Celia Brackenridge

Celia Brackenridge OBE (22 August 1950 – 23 May 2018) was a British sportswoman, campaigner and academic. In the mid-1980s, Brackenridge was recognised as the most capped Great Britain lacrosse player. She founded the Women's Sports Foundation UK and also conducted research into the physical and sexual abuse of young sportspeople by coaches.

Early life and education Brackenridge was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. She attended Lady Eleanor Holles School, Brackenridge was also awarded a double blue for playing national-level lacrosse and county-level cricket.

In the mid-1980s, Brackenridge was recognised as the most capped Great Britain lacrosse player. She played for England for 14 years. She was Captain between 1979 and 1982, including at the first Women's Lacrosse World Cup. She was influential in introducing American innovations in equipment and playing style (e.g. plastic lacrosse sticks and ambidextrous stick-handling skills) to the UK. She also conducted research into the physical and sexual abuse of young sportspeople by coaches, for which she received hate mail and experienced obstruction from sports governing bodies. According to an obituary published in The Independent, the ending of the funding was a "result of internal disputes within the FA, and a disagreement between Adam Crozier, then FA chief executive, and Premier League clubs, which objected to the project". Brackenridge was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to equality and child protection in sport. Between 1994 and 2010, she convened the Sexual Harassment Task Force for Women Sport International. Brackenridge's work was recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2016 Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Awards.

Personal life Brackenridge's partner was Diana Woodward, with whom she entered into a civil partnership in 2006. Brackenridge died in May 2018 of leukaemia.

Selected publications