are so big in soccer that they don't care about anything else and don't give any incentive for swimming Souza said.
Souza is part of the 5 percent of female varsity athletes at OU who bring an international perspective to their sports ' a perspective that is highlighted by the celebration of International Women's Day tomorrow.
Because of the lack of popularity of women's sports in other countries, female athletes are often surprised by the opportunities in their sports and by the level of support for their teams while in the United States.
In many countries, state education systems do not advocate organized sports like the United States does with physical education in public schools. Although men and women are moving toward equality in many areas, athletics remains highly separated by gender, said Saumya Pant, visiting professor in Women's Studies.
In South Africa
everything sport revolves around men. Women are in the background
said Louzeth Schutte, a freshman field hockey player from Free State, South Africa.
In Canada, diving isn't offered at the collegiate level, so Saskatchewan native Lindsay Hamilton explored her options in the United States, and after talking with diving coach Russ Dekker, decided to come to OU.
Back home
swimming and diving are completely separate. Here we (divers) cheer for the swimmers and really get to know them
said Hamilton.
For Schutte, field hockey is the same to her here as in South Africa.
I feel like it's the same and basically comes down to the same thing
even though field hockey is not as widespread in high schools here like it is in South Africa
Schutte said.
When Souza had to choose between swimming for OU or Brazil's national swim team, she chose what she thought was the best option for success.
Swimming at OU was a difficult choice because she knew she would have to compete and focus on her studies while living in a country where she didn't speak the language. Her father communicated with OU staff because he was the only one in her family who knew English.
I had to give up a little and stop swimming in Brazil
said Souza, a junior dietetics major from Rio de Janeiro.
To an American, it's surprising that someone would choose academic success over athletics, because in the United States it is possible to play professional sports ' even for women ' and be fairly well-paid, Pant said.
A fraction of international students have used sports to make it to U.S. universities, but most, especially women, plan to stop competing after college.
If I graduate and get a degree in the U.S.
I almost for sure can get a good job in Brazil
