Supporting greater female participation in sport
The Consulate General of Ireland, along with Sport Ireland and Sport Scotland recently hosted an event to look at encouraging greater female participation in sport.
It was hosted in the Edinburgh Academicals rugby ground in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, the site of the first rugby test match for both the Irish and Scottish international women’s sides as well as the host venue of the second Women’s World Cup.
Fifteen individuals working for sporting organisations across Ireland, including Athletics Ireland’s Anna Grealish (Women in Sport Lead) and Rachel Ormrod (Athletics Ireland Director of Participation), travelled to Scotland for the event.
Also represented were Gymnastics Ireland, Hockey Ireland and Basketball Ireland, as well as staff from four Local Sports Partnerships in Ireland including Mayo, Wicklow, Carlow and Sligo.
The Irish representatives participants were joined by their Scottish counterparts from Sport Scotland, the Active Scotland Division of Scottish Government as well as Hockey Scotland, Triathlon Scotland, Scottish Gymnastics and Scottish Athletics. Local authorities in Scotland were represented by Active Stirling, City of Edinburgh Council and West Lothian Council.
Breaking into small workshop groups, the participants looked at current initiatives to support female teen participation, using Fit for Girls in Scotland and Girls Get Active in Ireland as case studies. Individual sporting governing bodies and local authorities also shared examples of success stories. There were lively discussions on how change occurs – and the need for both structural change and cultural change across organisations. The differing models of delivery were discussed at length; participants from Ireland noted the significant relationships that the Scottish organisations had within schools structures and how this impacted on their work in encouraging participation. Many agreed that it was crucial to involve boys and men in conversations and campaigns about female participation in sport.
The workshop was followed by a panel discussion which was opened by the Scottish Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport, Maree Todd MSP. Minister Todd spoke passionately about her efforts to increase participation, particularly for those from disadvantaged areas and those with care experience, who traditionally would have engaged less with sport in their teenage years. Minister Todd’s passion is driven by her own personal interest in sport and she spoke of the challenges she has faced when playing rugby.
The panel discussion - moderated by Louise Burke Head of Participation from Sport Ireland - looked at the challenges for engaging young women in sport, and the success stories from Ireland and Scotland. Diane Middleton Cox of Sligo Local Sports Partnership talked about their Women’s Leadership Programme which supports women to gain the skills and confidence to take on leadership roles in sporting groups. Anna Grealish, Women in Sport lead for Athletics Ireland, noted the importance for sporting governing bodies of the work done by Sport Ireland in developing its Women in Sport Strategy. This provided a useful framework and structure for organisations to draw from when tailoring programmes and approaches for their individuals sports.
Grace Stirling, a Fit for Girls Tutor and member of Young People’s Sport Panel at Sport Scotland, talked about the importance of listening to young people themselves when designing initiatives; young people need to feel heard. She also spoke of her experience as a young person with a disability and the importance of role models. She noted that some of her teachers did not encourage her to try sports, assuming her disability would be a barrier. Having competed in the Scottish Para Swimming Squad and as an active Wheelchair Tennis player, Grace is keen to use her role as a Fit for Girls Tutor as a platform to encourage further inclusivity in sport.
Barry Cawte, CEO of Scottish Hockey, spoke of the need for more men to be in the room when discussions of women in sport are being held, and the importance of men using their influence as “allies”. He also spoke of the dangers of initiatives becoming tokenism if the governance, or culture of the organisations don’t change alongside the initiatives. Jennifer Treacy, the first female Chairperson of Scotland GAA, noted her experience of being one of the few female Chairpersons at the GAA Congress in Ireland and that efforts were underway to improve senior female membership across all sporting organisations in Ireland. She also mentioned the importance of having boys see girls and women play sport, both at home and in wider media, and how that will contribute to future positive change.
The events contributed to deepening Ireland and Scotland’s connections in this key policy area for both countries and we look forward to seeing where these discussions lead in terms of future collaboration.