Reversioning

Women’s Running Network

The Women’s Running Network (WRN) was founded 11 years ago in Exeter to encourage women to run who would not normally consider that they could. Our ethos of all shapes, all sizes, all ages, all stages embraces all women and encourages them to improve their fitness and well-being. Our youngest is 12 and our oldest at present is 73.

The aim of WRN was to get women active but initially with no plans of expanding outside Exeter. As we grew our success spread to other parts of the country.

Project detailsProject duration: 01 January 1998 - ongoing
Organisation: 
Women's Running Network
AudienceAll women
Age group: 
0 - 15
Age group: 
16 - 24
Age group: 
25 - 40
Age group: 
41+
Innovation
Women only-helping other women. Women as leaders, women’s running groups as the new community.
Recruitment and promotion
It started with runners who trained with us and loved it so much they wanted to share it. Promoted by word of mouth, good personal stories in press, on the radio and links with local events e.g. Race for Life. Charity events organised by the founders drew massive publicity in 2000.
Location
National
How was your project delivered?Running / jogging
Funding
The first 7 years were voluntary and by membership, then Community Investment Funding funding from Sport England in the South West until March 2009.
Partnership
Many partners locally, regionally and nationally. England Athletics are the primary partner.
Results
Lessons: 
Having spent 11 years developing our project, we constantly review and change. In the first instance we didn’t really engage with local authorites but now some of our most successful projects have been working with partners.
Evaluation: 
We are expanding all the time. Retention of members is good compared with many clubs. We constantly review what we provide and we are always trying to improve service. We monitor the WRN, but using a member database showing total members, leaders, new areas and ages. Hard to engage with young women and sustain a project with them. However with leaders passion have maintained the groups we started. These are limited and mainly in the south west.
Themes

Growing and sustaining participation

The aim of WRN is to increase participation and encourage young women to stay active. Most of our women would not traditionally see themselves as runners and go to a traditional club.

Workforce development

All our leaders are trained and attend a UKA leadership course. Initially we had our own leaders course and our leaders also attended an England Athletics course. We had input into England Athletics course and they have just launched a new leadership course. We support our group leaders with ongoing training. 

Reversioning sport

The whole ethos of our delivery is social and fun. Reducing any emphasis on competition.

Targetting confidence and self-esteem issues

Body image and confidence are the biggest barriers we have faced in encouraging women to participate.

Health and well being

Running definitely has an effect on health, both mental and physical. It has helped our participants overcome cancer, lose weight, reduce high blood pressure, cope with diabetes, aswell as some mental health problems.

Key links: 
Women's Running Network

AimHI

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Case_Study_girlguides.pdf

Aim HI  is a resource that contains over 50 activities for girls, based on the idea that good health is a combination of physical, mental and social wellbeing.  The resource supported Girlguiding UK’s Healthy Individual Campaign for 2008. The activities touch on the areas of health, good and bad, that young people may encounter in their day-to-day lives. The pack was designed to show leaders that including healthy living activities in their programmes is easy and fun and to encourage them to continue doing so in the future.

Project detailsProject duration: 01 June 2006 - 30 September 2006
Organisation: 
GirlguidingUK
Project name: 
AimHI
AudienceGirls and young women
Age group: 
0 - 15
Age group: 
16 - 24
Innovation
It was focused on the “holistic” approach to healthy living, including all aspects of being healthy, and it was something that girls of all ages could get involved with, enjoy and learn from.
Recruitment and promotion
The resource was promoted through our website and online shop, magazine, e-updates, and messages to local guiding to spread the message to every volunteer leader. We also promoted the resource with two training weekends aimed at our own volunteer trainers and interested volunteer leaders at two of our Training and Activity centres.
Location
National
How was your project delivered?Not focused on a specific sport
Funding
Through Girlguiding UK funds, as part of the Healthy Individual Project. Staff time was covered through our internal budgets and the cost of the pack was covered through sales, this means that the project is self-sustainable.
Partnership
None for this resource
Results
Lessons: 
We would have liked to have had some sponsorship or partnership to make the resource more interactive, but There is nothing major we would have done differently, as the resource has been a great success. Others could learn from the popularity of AimHI, that there is a lot of interest from girls and young women in healthy living and activities around the subject, especially something about balancing healthy living between eating well, keeping fit, and also keeping the mind healthy and happy.
Evaluation: 
This was measured in book and badge sales, which were very positive – for example, between June-September 2008 alone, there were 1563 resource packs sold, and 16,993 badges sold. We also had a feedback form on the Girlguiding UK website, which brought such comments as: “Plenty of choice, approx. times useful to plan meeting, plenty of scope to expand themes.” “It was great fun and everyone enjoyed the activities. We are going to do lots more from the resource as there are so many good ideas. “A valuable resource that could be used again and again. We based our Pack Holiday theme around it as the girls wanted to have a girlie/pamper weekend.” “Brilliant! I love training on it also! Thank you for such a brill pack!”
Themes

