On the radio
Welcome to the fourth instalment in our You Rock! series that aims to highlight the great and the good here at House of Sport. This month we came across Florence Lloyd Hughes who knows a thing or two about the offside rule.
I am the Campaigns and Communications Officer at Women in Sport. I work on all things social media, website, press office and everything in between. Before that I worked as a sports business journalist and also did some bits and pieces for a couple of sports agencies.
I studied Sports Management at the University of Edinburgh. It was great! Edinburgh is an amazing city. The perfect example of a city co-existing with nature. I miss being able to run around Holyrood Park and up Arthur’s Seat. The weather can be tough, there were plenty of times where I nearly blew away in storms.
How did you get into doing sports journalism?
I started writing and broadcasting when I was in Miami, Florida. I went there for a year on a study abroad programme. I was writing for the college radio station and commentating on basketball and baseball games and presenting a sports talk show. That’s what really ignited my passion for talking and writing about sport. Also, Americans loved the fact that I had a British accent, they thought I really knew what I was doing, it was definitely a novelty!
Rumour has it that you now do some announcing for BBC Radio London. Is it nerve wracking? Do you have to concentrate ALL THE TIME and is it a male-dominated gig?
It is such a treat. Getting paid to watch and talk about football is something that I feel quite lucky and privileged to do. It is sometimes nerve wracking and football managers can be tough to work with. You definitely need to stay focused and just be confident. There is a good amount of prep required and I do it once or twice a week depending on the fixture list.
It is a male-dominated gig. I often go to events or games and I’m the only woman in the press box there but there is a group of women that are part of the same world who I see regularly and that is reassuring.
There is always that one group of guys who all know each other and have a chat and sometimes it can feel a little excluding. It can be frustrating when you see them around all the time but they never say hello.
Having worked in the industry for a while and having been that newbie, I always try and introduce myself to young people or try and chat to them because no one did that for me and I know it would have made me feel more confident and less nervous or scared.
So many amazing men have given me opportunities so I’m thankful to them for taking a chance on me and also helping me hone my craft. There’s some amazingly supportive men and women in the industry and without them I wouldn’t be able to do all these great things.
You certainly kicked it out of the park at our recent House of Sport Ultimate Wednesday football match, guessing you have played before?
I used to play for Queens Park Rangers Girls team when I was younger, now I play once a week in a very casual five-a-side. I had some bad experiences playing in a men’s league so I’m taking a break from that very competitive side of things.
You’ve been putting together something quite exciting at work; can you tell us about the new Women in Sport podcast?
The new Women in Sport podcast is unique because it’s not going to just focus on typical elite sport topics but discuss all areas of women and girls’ lives. We’re bringing together insight and expertise from across the industry and discussing the issues that are facing women and girls. We receive a lot of emails through our Research and Advice Service and we want to use those queries to kick start a discussion and provide some really useful support that goes beyond research.
Finally, can you talk us through a dream-day scenario for Florence Lloyd Hughes?
A dream day would be 7-8 hours’ sleep and a bit of time in the morning to make eggs on toast and have a really nice coffee. Then I would have some lunch from Leon and watch football all day. Maybe some Firezza pizza for dinner.
If you missed last month’s You Rock! take a look here.
Catch up on all the latest Instagram news from Women in Sport here.
