Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation - Rebranding

Turves Green Little League Netball

admin — Thu, 27 May 2010 14:48:30 +0000

Little League Netball provides the opportunity for girls aged 8-11 to play competitive netball and receive coaching regardless of ability to pay or play. The league is in a central venue, so remains very local for those involved. Mothers of players run the leagues and take on the training, managing and coaching roles. Along side this Return to Netball sessions have taken place, as many of the women, through watching their children play, became enthused and reminded of how fun netball was. The league also runs a Young Leaders programme, with leavers returning to help out.

Project detailsProject duration: 01 February 2005 - ongoing

Organisation:

Birmingham City Council

Project name:

Turves Green League Netball

AudienceAll women

Age group:

0 - 15

Innovation

In terms of Little league Netball, the fact that all abilities are welcome and the professional nature of the league in terms of how it is run with kit and equipment provided etc. And for the Return to Netball sessions, the fact that participants were able to see their children participating and that it was ok and achieveable to be sporty has been really important.

Recruitment and promotion

Players are recruited to Little League Netball through schools, via letters to parents inviting the childeren to get involved. Posters are also put up in local libraries and leisure centres. Word of mouth has also meant new members getting involved. In terms of the Return to Netball element, the majority of players are parents of Little League members, although sesions have also been promoted through posters in local supermarkets and the Birmingham netball website.

Location

Local

How was your project delivered?Netball

Funding

Initially the project was funded with a start up grant from The Children's Network fund and Birmingham City Council. It is now self sustainable through teh league own fundraising eforts and sponsorship from the local community.

Partnership

The league is run by Mothers of players in the league and is supported by the local Sports Development Officer for Birmingham City Council. Schools also support the league by promoting it to parents and pupils.

Results

Lessons:

The project is monitored both by numbers of attendees and participant evaluation forms that ask questions about enjoyments, perceived fitness levels, self esteem etc.

Evaluation:

We would look more at supporting the transition from Little League to junior club as there are quite a lot of girls that drop out at 11. Inviting local clubs to come along in their club kit to meet the girls on match days and in the environment that they already feel comfortable in. In relation to Return to Netball, we need to review how we follow up with those women who come once or twice and then never again to better understancd and address why this is.

Themes

Growing and sustaining participation

Tackling drop off

Stopping girls from droping out of sport is central to the project, by getting them involved at an early age (8) there is more likelyhood of them staying in sport. There are then clear exit routes for the girls when they turn 11 into local clubs.

Taking part as a family

Mothers of players of players attend as supporters, committee members, managers, coaches and umpires. Now many of them play as well Their sessions follow on from the week day coaching sessions the girls attend. The girls turn to watch their mothers!

Workforce development

Volunteering

The mum's that volunteer fulfil a variety of function including team managing, fundraising, officiating, chairing league meetings and marketing and promoting the league.The fun environment that has been created for volunteers also makes recruiting them pretty easy.

Promotion, marketing and raising the profile

PR and media coverage

We are currently producing a DVD that hopefully shows all aspects of the project. This will be played at cinemas, leisure centres, at Head Teachers meetings etc.

Rebranding and reversioning sport

Whilst the actual playing rules for the children are the same, the way the league is run is quite different to other leagues as the emphasis is on fair play and enjoyment. All players must play at least half a match, no one gets left out. The selection process is based on sharing out of tall players, good players, beginners, small players, and ensuring the same number of ages in each team – the aim being to end of with teams of fairly equal ability. All children receive medals, not just the winners.

Confidence and self esteem issues

The Little League Netball rules ensure everyone plays at least half a game and throughout the season everyone plays the same number of half matches and full matches. Netball is a team sport and all the team are rewarded and congratulated. The end of season tournament is handicapped giving those lower down the league table a chance to win!

Media

Women’s Running Network

editor — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:44:16 +0000

"IT’S FUN, IT’S SAFE, IT’S SOCIAL!"

