Girls Get Active convention tries to get to hard-to-reach groups
SOME 60 girls from Year 9 at four schools will be taking part in a full day of sport and physical activity today as part of the Guernsey Sports Commission’s Girls Get Active convention.
There will be a range of activities led by female coaches, including boxing, dance, cricket, yoga, home workouts and strength and conditioning exercises using netballs.
The Girls Get Active convention forms part of the commission’s response to the Active-8: Plan for Sport – the States’ agreed sports strategy.
‘Tackling some of the more “hard to reach” groups, such as teenage girls who may have disengaged from sport and physical activity, is a key part of delivering on the overarching objectives of the plan,’ said Nicky Will, the commission’s communications director.
Mrs Will said there were a variety of reasons why teenage girls were disengaging with sport, including self-belief, capability and body image.
The commission hopes the event will encourage the girls to think about sport and keeping fit in a more positive way.
‘The more people we can get more active, more often the better.’
The girls will be provided with a goody bag to take home containing skincare and a set of exercise bands they can use to workout at home, thanks to sponsors Sovereign Group, Investec, Ogier and the Sarah Groves Foundation.
There will also be a group session exploring how the girls feel about physical activity and what they feel are some of the barriers to them taking part in sport.
The feedback will be used to inform what the commission could offer to secondary schools by way of alternative options for PE or for after-school clubs.
. The event is being led by female sports coaches and development officers – Mandy Hobart for boxing, Amy Fallaize in netball, Hannah Eulenkamp for cricket, community dance officer Julie Haimes, Ali Martin and Kate Harding from Upgrade Fitness, and Caroline Wickham from Power Yoga.
