The Women and Girls: Active, Fit and Sporty strategic framework, was launched in 2016 which aimed to work strategically with a wide range of partners and stakeholders to raise the profile of women and girls in sport and physical activity. The Active, Fit and Sporty framework specifically targets the development of female focused campaigns, projects and programmes in four key areas of;
- Media
- Leadership
- Role Models
- Research and Evaluation
Sport Northern Ireland as the leading public body for the development of sport in Northern Ireland are passionate about maximising the power of sport to change lives. As we develop our new strategy, for the next five years, key themes of; well-being, diversity and inclusion will all be central to the critical development of our sporting system in Northern Ireland. Sport Northern Ireland’s mission statement is; ‘By 2025; we want the power of sport to be recognised and valued by all.’
In planning for the future, Sport Northern Ireland with our Active, Fit and Sporty partners are undertaking a consultation process focusing on women and girls in sport and physical activity. We want to know how best we as an organisation, in conjunction with our partners, and the wider public can encourage more females to take part and flourish in all aspects of sport whether this be as; a participant, volunteer, coach or leader, high performing athlete or an employee working in the area of sport or physical activity. A consultation survey was distributed in May 2019.
Key Findings of survey:
A total of 1,102 participants completed the survey, with 96% of respondents being female and the largest number of responses came from people aged between 35 and 44 at 32%.
94% take part in sport and/or physical activity and 65% are active 3-5 days per week. When investigating the type of sporting activities women & girls are participating in, this was divided into 3 parts to highlight the results-
Part A. Walking, Mountaineering or Running, outlined that 62% of respondents participate in walking, 49% participate in running and 12% take part in mountaineering or rambling.
Part B. Fitness Activities, showed that over the last 12 months 49% of respondents attended exercises classes including spin or HIIT.
The third section, Part C. Sporting Activities showed a considerable variety of sporting activities with the top four being swimming/diving at 27%, cycling at 25%, Gaelic Football 12% and athletics at 10%. Other activities included badminton, netball, rugby, canoeing along with many more.
Following sporting activities the survey investigated Club Membership and 71% of the respondents indicated that they are members of a sports club. The top sporting activities with the highest percentage of participants who have indicated they are members of a sports club are athletics, triathlon, rugby, gaelic football, rowing, hockey, netball, cricket, gymnastics and camogie. Statistics showed that you are more likely to be active if you are a member of a sports club. 71% of club members were active 3-5 days a week, compared to non-club members which was 42% of respondents active 3-5 per week.
From the results and analysis of the data undertaken we have identified two key areas where there are clear relationships between each of the identified trends. The two key areas are that women and girls;
- Understand the benefits of their participation in sport; and
- Understand how to address the lack of confidence which may restrict their participation
A lack of confidence and poor health and well-being are clearly barriers to female participation in sports and physical activity. 70% of respondents indicated that a lack of confidence to take part in sport and physical activity and poor health and well-being were considered significant barriers to participation in sport and physical activity. 98% of the respondents state they felt better after exercising. From that, 886 of the 1102 participants agreed that feeling better was an important factor for staying active and that a lack of confidence was a significant barrier to participation in sport and physical activity. These figures suggest that the respondents are aware that participating in sport and physical activity will make them feel better however, primarily a lack of confidence may prevent them from participating to begin with.
69% agreed that using role models to promote female sport and physical activity would encourage increased participation and indicated significantly that a lack of confidence was a barrier to sport and physical activity participation.
67% total participants agreed that the development of more opportunities for social and recreational sport and physical activity would encourage increased participation and indicated that having no one to go with was a barrier to sport and physical activity participation.
74% agreed that better developed youth and sports clubs would encourage increased participation and they also indicated that a lack of confidence was a barrier to sport and physical activity participation.
Conclusion and Recommendations:
When looking at the recommendations, the majority of our survey respondentsare in fact Active, Fit and Sporty in some capacity with walking (62%) being among the most popular activity. Women and girls are aware that participating in sport and/or physical activity has health benefits however, it is clear from the survey findings that mental health and well-being is recorded strongly when asked what the main barriers are for participation in sport and/or physical activity. A lack of confidence has been identified as the top barrier to participation by 82% of participants.
Overall, participating in sport and physical activity in a recreational/non-structured manner was identified as the most popular choice for women and girls. These figures would suggest that some women and girls may at different times in their lives, prefer to participate for social reasons rather than competitive reasons. An improved club environment with the right offer may attract more women and girls to join a sports clubs – and more likely to be and stay active.
From the findings of this survey the following recommendations have been made to assist the future planning for those engaged in the provision of opportunities for women and girls sport and/or physical activity:
- More Mental health wellbeing/Body Image Interventions
- More visible role models at all levels of participation
- Sports Clubs at social and recreational level
- Development of inclusive and accessible facilities
The full report is below
