Some of Australia's top female golfers posed for a sexy calendar designed to support breast cancer research in 2006, only to have the breast cancer charity withdraw its support of the calendar. Why? "Perfect breasts."Called "Top Shots: Women of Professional Golf 2007 Calendar." It features some of the top female golfers from the Australian Ladies Professional Golf Tour wearing vintage clothes (some more than others) and in poses that the people behind the calendar call glamorous but others have called racy.
The charity in question is the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) of Australia. The NBCF had given its support to the calendar, the brainchild of Australian golf pro Jenny Sevil, including allowing the use of its logo on the calendar. Part of the proceeds from the sale of the calendar was to go to the NBCF's breast cancer awareness programs.
The calendar, due out on Nov. 25, was more than halfway through its print run when Sue Murray, the general manager of the NBCF, changed her mind. The calendar was too racy, she said. Murray said she was concerned that the "perfect breasts" on (partial) display in the calendar photos would be "too confronting" for women who had lost their breasts to mastectomies.
The NBCF withdrew its support, and that initial print run of calendars had to be destroyed in order to remove the charity's logo. "I am very disappointed that the NBCF has decided to withdraw their support for the calendar at what is the thirteenth hour and now the cost to remove the logo and re-print will result in less funds being donated to the people who need it the most," said Sevil.
Sevil has made good use of the controversy to gain additional attention for the calendar - headlining a press release on the matter "Storm in a D Cup," for example.
Sevil said that the NBCF was well aware of the revealing nature of some of the calendar photos throughout the process, and expressed surprise at the NBCF's move.
Nevertheless, the calendar goes on - and is likely to sell more copies as a result of the contretemps, thereby producing more money for its charities. Sevil and her co-organizers - photographer Richard DeChazal and stylist Narelle Bouveng - say that a third of the calendar proceeds will now go to the McGrath Foundation, another Australian breast cancer charity. The McGrath Foundation works to provide hospitals with the specialist services of breast care nurses, each estimated to cost AUD $90,000 a year to employ.
Another third of the proceeds are tabbed to launch a scholarship program for the Australian Ladies Professional Golf Association.
The NBCF's Murray said she would have preferred the women featured in the calendar to appear in athletic clothing and poses. Sevil said that's what they were trying to avoid. "That is what we are trying to get away from!" said Sevil. "You can see that in golf magazines. It would be great if talent alone would sell. But the reality is, these young, talented women receive little or no attention from the media for their achievements and as a consequence, they have very few sponsorship opportunities."
The women featured in the calendar are Kristie Newton, Sarah-Jane Kenyon, Sarah Kemp, Dana Lacey, Tamara Beckett, Cherie Byrnes, Kristie Newton, Nadina Light, Crystal Fanning, Melanie Holmes-Smith, Marousa Polias, Nikki Garrett, Carlie Butler and Belinda Kerr.
All of the golfers play events on the ALPG Tour; many also have experience on the Ladies European Tour or Futures Tour. Garrett named 2006 Rookie of the Year on the LET. Lacey was a contestant on "Big Break V."
Belinda Kerr
For images from the Top Shots: Women of Professional Golf 2007 Calendar, click the link.
