Keeping Girls in Sport
Our October Play-By-Play is here!
Through our monthly e-newsletter we aim to keep you up to speed on our programs, how our organization is continually pursuing our mission, and provide you with educational insights on how to help keep the young girls in your life active, healthy and pushing boundaries.
By the age of 12, girls drop out of sport 3x more than boys. What can we, as parents do about it?
It is widely known that participation in physical activity and sports has both immediate and long term benefits, especially for girls - from improvement in social and psychological well-being to cultivating leadership potential down the road. Despite the clear benefits, only 50% of girls between the ages of 6-15 are participating in a weekly sporting activity, with a mere 38% reporting regular participation by the age of 16.
While the drop in participation rates are certainly alarming, we want to highlight some of the main reasons for sport drop out and more importantly, focus on what factors can help reverse the trend.
Percentage of Individuals Reporting Weekly Sport Participation
In the early years, roughly the same number of girls and boys regularly participate in sport, but during adolescence girls drop out at three times the rate of their male peers. This creates a significant participation gap that only grows with age. While the drop in participation rates are certainly alarming, we want to highlight some of the main reasons for sport drop out and more importantly, focus on what factors can help reverse the trend.
With the top 2 reasons young girls participate in sport being to make friends and to be a part of a team, it is important to remember that girls approach physical activity with a unique set of priorities.
When girls are asked why they drop out, many report barriers such as:
→ Low self-confidence and body image
→ Lack of access to quality programs
→ Feeling unwelcome
→ Lack of female role models and coaches
→ Saying it’s not fun anymore
→ Social pressures
Even more worrisome, feedback is that girls feel they do not have the same positive reinforcement about their sports participation as their male peers.
Parents make the difference
While there are a number of factors that contribute to drop out rates amongst girls in sport, the question becomes what we, from a parent perspective, can do to help reverse the trend? Adolescence is a pivotal time for retention and through mentoring and role models, girls can be encouraged to continue their journey in sport. Female sport training is not a one-size fits all approach - here are some factors that will narrow the participation gender gap:
→ Parent role models have a big impact on the physical activity habits of their daughters - 56% of girls report that their parents impact their sport participation the most
→ Mom's participation in sport increases the rate of her child's by 22%
→ Ensure programs provide an inclusive and safe environment
→ Enroll girls in organizations that have specifically designed training programs for females
→ Expose girls to strong and powerful mentors and role models
→ In the early years, focus on fun and play rather than practice
→ Watch and support female athletes, focusing on intangible traits such as resilience, perseverance and teamwork, rather than performance and physical attributes
Source: Canadian Women & Sport
Our coaches are doing amazing things! Be sure to congratulate these accomplished young women who represent our organization!
PROVINCIAL CHAMPION!
Coach Sophie recently competed in the High School Provincial Cross-Country Championships and was first to the line in the Jr Girls division! Congrats to Sophie on representing Lord Beaverbrook High School as Provincial Champion!
UNIVERSITY BOUND!
Coach Samantha is currently a grade 12 student with great aspirations! She was recently accepted into the Faculty of Neuroscience at the University of Alberta and one day hopes to work in the field of neurology with a focus on mental health.
LEAD COACH ALERT!
Our Thursday assistant coach, Kira will be stepping up and leading our weekday classes this winter! Coach Kira's insights have been an integral part in building our programs. She connects with the girls and will be a fantastic lead coach!
Interested in joining our team?
If you, or someone you know is interested in becoming a volunteer coach or mentor, let us know!
We are looking for women with experience in sport to join our coaching team this winter. Through collaboration, connection and belonging, Run. Jump. LEAD! promotes an environment of personal growth for our team members.