Nine for IX | |
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Genre | Sports documentary |
Directed by | various |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 9 Shorts: 7 [1] |
Production | |
Producers |
Robin Roberts Jane Rosenthal [2] |
Original release | |
Network | ESPN |
Release | July 2 August 27, 2013 | –
Related | |
30 for 30 |
Nine for IX is the title for a series of documentary films which aired on ESPN. The documentaries were produced by ESPN Films in conjunction with espnW, and were intended to have the same creative, story-driven aspect as ESPN Films' other series, 30 for 30, with the series focusing on captivating stories of women in sports told through the lens of female filmmakers. [2] The series' name is inspired by Title IX, federal civil rights legislation passed in 1972 that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex in educational institutions receiving federal aid; Title IX has also been regarded as helping to expand women's and girls' access to athletic opportunities. The first film, Venus Vs., premiered on July 2, 2013.
The following films are all 60 minutes in length (including commercials).
No. | Title | Directed by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Venus Vs. | Ava DuVernay | July 2, 2013 | 0.460 [3] | |
A look at a significant victory
Venus Williams earned off the tennis court: the fight to have women competitors earn the same winnings as men at the
French Open and
Wimbledon. | |||||
2 | Pat XO | Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern Winter | July 9, 2013 | 0.311 [4] | |
An in-depth look at the legendary career of
Pat Summitt,
University of Tennessee
Lady Vols basketball coach, and her new battle against early-onset
Alzheimer's. | |||||
3 | Let Them Wear Towels | Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg | July 16, 2013 | 0.197 [5] | |
The efforts of
Melissa Ludtke,
Lisa Olson, and other pioneering female sports journalists to gain equal access with their male brethren to the intimidating sanctum of the all-male sports locker room. | |||||
4 | No Limits | Alison Ellwood | July 23, 2013 | 0.400 [6] | |
An exploration of the life of world-class
freediver
Audrey Mestre and the events leading up to the dive that ultimately took her life. | |||||
5 | Swoopes | Hannah Storm | July 30, 2013 | 0.397 [7] | |
The life of
Sheryl Swoopes, whose basketball accomplishments led her to be labeled as "the female
Michael Jordan," but who also defied labels in terms of athletic longevity (playing into her 40s) and sexuality (one of the first high-profile athletes to
come out of the closet). | |||||
6 | The Diplomat | Jennifer Arnold and Senain Kheshgi | August 6, 2013 | 0.437 [8] | |
Katarina Witt was one of
East Germany's most successful athletes, enduring constant surveillance by the
Stasi, but also faced great changes after the fall of the
Berlin Wall. | |||||
7 | Runner | Shola Lynch | August 13, 2013 | 0.548 [9] | |
How
Mary Decker became one of the greatest distance runners of the 1970s and 80s, and how a crushing experience at the
1984 Olympics defined her career. | |||||
8 | The '99ers | Erin Leyden | August 20, 2013 | 0.491 [10] | |
Intimate behind-the-scenes footage (shot by the players themselves) details the story of the
United States women's national soccer team, whose championship performance at the
1999 World Cup served as the inspiring touchstone for women's soccer and women's athletics as a whole. | |||||
9 | Branded | Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady | August 27, 2013 | 0.633 [11] | |
How some women athletes, in particular tennis player
Anna Kournikova, feel the need to emphasize sex-appeal attractiveness in an effort to advance their standing in the sports and marketing worlds. |
After the first short aired with the full-length films, six additional short films were created, to begin airing in June 2014. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth shorts debuted at the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival on June 17, before airing with the additional shorts on espnW.com. Additionally, all Nine for IX Shorts aired back-to-back on August 2, 2014, on ESPN. [1]
No. | Title | Directed by | Original release date | Length (mins) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Coach | Bess Kargman | June 18, 2013 | 17:00 | |
A look at
Rutgers women's basketball coach
C. Vivian Stringer, and how she handled on-court pressure and off-court adversity after racial slurs were directed at her players. | |||||
2 | Love & Payne | Hannah Storm | June 4, 2014 | 12:30 | |
Tracey Stewart offers an intimate, personal, and poignant glimpse of her relationship with her late husband, golfer
Payne Stewart. | |||||
3 | Rowdy Ronda Rousey | Nadine Mundo and Rena Mundo Croshere | July 28, 2014 | 14:00 | |
A look at the life of
Ronda Rousey, and how her victory in a 2013
UFC title fight helped her pave the way for women in
mixed martial arts. | |||||
4 | Think Normal | Nikki Reed | July 29, 2014 | 16:30 | |
5 | Brittney Griner: Lifesize | Melissa Johnson | July 30, 2014 | 16:00 | |
How
Brittney Griner went from celebrated kid to self-reliant adult in her basketball career. | |||||
6 | Uncharted Waters | Tina Carbone | July 31, 2014 | 16:15 | |
The story of
America³, which in 1995 raced with an initially all-female crew, the first such team in the history of the
America's Cup yachting competition. | |||||
7 | Play A Round With Me | Jessica Wolfson | August 1, 2014 | 11:15 | |
How
Jan Stephenson used sex appeal and charisma to become a star in women's golf, yet tried to prove she was more than just a pretty face. |
Nine for IX | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Genre | Sports documentary |
Directed by | various |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 9 Shorts: 7 [1] |
Production | |
Producers |
Robin Roberts Jane Rosenthal [2] |
Original release | |
Network | ESPN |
Release | July 2 August 27, 2013 | –
Related | |
30 for 30 |
Nine for IX is the title for a series of documentary films which aired on ESPN. The documentaries were produced by ESPN Films in conjunction with espnW, and were intended to have the same creative, story-driven aspect as ESPN Films' other series, 30 for 30, with the series focusing on captivating stories of women in sports told through the lens of female filmmakers. [2] The series' name is inspired by Title IX, federal civil rights legislation passed in 1972 that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex in educational institutions receiving federal aid; Title IX has also been regarded as helping to expand women's and girls' access to athletic opportunities. The first film, Venus Vs., premiered on July 2, 2013.
