Women and sport at university
In September 2009 WSFF delivered a workshop at the annual BUCS conference. This factsheet captures some of the key elements of the presentation and the discussion that took place.
Teenage girls and dropout
This factsheet explains the reasons why teenagers drop out of sport, and provides solutions for NGBs, clubs and coaches for retaining them.
It was first recognised in the 1957 Wolfendon Report that teenage girls were dropping out of sport at a faster rate than boys, this remains the case and unless the sport's sector acts this will not change.
Marketing sport and fitness to women and girls
This guide has been designed to help you identify key steps and tools in planning a successful marketing campaign to attract more women and girls into the sport and fitness you provide. It will help you consider some important questions around: who to target, what to offer and how to communicate your message.
Sweat in the City
Sweat in the City (SitC) was an innovation research project to help to find out why 16- 24 year old women are half as active as men of the same age. With the help of a feminine brand, celebrity ambassadors and a chance to discover a ‘fitter and healthier you’, over 2000 young women across London were recruited and provided with a three-month free and mentored gym membership.
Women and girls in judo
The women and girls in judo project focuses on creating environments to encourage the retention of female members (including special needs members). To do this we have created a Female Club Model. We provide the opportunity for female members to practice together at club, area and national levels and develop and promote models of good practice in all technical areas. We also deliver seminars and workshops to encourage good practice and create a positive image of judo through promotions and merchandise.
Creating a nation of active women: A framework for change
Creating a Nation of Active Women provides the framework to address the crisis detailed in It’s time. But it’s more than a strategy for change. It is a stark call-to-action for those with the power and responsibility to effect that change.
A national target has been set for two million more people to be more active by 2012, of which at least one million should be women. But with 24 million women not doing enough physical activity, that should be only the beginning.
With practical recommendations, the strategy provides a framework, compromising three key imperatives, for those who develop policy and design, and who deliver and promote sport and exercise for women and girls.
Sweat in the City: How 2000 young women discovered the positive power of exercise
This report details the innovative research project Sweat in the City which project provided over 2000 inactive 16 – 24 year old women a three month free and mentored gym membership and followed their journey.
The project was designed to gain a better understanding of how to motivate women to become more active. Today, 16 year-old girls leave school half as active as their male counterparts, often with a negative attitude to sport and fitness and with critically low levels of confidence. This programme set out to create a fitness experience that would appeal to this audience, change their attitude to exercise and lead to a more active and healthier way of life.
SitC was designed and delivered by a partnership between the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF) and the Fitness Industry Association (FIA).
Key elements of the programme were personal mentoring and opportunities to ‘meet’ other participants through group sessions and via the SitC website. The young women were successfully recruited with the help of a feminine brand and celebrity ambassadors who fronted a tailored PR campaign. All that was asked in return was for the women to share their highs, lows, aches and pains with us through surveys, focus groups and online diaries.
The results surpassed even our highest hopes:
• Six months after completing the programme, 72% of participants are more active than they were before
• Before the programme, 63% of participants were worried about what they looked like when they exercised. This dropped to just under half
• 88% of participants agreed that ‘SitC has reminded me how good it feels to be active’
• Three-quarters of the young women now have increased confidence to go on and try new activities
“There is no way that I am giving exercise up again now, I feel so much better in myself – better mood, lots more energy etc. Even though I don’t always want to go to the gym, I know I’ll feel so much better once I’ve actually been!”
London Playing Fields Foundation - Active Angels
Active Angels is an innovative multi-activity project that aims to contribute to the health of 14-16 year old girls by encouraging and sustaining their participation in sporting activity. It focuses on girls who are currently active but who are at risk of adopting sedentary lifestyles once they have left school. The project has been providing opportunities for girls to participate in sports and physical activity in a non-competitive, friendly and supportive environment since 2004.
Trophy Women: Why a balanced board is good business for sport
Trophy Women? was produced by the Commission on the Future of Women's Sport in conjunction with Opportunity Now. The report reveals the extent to which men continue to dominate the running of sport and why the sector can't afford to ignore the issue.
Drawing on lessons from the world's most successful companies it makes the business case for having more women in sport's senior management and sets out recommendations on how organisations can achieve this.
Our aim at the Commission is to work hand-in-hand with leaders in sports bodies, to highlight the problems, provide practical solutions and to increase the number of women in leadership positions.
While our role focuses on gender, we also recognise that a balanced board should represent the full diversity of the community, including BME groups and disabled people too.