Rebranding/reversioning sport

Made girls realise that sport doesn’t have to be something formal with rules and leagues and positions, but you can use a sport and do what you like with it with your friends - for example having a football race instead of playing the traditional game, or making volleyball less serious and more fun by playing with a balloon.

Targeting confidence and self-esteem issues

The Head section is all about promoting good mental health, thinking of yourself and others, for example an activity where girls pay each other compliments, or an activity discussing how famous people are portrayed by the media.

Health and well-being 

Targeted obesity in a positive way, making healthy eating and exercise something girls actively enjoy rather than dread. Head section deals with mental health thinking about attitudes to yourself and others and how to deal with problems without letting them get you down, for example text bullying. Targeted obesity in a positive way, making healthy eating and exercise something girls actively enjoy rather than dread.

Head section deals with mental health thinking about attitudes to yourself and others and how to deal with problems without letting them get you down, for example text bullying.

Key links: 
Girlguiding UK's AimHI resource pack

Futsal Fever

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Case_Study_futsal_fever.pdf

Futsal Fever is a project which targets females aged 16+ who attend FE and HE institutes across Bedfordshire.

Project detailsProject duration: 01 October 2009 - 01 April 2010
Organisation: 
Bedfordshire FA
Project name: 
Futsal Fever
AudienceSchools
Age group: 
16 - 24
Innovation
The project both increases number and keeps the women’s game sustainable locally. It is great to see a mix of women from various backgrounds and cultures taking part in a new sport and developing their skills throughout the project. The link with the fire service has improved community awareness, enhanced the feasibility of the project and provided additional career options for those taking part.
Recruitment and promotion
A meeting was held with all Partnership Development Managers (PDM) and Further Education Sport Coordinators (FESCO) within Bedfordshire to explain the project. A request was made for them to forward details of the contact at each FE/HE institute. Promotion was done internally by the contact, once sessions were up and running numbers began to increase as word of mouth was used to recruit more players.
Location
Regional
How was your project delivered?Football
Funding
The project is reliant on project funding, the Bedfordshire FA & Bedfordshire & Luton Fire service have funded the project.
Partnership
Bedfordshire & Luton Fire Service FE/HE institutes taking part Local women’s clubs
Results
Lessons: 
The project took a while to get started after our initial contact with the PDM’s, some FE/HE institutes were really proactive whereas others were very slow organising dates/times for taster sessions. Have more Level 2 coaches who can deliver the coaching sessions, it is difficult to get to every session and sometimes a physical education teacher can not always be present.
Evaluation: 
So far the project is proving to be a success by enabling women to participate in futsal and play in regular fixtures. Monitoring has been via numbers turning up to sessions and the number of club links. The project does not finish until April where a full evaluation of the project will be completed.
Themes

Growing and sustaining participation

The two university teams already have an established squad who compete within the BUCS league. Many of these players do not play for local clubs, so the aim is to link these women in to local teams. Some teams have a mix of local club players and new players. Other teams have players who have never played futsal before, or haven’t played for a few years so the aim is to try and get these women actively taking part in futsal regularly. The project enables access to various BME groups and players from deprived communities.

Re-versioning sport

At times advertising futsal can be difficult to attract participants, as many are still unaware of what futsal is. Futsal has been marketed as ‘indoor 5 a-side football’.

Making sport sociable

Many students at the university have found the sport sociable and explained that they have made many new friends from the futsal team.

