Girls Unite project succeeds in getting more girls active
By Sported | 15th September 2021
Girls Unite, a Sported project funded by the London Marathon Charitable Trust, between 2018 and 2021, aimed to get more girls facing disadvantage (aged 11-18) participating in sport and physical activity. The project made a huge impact and realised its objective by getting 775 new girls participating in, and benefitting from physical activity.
This was achieved by giving community groups the knowledge, understanding and support to better engage and tailor their activities, on and off the field. It is evident that there was an appetite for this project as 232 groups in the Sported network engaged with it across the UK – the largest number of groups ever to have engaged with any one Sported project at a time.
The project encompassed all kinds of support at all levels, all aimed at achieving the end goal. Support included an online curriculum developed with Women in Sport, Sported volunteer support, live training webinars, grant funding and face-to-face learning and networking sessions.
As part of Girls Unite...
232
members from across the UK engaged in the project
775
new girls aged 11 - 18 years participated in sport and physical activity
25
Recieved grant funding to implement action lans to engage and retain girls into their activities
6
online modules developed covering each part of the journey to better engage women and girls accessed by 300 Sported groups
25
female leaders trained
“The Girls Unite project has been successful on many levels. It has helped to increase understanding on how to deliver effective services to engage and retain female participants. It has increased sustained participation in physical activity of women and girls facing disadvantage by reducing barriers to participation in community groups across the UK. On top of that, young women and girls feel better equipped to support others to participate regularly in sport and activity.”
-Joanna Di Paola, Partnerships Manager at Sported