International Women’s Day – A Message for Girls Dropping out of Sport

On International Women’s Day 2022, Steph Houghton, Natasha Jonas, Heather Knight, Sarah Hunter, Heather Watson, Jamie Chadwick, and Hollie Pearne-Webb explore how to sustain growth of women’s sport, and their message for girls thinking about dropping out of sport. The sportswomen reflect on the evolution of their own sport, pinpointing what needs to happen to sustain the development, and how to keep young girls active.

And, with a recent report from Women In Sport indicating that more than one million girls who thought of themselves as sporty at primary school lose interest in physical activity as teenagers, what message would our leading sportswomen have for those girls thinking about dropping out of sport?

The sportswomen explore what they would like to see changed in women’s sport by 2025, how to ensure that young girls don’t drop out of sport, and their message for those girls stepping away from their sports:

Knight: I think a lot of girls leave because other things come along and because there is that self-consciousness young girls sometimes have. Sometimes being involved in sport is not what you are expected to do as a teenage girl, so the more we can drive a change in perception and do things a little bit different to make girls feel included and maybe keep them with a group of friends [is important]. If girls are leaving sport, I would ask why and what can we do to bring friendship groups together and help girls maintain that active lifestyle.

Pearne-Webb: For the good of both girls and boys, continued investment in primary school sport is absolutely essential, for many reasons. First and foremost we must look after the health and wellbeing of the nation, but we also need to ensure that every child has the opportunity to progress as far as they possibly can within their chosen sport. And especially for girls, we know how many stop doing sport when they become teenagers, so creating a love of sport in primary schools is key. To keep girls in sport, they also need to see female role models on TV and in the media even more.

Read more HERE.