Targeting confidence and self-esteem issues

Many women have body confidence/self esteem issues, but with futsal being played indoors in an enclosed environment, many of the women who attend feel more comfortable than they would outside where others could watch.

Workforce development

Coaching and officiating opportunities are accessible to all those taking part in the project. New teams have to identify a captain/manager, to volunteer their time and ensure communication about fixtures or training is delivered.

Key links: 
Bedfordshire FA

Sweat in the City

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Case_Study_SITC.pdf

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.

Overview

Sweat in the City was an innovation research project to find out why 16- 24 year old women are half as active as men of the same age.

Project detailsProject duration: 29 September 2008 - 21 December 2008
Organisation: 
Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation
Project name: 
Sweat in the City
AudienceAll women
Age group: 
16 - 24
Innovation
Innovation SitC incorporated elements designed to specifically appeal to young women and counter-act the barriers to participation. Removing the practical barriers of cost and inconvenience was the first step. Aspirational brand and tone SitC was designed to be lively, positive and easy to identify with. The association with the iconic Sex in the City was crucial. Many gyms were over-subscribed within days. The tone used in communication was feminine, young and friendly. The women felt the programme was designed with them in mind. Social and supportive Working out in a gym can be a lonely and daunting task, but the combined effects of online networking, special group sessions and a named mentor ensured that participants felt part of a team. Advice was provided on the website for people new to the gym making no assumptions about previous knowledge or experience. A warm welcome and high quality customer care The first visit – needs to exceed expectations as just walking through the door can be a daunting experience. A useful and timely induction – often inductions can feel rushed, or assume knowledge, and core confidence can be lost. Can be the difference between coming back or not. Friendly and available staff – on reception or instructors, staff should be friendly, professional and not intimidating.
Recruitment and promotion
Recruitment and promotion All the promotion was aimed at driving 16-24 year old women to the SitC website (www.sitc.co.uk) where the women would register for the membership places. Two ambassadors were recruited, Jessica Taylor and Carly Zucker, to help promote SitC. They were both similar age to the target women, plus they live healthy and active lives, making them good role models. Through Jessica and Carly considerable media coverage was generated, both traditional and innovative. Coverage included London radio and in national and regional newspapers (e.g. The Sun, Metro and The Evening Standard), as well as within online blogs (e.g. Daily Candy). A Facebook profile was created and, there was advertising in Bebo. a media messaging company (Blik) was also employed to promote the programme through young people’s mobile phones. Leaflets were created for partners, local authorities, School Sport Co-ordinators and the leisure centres to distribute to their audiences.
Location
Local
How was your project delivered?Gym-based/ aerobics
Funding
National Lottery Community Investment Fund
Partnership
Fitness Industry Association
Results
Lessons: 
Becoming – and staying – active A week after SitC finished, nine in ten participants said they intended to stay active (86%). Crucially, six months on, 72% were more active. Shaping up and improving fitness levels “I am really upping the amount I work out and the levels I do each time. Exciting stuff! I think my stomach feels flatter, and my thighs seem more toned but maybe its just an effect of being more positive about my body image” Increasing body confidence As the charts demonstrate, participant’s body image improved and their self-consciousness decreased markedly. Often women reject exercise because of body confidence – SitC proved that if provided with the encouragement to start, then being active can be an aid to confidence. Healthy choices Being active fostered other behaviours – choosing to walk to school or work or taking the stairs or even giving up smoking. Some physical benefits were a surprise to the women – increased co-ordination for example. The feel-good factor Despite motivations to join SitC being broadly physical, most participants discovered the benefits were in the mind rather than the body. Nearly nine in ten (88%) agreed that ‘SitC reminded me how good it feels to be active’. Willingness to try new things The opportunity to try new activities in SitC was useful in removing prejudices. The number of women confident about attending an aerobics class, or using machine in the gym, trebled from the beginning of the programme to the end.
Evaluation: 
Lessons learnt? Ensure all leisure centre/gyms have signed up to the programme well in advance so that staff can receive adequate training prior to the women coming through the door. If the programme was to run again, oversubscribe the free spaces. If a gym offered 10 places 20 would be given away but the first 10 to take up the induction would receive the free place. Ensure better monitoring systems are put in place to capture information about attendance and retention. Monitoring and evaluation As part of the registration process, participants completed an online questionnaire to establish a benchmark for their participation behaviour, attitudes towards exercise, their bodies and confidence levels. Immediately after the programme finished the participants were emailed again and asked to complete a post programme questionnaire. They were asked the same questions as previously, as well as additional questions about how they found the programme, frequency of attendance, staff, facilities and the support they received. A further six months later they were re-contacted and asked to complete a questionnaire about their present activity levels. In addition to the quantitative data collected, three focus groups were held with a sample of participants on the programme. These focus groups enabled us to obtain a deeper understanding of the barriers that this age group face when considering activity, as well as more about their motivators and drivers.
Themes

