Department for Communities Archives

Sported is delighted to announce that it has been awarded funding from Sport Northern Ireland and the Department for Communities to get more young women and girls physically active and playing sport in Northern Ireland.

The funding is part of Sport Northern Ireland’s ‘Active Fit and Sporty’ project, and will support the expansion and continued delivery of Sported’s Engage-HER programme in partnership with Women in Sport, following a successful five-month pilot.

As part of Engage-HER, community sport groups benefit from insight, training and Sported volunteer support to improve their engagement with women and girls, and create more tailored participation opportunities.

The extension to the programme will see Sported staff, volunteers and selected partners trained to deliver Women in Sport’s insight workshops, in order that the charity’s expert knowledge can be disseminated to community groups across Northern Ireland.

Ten further community sport groups and two sporting National Governing Bodies (NGBs) will benefit from Engage-HER. Each will receive training on how to effectively attract and retain women and girls in sport and activity, plus volunteer support from Sported to develop and implement a women and girls engagement plan.

Sported members from the original pilot will also receive further support to deepen their understanding of the topic.

Brenda Kelly, Northern Ireland Manager at Sported, said: “Following the successful pilot of Engage-HER with Women in Sport, it’s fantastic that Sport NI and the Department for Communities have awarded us funding to continue the programme. This unique package of support will help our members break down barriers to participation and get more young women and girls benefitting from the life-enhancing effects of sport.”

George Lucas, Sport Northern Ireland Chair added: “Sport NI is delighted to continue supporting and collaborating with Sported as part of our ‘Active Fit and Sporty Project’, together with the Department for Communities and our other partners. We share their commitment to helping women and girls across Northern Ireland enjoy, engage and excel in sport through the delivery of quality sporting experiences, and look forward to seeing the continued impact of the ‘Engage-HER’ programme.”

Heather Smith, Innovation Manager at Women in Sport, said: “We are delighted that further funding has been given to the Engage-HER project. Through the pilot we saw the positive changes that organisations were able to make to the way they worked with women and girls as a result of the support provided. To be able to share Women in Sports insights with those involved in giving opportunities to women and girls in Northern Ireland is very exciting and we can’t wait to get started!”

An innovative new pilot project that aims to encourage greater participation and increase opportunities for women and girls to get involved in grassroots sport is being rolled out across Northern Ireland thanks to funding from the Department for Communities.

As part of the Department’s continuing investment in women’s sport, Sport NI has partnered with leading Sport for Social Change charity Sported and Women in Sport to launch a new joint pilot programme called ‘Engage-HER’.

Engage-HER will initially see six community sport organisations in Northern Ireland benefit from the combined expertise of Sported and Women in Sport; receiving tailored training and operational support to grow women and girls’ involvement in sport and physical activity.

The programme draws upon Sported’s experience of supporting grassroots groups using sport for social change and Women in Sport’s 30 years of insight-led expertise helping groups remove barriers to participation and improve their understanding of what women and girls want.

The package of benefits will also see each group receive one-to-one mentoring support from Sported to develop a ‘Women and Girls Engagement Plan’. This will help groups put the training and insight from Engage-HER into practice, and foster the development of exciting new sporting opportunities for women and girls across Northern Ireland.

John News, Acting Director of Participation at Sport NI, said: “Sport Northern Ireland is delighted to be working with Sported, Women in Sport, the Department for Communities and our other partners on the Engage-HER pilot programme. Sport NI is committed to encouraging more women and girls to enjoy, engage and excel in sport, and Engage-HER is about developing a more informed and responsive approach to delivering quality sporting experiences for females. We look forward to the roll-out of the pilot programme and wish the six participating organisations well in their work to help women and girls get active, fit and sporty.”

Brenda Kelly, Northern Ireland Manager at Sported, said: “Sport has an important role to play in developing the health and life-skills of young people and bringing communities together. However, across Northern Ireland far fewer girls benefit from sport than their male counterparts. Thanks to funding from the Department for Communities, and together with Sport NI and Women in Sport, we hope to support groups to break down this gender gap.”

Jennie Rivett, Senior Sport Partnerships Manager at Women in Sport, said: “This project funded by the Department for Communities has allowed us to bring our learnings to Northern Ireland for the first time, providing an opportunity to share research and explore how our insights can be applied at a local level. The programme is a really positive step forward and encourages clubs and community groups to think differently about how they engage women and girls.”