Sport Cardiff encourage Women in Sport with Girls Together campaign

Sport Cardiff will be launching a brand new campaign across Cardiff to encourage women and young females to take part in more sporting activity. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The Girls Together campaign was developed by Sport Cardiff and aims to provide a programme of suitable activities across the City of Cardiff for females of all ages and abilities to access. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The campaign will be officially launched on March 8th as part of the International Women’s Day celebration and will have four key areas of focus; Play – participation for fun, Compete – providing a pathway of suitable competitions, Coach – up-skilling more females as coaches of the future, and Volunteer – directing females to voluntary opportunities within their community. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Within these key areas, four ambassadors will help promote the opportunities alongside role models, to engage with more females to increase physical activity and reduce the current gender gap. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

As part of the campaign, Sport Cardiff welcomed 40 inspirational females to the National Indoor Athletics Centre at Cardiff Metropolitan to discuss the new campaign. The group of women and young females all have their own inspirational sporting stories to share. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The 40 shortlisted females, all aged between 12 and 64, will each play a part in becoming role models and promote the developing campaign with a final 12 selected to work alongside four ambassadors to achieve specific outcomes mirroring the aims of the scheme. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The ambassadors for Girls Together includes Sarah Clark who is a working mother of three and managing director of Sakura Health & Fitness. Sarah has been involved with sport and fitness since a young age. She participated and competed in a variety of sports early on, was an active member of her local running club, and currently enjoys crossfit, weightlifting and rowing. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Through her experience, Sarah opened Sakura Health & Fitness which is a sporting facility that specialises in children’s health, and offers a range of classes and programmes. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Sarah said​​: “As a working mother, I’ve always tried to be a good role model to my three children and demonstrate how I’d like them to lead their lives; being fit & healthy is part of that. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“I work hard in promoting our activities to girls as I recognise that there as many girls out there who could benefit both physically and mentally from being active. Women have a lot of external pressures but I feel living an active life can really help balance and redress those pressures and create a better mind-set for dealing with everyday challenges. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“I am excited to be an ambassador for Girls Together. As a 42 year old mother of three, I think I can definitely demonstrate anyone can join in and I hope I can inspire women across South Wales and give them the self-believe that ​they can do it too. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Speaking about the campaign and the development, Fay Benningwood, women and girls sports development co-ordinator for Sport Cardiff, said: “We developed the Girls Together campaign as we wanted to help women and girls have fun and build friendships whilst getting active and playing sport. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“The campaign aims to minimise the physical activity gender gap with easily accessible programmes that women and girls can take part in and are guaranteed a warm friendly welcome and the chance to be with other like-minded individuals.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Sport Cardiff, is a Joint Venture Agreement between Cardiff Metropolitan University and City of Cardiff Council. Sport Cardiff’s mission is to enrich the lives of the people of Cardiff by delivering a range of quality sporting opportunities. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The agreement has been backed by Sport Wales and provides timely boost to the resources available to develop sport in the Welsh capital. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

For more information on the Girls Together programme, please visit: http://www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/about/sport/sportcardiff/Pages/Women-and-Girls.aspx​​​​​ ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​