Worcestershire girls have been encouraged to get active over the past two weeks as the ‘Worcs Girls Can’ campaign returned to the county with over 1580 Women and Girls engaged in the campaign.
Led by Sports Partnership Herefordshire and Worcestershire, Worcs Girls Can worked with a lead high school in each of the six districts to involve 35 schools and incorporated a range of activities and opportunities for female students to get active. Students in Tudor Grange Academy Worcester, The Chase, King Charles I, St Augustines, Prince Henry’s and South Bromsgrove High School participated in innovative activities from cardio tennis to piloxing (a fitness class combining the fundamental elements of pilates, boxing and dance), along with zumba, cric fit, clubbercise and yoga.
Collaborating with the six ‘lead schools’ and over 70 sports clubs, community organisations and leisure providers across the Worcestershire Districts, Sports Partnership Herefordshire and Worcestershire hosted six marketplace events throughout the week, enabling female students to discover an array of exciting activities taking place within their communities. Offering free or subsidised sessions, sporting organisations across the county opened their doors to females wishing to get active.
British Cycling’s Annasley Park and Paralympic silver medallist Rebecca Redfern were among those supporting the ‘Worcs Girls Can’ campaign:
“I feel that girls need a lot of positive encouragement to get in to sport. There are many negative attitudes, especially in Physical Education at school and I know first-hand that sport has a lot of mental health benefits as well as physical. You have nothing to lose but you have so much to gain. Sport opens so many new doors for you and if you have nothing to lose, then why not just give it a go?”
“When you think about sport, don’t just think of it in terms of reaching the highest level. We all have our own boundaries to push and reaching those individual boundaries is a challenge in itself.”
According to a recent Department of Education study, 1 in 3 teen girls suffer from anxiety or depression; the ‘Worcs Girls Can’ campaign was aimed towards changing female’s perception of sport and physical activity, in-turn, tackling some of the mental health problems that UK teenagers are experiencing.
Inspired by Sport England’s ground-breaking ‘This Girl Can’ campaign, which was successful in encouraging 2.8 million women to participate in physical activity, ‘Worcs Girls Can’ aimed to celebrate active females across Worcestershire, helping to overcome the fear of judgement that stops so many women and girls from participating in physical activity.
Stephen Brewster, Chief Executive Officer, Sports Partnership Herefordshire and Worcestershire said:
“Physical activity participation among women and girls is a priority for the Sports Partnership Herefordshire and Worcestershire. The county-wide ‘Worcs Girls Can’ campaign has enabled us to engage with our local schools, clubs and organisations to help break down the barriers to sport and physical activity for young women.”
“The involvement of wider community organisations such as Action for Children, Kooth and School Nurse teams has helped to highlight the positive effects that taking part in physical activity can have, both physically and mentally. “
"The campaign has been a great opportunity to utilise our partnerships in one of our areas of focus. We were delighted to relaunch and lead on a countywide bid to get females across Worcestershire active. Thus far, we have been successful in engaging over 1300 females through the campaign within our lead schools. We hope that we have inspired further young women to overcome the obstacles that stand in their way to get physically active.”
Following a localised bid to inspire Worcestershire females to participate in physical activity, we saw the national ‘This Girl Can’ relaunch on Friday 24th February, with a new TV ad and phase two of the Sport England campaign. This Girl Can aims to tell the story of real women who exercise and play sport.
To find out how you can become involved with This Girl Can, go to where you can find out about the women in the campaign, get tips on how to get active and join the national debate. You can also use the hashtag #thisgirlcan to join the conversation on Twitter.
To find out more watch the Worc Girl Can Video
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Notes to Editors
About Sports Partnership Herefordshire & Worcestershire
Sports Partnership Herefordshire & Worcestershire is the strategic lead for sport and physical activity across Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Our vision is to create a more active and healthier two counties.
A not for profit organisation we are part of a network of County Sport Partnerships across England. Our purpose is to lead on the delivery and discovery of sport and physical activity across Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
