Independent Women’s Sports & Media
RiseUp Women’s Sports is an independent nonprofit media publication dedicated to covering women’s sports through original journalism, on-the-ground reporting, photography, video, interviews, and storytelling.
Headquartered in the DMV with an expanding national presence, RiseUp covers the athletes, teams, leagues, and stories shaping women’s sports—from collegiate competition and emerging leagues to the professional and international levels.
RiseUp’s coverage has expanded beyond the DMV to include credentialed, on-the-ground reporting from Florida, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Houston, Texas. Houston coverage includes the USWNT. Atlanta coverage includes the Atlanta City Games (track and field), Veolia Atlanta Pickleball, LOVB, and Major League Volleyball (MLV). This growing national footprint reflects our commitment to showing up at the events shaping women’s sports and delivering original reporting, photography, video, and interviews directly from each market.
Our goal is simple: show up, report the story, amplify women’s voices, and give women’s sports the consistent coverage they deserve.
What We Cover
RiseUp provides original coverage across women’s basketball, soccer, lacrosse, hockey, volleyball, track and field, pickleball, and collegiate athletics, with reporting that includes:
- On-the-ground game and event coverage
- Original reporting and editorial features
- Player and coach interviews
- Game highlights and postgame coverage
- Photography and video storytelling
- Collegiate, professional, and international sports coverage
- Stories and advice for the next generation of athletes
Our coverage includes the WNBA, NWSL, USWNT, PWHL, professional volleyball, collegiate athletics, emerging women’s sports leagues, major sporting events, and the communities surrounding them.
From Ownership to Sports Media
Before founding RiseUp Women’s Sports, Bernadette “Bernie” Beale spent several years coaching youth soccer and girls’ basketball, gaining firsthand experience working with young athletes and supporting their development both on and off the field.
From 2012–2024, Bernie owned the Atlanta Panthers Soccer Club. The organization included a women’s UWS Pro-Am team, youth academy, recreational programs, camps, and community outreach initiatives.
Her experience as a coach and club owner gave Bernie firsthand understanding of what it takes to develop athletes and create opportunities for women and girls in sports. It also showed her how visibility, media coverage, and storytelling can help women’s sports grow.
That foundation ultimately helped shape RiseUp Women’s Sports.
Where We Are Today
Today, RiseUp Women’s Sports provides credentialed, on-the-ground coverage of women’s sports across the DMV and beyond.
Our reporting takes RiseUp inside professional arenas, stadiums, collegiate venues, press conferences, media events, practices, and championship environments—bringing audiences closer to athletes and coaches through original reporting and multimedia journalism.
As women’s sports continue to grow, RiseUp is building an independent media platform committed to documenting that growth and ensuring women athletes remain at the center of the story.
MEET THE FOUNDER
Bernadette “Bernie” Beale
Founder & Editor
Bernadette “Bernie” Beale is the founder and editor of RiseUp Women’s Sports. Her background in sports includes several years coaching youth soccer and girls’ basketball, followed by 12 years of women’s sports ownership through the Atlanta Panthers Soccer Club. Combined with her background in communications, these experiences give her the perspective of a coach, sports builder, and journalist—an approach that shapes RiseUp’s coverage and storytelling.
Bernie leads RiseUp’s credentialed, on-the-ground coverage, reporting from collegiate and professional women’s sporting events and using original journalism and multimedia storytelling to bring audiences closer to the athletes, coaches, teams, and stories shaping women’s sports.
Coverage & Experience
- Credentialed coverage of professional and collegiate women’s sports
- Reporting from arenas, stadiums, practices, press conferences, media events, and championship environments
- Coverage spanning women’s basketball, soccer, lacrosse, hockey, and collegiate athletics
- Original reporting, photography, video journalism, and player and coach interviews
- Several years of youth soccer and girls’ basketball coaching experience
- Owner of the Atlanta Panthers Soccer Club, 2012–2024
✝️ Faith & Foundation
At the heart of RiseUp Women’s Sports is faith. Our guiding verse, Ezra 10:4 (NIV), has shaped the foundation of RiseUp from the beginning:
“Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.”
— Ezra 10:4 (NIV)
Those words inspired the foundation of RiseUp and our motto—a call to rise with courage, take responsibility for what is in your hands, and move forward with faith and purpose.
RISEUP. TAKE CHARGE. WIN.
It’s more than a tagline—it’s a declaration.
RiseUp — to stand with courage.
Take Charge — to take responsibility for what is in your hands and act with faith and purpose.
Win — to move forward with determination, pursue excellence, and make an impact.
Every story, every athlete, and every event we cover reflects that mission: to uplift women, amplify their voices, and empower the next generation to rise.
Our Vision
RiseUp Women’s Sports is building toward becoming a leading independent destination for women’s sports journalism—rooted in the DMV and expanding nationally.
We believe women’s sports deserve consistent reporting, thoughtful storytelling, professional coverage, and media platforms built specifically to document their growth.
RISEUP. TAKE CHARGE. WIN.