National School Sport Week 2022

Small changes to ensure ‘a place in sport for every child’ means her too

Sun’s out, summer’s here, bunting’s up. Another National School Sport Week is on us and this year’s theme is belonging – a place in sport for every child.

Love this. The sentiment’s bob-on and it’s an aspiration you simply can’t argue. It’s an especially important message after two years of patchy school, exercise and social contact.

Because every child deserves a place in sport to play and have fun; to build confidence and friendships; to explore their talent and limits.

Every child though. Hmm. In the spirit of progress we might need to address some basics …

66% dropout

Imagine a group of nine girls. Pre-puberty, maybe all nine are keen on sport. By post puberty nine becomes three. Yes – girls’ sport dropout rate stands at about 66%.

The reasons why girls disconnect from sport after puberty are, at a high level, fairly straightforward: discomfort, embarrassment, irrelevance, disinterest …

Post-puberty, girls may cite practical barriers such as periods, breast pain and leaking, but really those are later-stage symptoms of the overarching and fundamental problem here.

Put simply, girls disconnect because sport isn’t designed for them.

And the seeds of that message, however unwittingly, are planted early. The process of girls shunning sport begins much younger than we think-  they’re already less active than boys by the age of just seven.

So we desperately need to double down efforts to assure her, at the youngest age possible, sport is for her. And School Sports Week, especially given this year’s theme, is a uniquely relevant time to do that.

If she’s taught and encouraged to move her moves; to feel good sans pain and awkwardness then she’s more likely to associate sports and exercise with freedom and positivity. Do that and the bar on giving up is higher.

Don’t and it’ll remain low. Don’t and we’ll get what we always got: six in every nine girls you see taking part in activities this week Will. Drop. Out.

True belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are.

Brene Brown

Culture and kit

No one’s pretending there’s a quick fix. Females’ (lack of) enjoyment and participation in sport is the remit of whole government departments. But we can, right now and in the spirit of low-hanging-fruit, address some no-brainer line items.

Items like kit. What girls wear in sport really matters for their participation, confidence, enjoyment … and that all-important sense of belonging. It’s a key thing to think about during sports week.

Specifically, did you know skirts restrict girls’ movement and how much physical activity they do compared with shorts? There might be a long legacy of girls wearing skirts in sport but it actually stunts her movement and limits her enjoyment.

Another: do you know of girls being made to wear male hand-me-downs? This can’t happen as it sends a message that girls are tourists. Imposters. It plants a seed that girls don’t belong. However subtle, we can’t allow this message to seep in.

And while the fear teenage girls associate with light coloured (leaking) or tight-fitting (discomfort, embarrassment) kit isn’t as likely to cause problems at primary school, we can futureproof habits now. We can affirm that kit equals comfort and darks are best. It’s not complicated but a solid way to address an issue before it’s a problem.

It’s an investment in tomorrow. It’s taking preventative action and establishing a better normal than the one we’ve always had. The one that’ll lead to dropout for the majority.

Sure, this is primary school but it’s also the opportunity to re-route her trajectory. We can entrench healthier and more positive behaviours that can change the prognosis for her in sport. Incremental tweaks and low-key habits on-the-ground can translate into enjoyment, confidence and participation – now and later.

We can all play a part in improving the outlook for her; spreading messages through action that she, in fact, belongs here. That there’s a place in sport for every child.