Women and Informal Sport
WSFF in partnership with Sports Coach UK have recently conducted a large-scale research study involving interviews with sports coaches and focus groups with women involved in informal sport.
Some key headlines from the research include:
The 'informal' sports environment is hugely appealing to many women and meets many of their key motivations for taking part.
Experienced sports participants (even some athletes!) find the
environment unappealing. Developing informal sports offers are fundamental to boosting participation rates amongst women.
The role of the coach in informal sports is absolutely fundamental to the success of the offer. Women in these settings don't necessarily want to be coached, in the traditional sense, but find the knowledge, experience and passion of the coach vital to their continued participation.
We have developed a series of resources to support NGBs:
A video containing thoughts from women currently participating in informal sport about what keeps them coming back.
A series of five factsheets, which provide a wealth of hints and tips about developing an informal sports offer, getting the environment right, and developing an appropriate workforce.
A research report, containing our research findings.
We do hope you will find the research, along with our advice and guidance, interesting and useful, and we hope you share the research with relevant members of staff (anybody involved in coaching, workforce development and equity and diversity).
Watch our Video highlighting the research findings here:
2012-06-01