Rebranding and revisioning sport, confidence and self esteem issues, and growing and sustaining participation

Key links: 
Sweatinthecity
Fitness Industry Association
[email protected]

Women and girls in judo

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Case_Study_judo.pdf

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.

Project detailsProject duration: 01 April 2009 - 31 March 2010
Organisation: 
British Judo Association
Project name: 
Women and Girls in Judo
AudienceAll women
Age group: 
0 - 15
Age group: 
16 - 24
Age group: 
25 - 40
Age group: 
41+
Innovation
The programme has changed the competitive grading scheme to a non-competitive scheme after decades which has made judo a more appealing sport for women and girls.
Recruitment and promotion
We recruited current members and promoted the new grading scheme through the British Judo Association (BJA) website, Matside Magazine, coach events and direct mail.
Location
National
How was your project delivered?Judo
Funding
The women and girls in judo programme was funded by Sport England.
Partnership
We partnered with Positive Futures to deliver the programme to hard to reach groups.
Results
Lessons: 
As we develop the programme we would like to recruit female coaches to develop and run the sessions at the regional level. We would also like to do some work with improving the attitude around female judo coaches. We would also like to promote this project more directly to potential coaches, and put in a coach development strategy.
Evaluation: 
The project has been a great success as we have seen an increase in females grading. When you compare the numbers from 2007/08 to 2008/09, there is an increase of 35% in senior female players and 24% in junior female players.
Themes

Working with hard to reach groups

During the project we identified and encouraged clubs and officials who cater for people with disabilities through club development and providing them with an opportunity to compete and participate in special needs events. We also provided workshops for coaches on working with special needs players.

Tackling drop-off

We continue to identify and consult clubs who have a high percentage of female members. We advertise and utilise the development officers' contacts to spread the word at a club level.

Workforce development

We have organised and promoted events to promote female continual professional development (CPD), coach revalidation, UK coaching certificate (UKCC) and Instructors Awards for females only.

We are working with the volunteer section of the BJA to build models of good practise to encourage more female into refereeing and table officiating.

 Promotion and marketing

We have begun a campaign to promote women and girls judo with new graphic designs for all of our promotional materials. We also set up stalls at all BJA's major events and send direct mail to members over the age of twelve.

We also email our contacts list and have been developing a Facebook page.  BJA continues to use role models at area and national events and seminars. Will be developing resource booklet of successful British female judo players soon.

Key links: 
British Judo Association
Positive Futures
Matside Magazine

Bollywood Dancing in Schools

We wanted to engage girls who were largely inactive within the curricular PE programme and extra-curricular activities. 

The target audience of girls were from an ethnic minority background where sport was not seen as a priority by them or their families.  These girls did the minimum of work in PE classes and although they were never disruptive, they were not getting anything out of the programmes that were on offer.  The majority of these girls rarely interacted with any of the teaching staff.