The following films are all 60 minutes in length (including commercials).
No. | Title | Directed by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Venus Vs. | Ava DuVernay | July 2, 2013 | 0.460 [3] | |
A look at a significant victory
Venus Williams earned off the tennis court: the fight to have women competitors earn the same winnings as men at the
French Open and
Wimbledon. | |||||
2 | Pat XO | Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern Winter | July 9, 2013 | 0.311 [4] | |
An in-depth look at the legendary career of
Pat Summitt,
University of Tennessee
Lady Vols basketball coach, and her new battle against early-onset
Alzheimer's. | |||||
3 | Let Them Wear Towels | Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg | July 16, 2013 | 0.197 [5] | |
The efforts of
Melissa Ludtke,
Lisa Olson, and other pioneering female sports journalists to gain equal access with their male brethren to the intimidating sanctum of the all-male sports locker room. | |||||
4 | No Limits | Alison Ellwood | July 23, 2013 | 0.400 [6] | |
An exploration of the life of world-class
freediver
Audrey Mestre and the events leading up to the dive that ultimately took her life. | |||||
5 | Swoopes | Hannah Storm | July 30, 2013 | 0.397 [7] | |
The life of
Sheryl Swoopes, whose basketball accomplishments led her to be labeled as "the female
Michael Jordan," but who also defied labels in terms of athletic longevity (playing into her 40s) and sexuality (one of the first high-profile athletes to
come out of the closet). | |||||
6 | The Diplomat | Jennifer Arnold and Senain Kheshgi | August 6, 2013 | 0.437 [8] | |
Katarina Witt was one of
East Germany's most successful athletes, enduring constant surveillance by the
Stasi, but also faced great changes after the fall of the
Berlin Wall. | |||||
7 | Runner | Shola Lynch | August 13, 2013 | 0.548 [9] | |
How
Mary Decker became one of the greatest distance runners of the 1970s and 80s, and how a crushing experience at the
1984 Olympics defined her career. | |||||
8 | The '99ers | Erin Leyden | August 20, 2013 | 0.491 [10] | |
Intimate behind-the-scenes footage (shot by the players themselves) details the story of the
United States women's national soccer team, whose championship performance at the
1999 World Cup served as the inspiring touchstone for women's soccer and women's athletics as a whole. | |||||
9 | Branded | Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady | August 27, 2013 | 0.633 [11] | |
How some women athletes, in particular tennis player
Anna Kournikova, feel the need to emphasize sex-appeal attractiveness in an effort to advance their standing in the sports and marketing worlds. |
After the first short aired with the full-length films, six additional short films were created, to begin airing in June 2014. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth shorts debuted at the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival on June 17, before airing with the additional shorts on espnW.com. Additionally, all Nine for IX Shorts aired back-to-back on August 2, 2014, on ESPN. [1]
No. | Title | Directed by | Original release date | Length (mins) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Coach | Bess Kargman | June 18, 2013 | 17:00 | |
A look at
Rutgers women's basketball coach
C. Vivian Stringer, and how she handled on-court pressure and off-court adversity after racial slurs were directed at her players. | |||||
2 | Love & Payne | Hannah Storm | June 4, 2014 | 12:30 | |
Tracey Stewart offers an intimate, personal, and poignant glimpse of her relationship with her late husband, golfer
Payne Stewart. | |||||
3 | Rowdy Ronda Rousey | Nadine Mundo and Rena Mundo Croshere | July 28, 2014 | 14:00 | |
A look at the life of
Ronda Rousey, and how her victory in a 2013
UFC title fight helped her pave the way for women in
mixed martial arts. | |||||
4 | Think Normal | Nikki Reed | July 29, 2014 | 16:30 | |
5 | Brittney Griner: Lifesize | Melissa Johnson | July 30, 2014 | 16:00 | |
How
Brittney Griner went from celebrated kid to self-reliant adult in her basketball career. | |||||
6 | Uncharted Waters | Tina Carbone | July 31, 2014 | 16:15 | |
The story of
America³, which in 1995 raced with an initially all-female crew, the first such team in the history of the
America's Cup yachting competition. | |||||
7 | Play A Round With Me | Jessica Wolfson | August 1, 2014 | 11:15 | |
How
Jan Stephenson used sex appeal and charisma to become a star in women's golf, yet tried to prove she was more than just a pretty face. |