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

editor — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:00:27 +0000

“Fantastic! So easy to understand with achievable activities for all girls.”

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

Girls 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

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

Sweat in the City

editor — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:45:31 +0000

"My confidence has grown and I feel like I could fit into a place like a gym"

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]">[email protected]

Bollywood Dancing in Schools

editor — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:27:21 +0000

“The introduction of Bollywood dance as part of the extra-curricular programme has proved to be a resounding success. The participation levels of the girls have increased and there is evidence of improved self-esteem as they demonstrate a skilled performance to their peer group with a confidence rarely seen in PE activities. ”

PE Teacher, Woodfarm High School

“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

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

Girls in Sport - Aberdeenshire Council

editor — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:28:34 +0000

“Many factors have contributed to the success of the Girls in Sport project but the planning, staff commitment and in particular the innovative marketing approach have obviously appealed to the participants allowing them to differentiate this from other opportunities. The approach taken to motivate the girls to continue participation week in and week out by offering appealing incentives has been key to the maintenance of consistent and increasing participation numbers and has been a vital factor in sustaining the success of the project”.

Brian Mitchell 13 Dec 06

In order to reach the national physical activity recommendation of 1hr of moderate activity every day, we created the ‘Girls in Sport’ club at the Meldrum Academy.

Project detailsProject duration: 01 December 2006 - ongoing

Organisation:

Aberdeenshire Council

Project name:

Girls in Sport

AudienceSchools

Age group:

0 - 15

Age group:

16 - 24

Innovation

Our project was well delivered due to our enthusiastic staff, funding and the variety of our partners. We also launched the programme with considered branding and promotional tools which were targeted to the girls. The project was delivered using multi-activities so the girls were engaged and also were not put off by competitive sports or limited types of activities. To encourage girls to come back to the club we also introduced incentives which target girls specifically including hair, beauty, nutrition vouchers and products.

Recruitment and promotion

We designed a “Girls in Sport” logo to give the club its own identity. We also produced a leaflet which was distribution to all P7-S6 girls. In addition, the girls were sent an invitation in the mail to raise the profile of the club and inform the girls and the parents. To promote the club further, we design a Power-Point presentation to demonstrate girls taking part in physical activity. The presentation was shown on a flat screen TV in the weeks leading up to the launch to raise awareness of the club. We also updated the school web page and featured the activities on the Pupil bulletin.

Location

Local

How was your project delivered?Multi-sport

Multi-sport

Partnership

We received support from Youth Sports Trust and SportScotland which was essential for the project. To deliver the Girls Get Active project we also worked with the Local Sports Centre, a graphic designer, local businesses, Community Sports Clubs and Sports Development Officers.

Results

Lessons:

One lesson we learnt from the Girls in Sport Club is that training and time out to plan is essential. Although it takes a lot of time and hard work to set up club, it really works. We now have started to do joint planning between the primary and secondary school as a result of the success of the girl’s project. One other thing I would like to improve in the future is further cooperation from parents, especially in terms of car sharing.

Evaluation:

• Increased levels of girls taking part in sport and physical activity • Increased girls' participation and attendance at extra-curricular clubs • Weekly 30-50 girls attending

Themes

Facilities

Transport was an issue for some girls from the furthest away primary schools, but they arranged for their parents to meet and set up a car pool to enable the girls to take part.

Participation

We have grown girls' participation in physical activity by offering a variety of multi-sport activities and have launched a rewards or incentive scheme. The more sessions the girls attend, the quicker they can receive small incentives that have been selected specifically for girls such as hair, beauty and nutrition products. Vouchers are also provided to girls with high attendance figures.

Key links:

Aberdeenshire Council

Fit For Girls - Bishopsbriggs Academy

editor — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:45:52 +0000

“The netball league has been a huge success and has fostered a real team spirit. All the girls enjoyed themselves. The regular weekly training sessions and competitive matches have significantly developed and improved the girls’ skills and fitness levels.”

PE teacher/netball coach

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

School

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