Project detailsProject duration: 02 March 2009 - ongoing
Organisation: 
Woodfarm High School
Project name: 
Bollywood Dance Classes
AudienceBME
Age group: 
0 - 15
Innovation
The Bollywood Dance programme was offered to a group of inactive girls from an ethnic minority background. Offering dance as an activity really engaged them as a group and changed their perceptions of sport from the traditional sense of football and hockey, and gave the girls some physical activity that they really enjoyed. We put a lot of effort into the timing of the classes to ensure maximum attendance.
Location
Local
How was your project delivered?Dance
Partnership
We worked with parents and external choreographers to deliver the Bollywood Dance programme.
Results
Evaluation: 
30 girls have attended the initial after-school Bollywood dance club. 95% of these girls are from an ethnic minority background. The girls have now grown in confidence and the choreography is led by a fellow group member. The girls have performed at the National PE Conference in Stirling. They were very enthusiastic about performing in front of other people as it is something which was very important within their own culture and community. The girls took great pride at getting ready for their performance in costumes and jewellery. For this group of girls, PE is now seen as a place where they can have relationships with the PR teachers. As a result their self-esteem has increased and they now have found an environment in which they can feel confident about taking part in physical activity. The girls now feel they are contributing to the PE department and to the ethos of the school by bringing their culture and experiences into school life. “We like the chance to show others the different kinds of things WE do outside of school. Sometimes people don’t know what our lives are like.” Student
Themes

Growing participation

Working with hard to reach groups

The Bollywood Dance group has offered a physical activity option for a group of girls who would not have been involved before.  Taking the time to think about the girls' needs - especially in relation to cultural issues - has been the biggest asset of the dance group idea. 

Confidence and self esteem

Before the Bollywood Dance programme began, the inactive group of girls did not participate in PE classes. Giving this group the option of Bollywood Dance has given them body confidence and self esteem - especially in PE classes.  They were also invited to perform at a National PE Conference in Stirling and participated in a the Festival of Bollywood Art which further helped their confidence and self esteem. 

Key links: 
Woodfarm High School

Essex 7s women's football league

Since Jan 2008 ECFA has been running female ‘get back into football’ sessions within Essex’s Metropolitan Boroughs as well as outer Essex. The success of the sessions gave us the idea of offering those females an opportunity to play some form of competitive football. A one off 7s event took place in August 2008 with 5 teams taking part. Due to the success we made the decision to turn it into a league and we are now in our third season. Each league consists of 4 monthly events with all results rolling over each month to work out the eventual winners.

Project detailsProject duration: 01 August 2008 - ongoing
Organisation: 
Essex FA
Project name: 
Female 7s League
AudienceBME
Age group: 
41+
Innovation
The project is unique because if offers ALL females with the opportunity to play football regardless of their lifestyle, ability, background, religion etc. The league is delivered in a relaxing and inviting environment which allows individuals and teams to develop and progress in their own time. There are friendship groups formed between players and teams which we believe is quite special.
Recruitment and promotion
The league is regularly promoted via Essex Fa’s website. Posters are also visible in Powerleague for any interested parties. The Gumtree website has been used to promote the league as well as for teams to recruit more players, which has been extremely useful. For the past two our October event has also been a One Game One Community sponsored event and as a result we have had FA Ambassador Lorraine Deschamps in attendance to hand out medals.
Location
Local
How was your project delivered?Football
Funding
The project is funding by Essex FA via the FA’s National Game Strategy funding. We also use our partner Umbro who provide all new teams with a free kit as well as equipment vouchers for returning teams.
Partnership
We work with Umbro for kit as well as establishing a positive working relationship with Fairlop Powerleague who host each event. This partnership has led to us delivering other events there including a schools disability league for girls.
Results
Lessons: 
The development of female officials was disappointing. The league began life with us using female coaches as officials, however, due to discipline problems it was decided to use Powerleague referees which changed things dramatically.
Evaluation: 
The success is that it continues to develop and is now coming to the end of its third league. It is also successful because we have been able to see two teams now playing affiliated 11v11. We have also linked two teams into affiliated clubs who have now established them as their ladies teams. Each month we have up to 70 females aged 16 and upwards taking part which may not have been the case should the league have not been created.
Themes

Growing and sustaining participation

The 7’s league has many different outcomes depending on how you look at it. It has helped to increase female participation by the flexibility of only taking place once a month which has brought new females into the game. It has also sustained participation by offering those females who may not want to continue playing 11v11 with a smaller format.  There is one player taking part in the league who is registered as disabled. We have females from a number of minority groups and have teams from the LB of Newham and Waltham Forest which are classed as deprived areas. Teams that attend have included those with sisters playing together as well as one team with a mother and daughter. Two teams that began in the league have now transferred to the Essex County Womens League and play 11v11 affiliated football. The league is a good stepping stone for those teams that do have ambitions to progress or it is a welcoming environment for those that want to just play and have fun.

