Issued by Sport England
Over 3,000 women living in Hastings and Rother are to be given new opportunities to take part in sport, thanks to a £275,000 National Lottery grant.
It is one of 21 projects backed as part of Sport England’s £10 million Active Women campaign to tackle the gender gap in sport.
It aims to encourage women with children and those from disadvantaged communities to play more sport as part of the drive to deliver a mass participation legacy from London 2012.
Figures published by Sport England in December revealed the size of the gender gap in sport. At present, one in eight (2.761 million) women regularly play sport in England.
Whilst this has increased significantly in the past five years, it still trails behind men’s participation, with one in five (4.176 million) taking part.
Women from disadvantaged communities play even less sport, with less than one in 10 women taking part.
The Hastings and Rother Active Women project focuses on eight sports - swimming, netball, tennis, rounders, table tennis, cycling, athletics and badminton – chosen after consultation with women living in Hastings and St Leonards, Sidley and Central Bexhill.
Three community sport workers will run a mixture of taster sessions and regular drop-ins, designed to encourage women to play sport more and more regularly.
They will also train 30 new sports coaches and recruit 60 new volunteers into sport.
As transport, tight budgets and childcare are potential obstacles the opportunities will be within walking distance, low-cost and, in many cases, with free crèche and play sessions running at the same time.
There will also be sessions that the whole family can take part in together.
The project is being run by Hastings borough council in partnership with Rother District Council, Orbit South Housing Association and NHS Hastings and Rother.
Councillor Trevor Webb, Hastings’ lead member for leisure, said:
“We are very pleased with the funding Hastings has been awarded. Giving the women of Hastings the opportunity to participate in physical activity is an extremely worthwhile project.”
Cllr Deirdre Williams, Rother member for culture, sport and leisure said:
"We are very pleased that with the additional funding we will be able to provide more opportunities for women in Sidley and Bexhill to be active. This is in line with what our residents told us they wanted and I look forward to seeing even more women across the district participating in sport in the next few years."
Jennie Price, Sport England Chief Executive, said:
“For many women with children or those managing a tight budget, sport – and time to themselves - can slip down the list of priorities. The projects we’re funding today have asked local women what is preventing them from getting involved and what sports interest them, before coming up with an offer that is appealing and accessible.”
Today’s announcement was welcomed by the Minister for Sport and the Olympics, Hugh Robertson MP and Gail Emms - one of Britain’s greatest ever badminton players, who won World Championship Gold and Olympic Silver medals.
Hugh Robertson said:
“We have many fantastic female athletes in this country, but not enough women participating at sport’s grassroots. More needs to be done to encourage women to participate in sport, particularly those from disadvantaged communities.
The £10 million being invested by Sport England will give women the chance to try out new sports as part of a dedicated programme and hopefully keep them in sport in the future.”
Gail Emms, who became a mum nine months ago with the arrival of Harry, said:
“As a new mum, I know only too well how difficult it can be to make time for yourself and to get out there and play sport. The projects receiving investment from Sport England today will make a big difference because they’ve really thought through the challenges women face in becoming regular sports participants.”
