Call for city groups to get involved in womens’ event.
Birmingham community groups are being offered funding to help stage a city-wide celebration of active women later this year.
Grants of up to £500 are available for organisations or groups of individuals to host activities on, and around International Women’s Day (Sunday 8th March). So if you would like to organise a run, a bike ride, Zumba session, football match or something else, get your funding application in now.
The activities will form part of part of Sport England’s exciting This Girl Can – a new campaign aiming to promote physical activity by helping women of all ages overcome barriers to participation.
This Girl Can aims to demonstrate that girls and women of any size, ability or experience can make sport an enjoyable part of their lives.
Based on insight into women’s sporting attitudes and experiences, the campaign uses humour and a sassy attitude to tackle the fear of judgement that prevents many women taking part in sport and activity. The campaign aims to tackle the rising gender gap between the number of men and women playing sport. However, with 75% of 14-40 year-old women in England cited as wanting to exercise more, the campaign aims to break down the barriers to what is stopping those women from getting started.
In Birmingham, International Women’s Day will be marked on 8th March with a city-wide celebration of women and physical activity. This will of course involve already active women but the main aim is to inspire less active women across the city.
Grants are now available for organisations, groups or individuals to host activity sessions for women across the city.
Cllr Lisa Trickett, Cabinet Member for a Green, Smart and Sustainable City, said: “Many Birmingham women are already active – some of them through initiatives like Active Parks and Be Active. But the research shows there are clearly fewer women than men exercising or playing sport regularly.
“There are lots of reasons for this but one of the biggest issues is that many women feel they’ll be seen as not fit enough, a bit overweight or too old. This Girl Can aims to ease those fears and show that women of all shapes, sizes and levels of ability can and do enjoy sport and physical activity.
“We want to celebrate active women on International Women’s Day and need the women of Birmingham to play their part.”