Rebranding and reversioning sport

The 7’s league is a flexible format of football which has been extremely appealing to the groups of females taking part. Many teams share players if numbers are low and there is a family atmosphere at games. At the end of each four month league there is a presentation and all teams bring with them a selection of food which also creates a family atmosphere. For some women football is a new sport  and it is our responsibility as organisers to ensure that they get the best possible experience.

Targeting self-confidence and self-esteem issues

I believe that due to the huge mixture of ages, backgrounds, cultural and religious beliefs many barriers are crossed. For some women, taking part in sport and especially football is frowned upon so to have such a multicultural league is a real achievement for all those involved.

Key links: 
Essex FA

Women in Motion - Telford and Wrekin Community Health Services

The ‘Women in Motion’ project is a BIG Lottery funded initiative which sits within the Living Well West Midlands portfolio. It is one of 29 innovative health and wellbeing projects running across 14 locations within the West Midlands. The project gives females the opportunity to increase their levels of physical activity either as a participant or by becoming a Community Physical Activity Leader. The project recruits female volunteers and funds them to gain nationally recognised qualifications in various disciplines of sport and fitness.

Project detailsProject duration: 01 December 2007 - 01 December 2010
Organisation: 
Telford and Wrekin Community Health Services
Project name: 
Women in Motion
AudienceBME, Deprived communities, Young mums and pregnant women, Other (Female carers)
Age group: 
25 - 40
Age group: 
41+
Innovation
The project is unique and innovative as all of the sessions are run by female volunteers which have accessed training and qualifications through the project. We monitor the in-kind support we receive from our volunteers by using a set monetary value designed for the project. This helps us to estimate the actual cost for time that they are giving to the project and identify how cost effective it is to use volunteers. It is estimated that our in-kind support will outweigh the actual financial cost of the project by December 2010. It is also unique in the fact that we offer females the opportunity to attend free sessions.
Recruitment and promotion
The volunteers that have become part of the project are females from the community, who deliver back into the community. This in itself has given community members participating in the sessions a role model and encouragement to lead healthy lifestyles through physical activity. To promote the project we have used posters, leaflets and editorial in newspapers and magazines. Word of mouth continues to be the most powerful marketing tool for the project.
Location
Local
How was your project delivered?Running, tennis, badminton, gym and aerobics, netball
Funding
The Women in Motion project is a 3 year Big Lottery Fund initiative which sits within the Living Well West Midlands portfolio. The project has secured funding for a 3 year period from December 2007 until December 2010.
Partnership
The project has formed very strong partnerships since it began in December 2007. We work closely with our local council who support us with providing cost effective facilities for physical activity sessions, training and events. We have made links with various National Governing Bodies (NGBs) to provide training and support for our volunteers to gain coaching qualifications. The local Shropshire colleges have also played a part in providing various fitness courses for our volunteers. The Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) has helped and supported us to recruit volunteers.
Results
Lessons: 
We would like to gain more knowledge about the coaching qualifications required to lead sports sessions and work more closely with specific NGBs from start. Sports-specific training is very time consuming and is not necessarily suited to short term projects. Individuals need to gain between 9 – 12 months experience as a level 1 coach before obtaining a level 2, which is the requirement from most NGBs for them to lead independently.
Evaluation: 
By providing opportunities to be active in local community settings, for free with crèche facilities included, a number of the participants have found that they are now able to attend organised activities where they couldn’t before and access all of the additional benefits that this affords. These benefits include improved health, well being and confidence, friendship and a sense of community. From February until September 2009 we have had 336 participants attend the sessions. From this, we have a total throughput of 1793. The Women in Motion project recently received the award for Project of the Year at the Telford and Wrekin Sports Advisory Council’s Annual Awards evening. The project was short listed to the final three in the categories of Project of the Year and Health Improvement Through Physical Activity categories at the Energize Awards – the County Sports Partnership awards for Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin. Following our nominations at the CSP Energize Awards, we were put forward to the West Midlands BBC Power of Sport Awards and have recently been informed that we have been short listed to the final three. This highlights the positive impact that the project has made within the borough of Telford and Wrekin and gives recognition to the hard work and dedication of all involved and we were delighted to have received this award.
Themes

Working with hard to reach groups

The overall aim of the project is to increase the number of women taking part in sport and physical activity within target areas of Telford and Wrekin.  We provide sessions that women have identified there is a need for within these areas and actively encourage their return to sport and physical activity which they may have enjoyed previously but may not have done for a while.

