CSP: Leicester-Shire & Rutland Sport
Leicester-Shire & Rutland Sport in support of local charity LOROS, hosted a ’This Girl Can’ Charity Night Out on Friday 11th March 2016, at Brockington College in Enderby.
Over 250 women from across Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland attended the event, which involved 10 exercise taster sessions including Zumba, Legs, Bums & Tums, Insanity, Yoga, Hula Hooping, CrossFit and Pilates. Local instructors gave up their time to deliver the sessions for free and provide exit route opportunities for the women, interested in the sessions they took part in.
The ladies were also able to challenge themselves, and each other, at mini-activities in the Challenge Zone, in sports such as Netball, Golf, Athletics, Cricket and Table Tennis, ran by the local National Governing Bodies of Sport.
As the women started to work up a sweat in the taster sessions, they had the option to visit the Health/Beauty and Information Stalls, treating themselves to a range of products including skincare, jewellery, candles and active clothing. The local College brought along a group of students who provided nail treatments, hand massages and hair treatments. At the end of the evening we witnessed the unbelievable sight of a mass Clubbercise! The ladies danced the night away in a darkened room with disco lights and glow sticks, to the fitness class that felt more like a night out than a workout!
Overall the night raised £979 for LOROS, who were the Leicester-Shire & Rutland Sport’s Charity of the Year.
The aim of the night was to celebrate and encourage women being active. A poll undertaken on the night showed that 70% of those asked did not meet the Chief Medical Office (CMO) guidelines of 150 minutes of physical activity per week. It is hoped that the event and the ‘This Girl Can’ campaign has inspired the women to continue taking part in some form of physical activity proving that These Girls Can!
The event received a fantastic response on the Leicester-Shire & Rutland This Girl Can Facebook page with attendee Sarah Valentine saying;
“I had so much fun; I can’t believe I was burning calories too! I cannot wait to see the photographs of everyone having a great time – you can’t beat a sweaty red-faced smiley photo!”
Victoria Knight posted a picture on Facebook of the 720 calories she burnt on her fitness app during the event and said:
“It was so much fun, and look how many calories I burnt!”
Supporting the event were the local This Girl Can Champions who are great ambassadors for a healthy active lifestyle and coming from different backgrounds, all genuinely understand the concerns and barriers some women feel and face.
For one participant, Sarah Townsend, attending the event marked a pivotal point in her life and is now also one of our valued TGC Champions. Here’s Sarah’s story…
Sarah didn’t enjoy PE at school and found it hard to find an exercise style that suited her although she did enjoy an occasional game of badminton with her family.
Following the event, Sarah signed up to Sports Relief to run/walk three miles. Sarah actually discovered she liked running when previously she found it difficult to run around a 400m track at school. She got a pair of running shoes and carried on fitting in the odd 5k around playing badminton, which helped her to speed up on court.
She entered a fun 5k around a hilly local park, Beacon Hill which was more challenging and then started to go to her local Parkrun at Conkers which she used to monitor her times. Sarah then went on to complete further runs to push herself further but also to raise money for Cancer Research UK. Sarah said:
“I attended the Leicester-Shire & Rutland Sport's This Girl Can Event in March; it was a big step for me picking up a leaflet about exercise but it looked fun and I saw the T.V adverts and as it was a one-off event I didn't feel the pressure of signing up to something I couldn't keep committed to like the gym.
The event gave me confidence to try new exercises and I felt as though I had the confidence to try new sports.”
The momentum of the campaign has not stopped and on 17th March 2017, we will host the second Charity Girls Night Out in North West Leicestershire taking on board the lessons learnt and the feedback from the women themselves - who better to guide how we develop and deliver future opportunities. They loved the social aspect, the varied activities, no pressure to perform and there was a feel good factor knowing they were supporting a local worthy cause.
So here’s hoping for more success stories and more importantly demonstrating that women and girls regardless of age, shape, and ability can lead more active lifestyles in the manner that suits them and whilst having fun – they are doing it because they want to and not because they should do it!