Within Telford and Wrekin, it is a specific target for our County Sports Partnership to target women in areas of deprivation. Several of the areas within Telford fall within the top fifth most deprived area in England.

Within these areas, we have a high percentage of BME communities and these are one of our target groups within the project.

Workforce development

The project recruits female volunteers to lead sessions run within it. Our target for recruited volunteers across the lifetime of the project is 40. To date, we have recruited 56 volunteers, with 46 of those having accessed some form of training course with us and 21 are actively leading sessions out in the community at present.

We have given females within the local community an opportunity to increase future employment prospect by funding them to gain nationally recognised qualifications and given them the opportunity to gain leadership skills in the process.

Training to date has included tennis, badminton and netball coaching, walk and jog leaders and gym and circuit training instructors. 

Making sport sociable

We make all of our sessions as fun and interactive as possible. When marketing the project, we continue you to promote the social element of the sessions as this is very important for our audience. All of the sessions are ladies only which encourages participation from a variety of ages and abilities.

Key links: 
Women in Motion - Telford and Wrekin Community Health Services

Fit For Girls - Bishopsbriggs Academy

We wanted to increase girls' participation in sport and physical activity at Bishopsbriggs School in Scotland.

Project detailsProject duration: 17 August 2009 - ongoing
Organisation: 
Bishopsbriggs School
Project name: 
Fit for Girls - Bishopsbriggs - Netball League
AudienceSchool
Age group: 
0 - 15
Recruitment and promotion
We kick-started the programme with netball team trials evenings, using posters and staff to promote the events; approximately 60 girls from S1 and S2 attended. We then used a second trials evening to further encourage these pupils and to sustain their interest. At this point girls were informed they had all been successful in their try-outs, that they would all be invited back and that they had ‘made’ the team.
Location
Regional
How was your project delivered?Netball
Partnership
Support from partners has been essential. Netball Scotland provided specialist coaches, constant guidance and advice; while the local sports centre provided the hire of facilities and equipment; and local newspapers promoted the league and reported on fixtures.
Results
Lessons: 
On average 90 girls from the six participating schools competed in the league competition. Around 40-50 of these pupils also attended the monthly coaching sessions.The league has resulted in a significant increase in the number of girls participating in regular sport and physical activity. The trials evenings ensured the girls developed a sense of identity and pride in representing their school and allowed us to sustain the high number participating in weekly training sessions, match fixtures and monthly specialist coaching sessions. We now find ourselves with around 5 squads and struggle to provide them all with a team kit! We have seen a vast improvement in the fitness level, skill level and overall attitude towards sport and physical activity; 80% of our S2 girls have gone on to select Standard Grade PE as one of their subjects to study in S3/S4. “Training and match nights were great fun and taught me a lot more skills and how to play netball better. I think that S2 netball was really good. I hope the S3 league is as good as I hope to have great fun again.” S2 pupil All schools have committed their involvement to the S1/S2 league next session, and an S3/S4 girl’s league will be introduced to continue the pathway for current participants. Netball Scotland has also requested that this programme be taken forward to set up an East Dunbartonshire Coaching School to develop an elite squad of netballers who will have the opportunity to be selected by scouts to represent Glasgow and/or Scotland Netball squads.
Themes

Growing and sustaining participation

The Bishopbriggs Academy was created to increase girls' participation in sport and physical activity. The schools involved in the programme conducted weekly coaching sessions with a focus on netball skills and fitness. The combination of competition and skills was critical to sustaining the group of girls. 

We invited specialist coaches to run monthly clinics for players that were interested and ran a weekly competitive league.

We have seen a vast improvement in the girls' fitness and skill levels and overall attitude towards sport and physical activity.  80% of our S2 girls have gone on to select Standard Grade PE as one of their subjects to study in S3/S4.

We have also introduced a transition netball programme for P6/P7 girls and a league style competition between primary schools.

Key links: 
Bishopbriggs Academy
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