LIKEaGIRL – Getting to the core of activity & sport - the fundamentals for girls'.

What causes the disconnect, avoidance and drop out amongst young girls? How can schools, clubs & NGBs overcome this at an early age?  Is it just a case of P.E. v competitive sport? Fear of being judged? Or something much deeper?

The Women's Sports Network, a world-leading community of some 50k, with our partners The Sports Marketing Network, are pleased to announce this investigative conference on the fundamentals of why #LIKEaGIRL!

A one-day conference to investigate why girls avoid ‘sport’ at school and frequently drop into inactivity. Understanding the root cause, exploring remedies that schools, clubs, NGBs and community providers can develop to attract and retain girls.  
24th Nov 2015    -    Delegate rate: £145 (no VAT) , University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL10 9AB

PROGRAMME

8.45 - 9.30 Registration/Tea and Coffee

9.30 - 9.40 Welcome from Chair       
Karen Rothery, CEO Surrey Sports Park - @Surreysportpark

Karen Rothery took over the role at Surrey Sports Park early September, following on from seven very successful years as CEO at British Universities College Sport (BUCS) and before that she was Commercial Director at England Netball. Karen has always been a strong advocate for growing women's involvement in sport and physical activity.

9.40 - 10.10 The landscape for girls’ schools sport/fitness –Sport / PE and its impact on confidence & body image.
Sarah Winckless, World Champion & Olymic GB rower. Moti ational Speaker, Chair of the British Olympic Athlete’s Commision - @Sarah_Winckless

Setting the backdrop to attitudes to girls' sport, fitness, bodyImage & issues around fear of judgement. The landscape for schoolgirls, parents, teachers, coaches in preparing girls for sport by better understanding body management as a pre-cursor to sport and how this impacts, confidence in adulthood. 

Sarah Winckless is a former British rower. She won a bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, and was twice world champion, in 2005 and 2006. She is Patron of the Scottish Huntington’s Association was Chair of the British Olympic Athlete's Association from 2010 to 2014, and was Chef de Mission for the Youth Olympic Games 2014.  Sarah speaks regularly on motivation through sport and advises on leadership in business. In 2015 she was awarded an MBE for services to Sport and Young People. 

10.10 - 10.50 Core is key! - Why do girls throw LIKEaGIRL? Understanding & Coaxing the ‘core’ for sustained sport/activity/confidence.
Ryan Demaine, Director of Sport, Headington  School Oxford - @HeadingtonSch 

An overview of core coaching principles and why ‘LIKEaGIRL’. How these impact girls’ engagement in sport & competition. A description of the core muscle recruitment  process and its significance in various ‘girl’s sports’, ‘core’ exercise routines  for different sports and their relevance to  Health & Wellness.

Ryan is Director of Sport at Headington School, Oxford and is committed to a broad understanding of Muscular-Skeletal control and Health-Related Fitness as part of a girl's engagement in sport and lifelong wellbeing. He has applied this to a range of sports at Headington with extensive success at both engagement and international levels.

10.50 - 11.20 How Badminton England attract young girls
Jenna Smith, Project Manager, Badminton England - @BADMlNTONEnglnd

SmashUp! has brought Badminton to a new audience of over 40,000 young people and has been particularly successful in engaging girls. This session will explore how Badminton England addressed the challenge of getting more girls in the 13-16-year-old range to play a sport many saw as ‘not for them.’ It will set out how SmashUp! Was developed to ensure girls are active whilst having fun, listening to what young people want from physical activity.

The session will also identify the key elements that have attracted girls to SmashUp!, drawing on successful case studies to highlight the importance of activators with the right skills to engage girls.

The key is not being afraid to adapt the activity through fun and innovative games and incorporating music, social time and social media. Girls are engaging in SmashUp! Week after week - this presentation will tell why.

Jenna Smith has led the SmashUp! Programme since its launch in 2013, driving its growth to delivery in over 1200 sites nationally. She is a passionate advocate for participation amongst girls and brings a wide experience of the school sector

11.20 - 11.40 Tea/Coffee

11.50 - 12.20 Offering a more holistic approach to physical literacy
Shannon Pepin Bevione, Lecturer in Physical / Primary Education, Plymouth University - @PlymUni

With the growing international focus on developing physical literacy, is traditional girls’ school sport really the answer? Getting it right in the primary years is essential to developing girls who are motivated, confident and competent to embrace lifelong physical activity. Emphasising the importance of developing core stability, and fundamental movements that can be transferred to a variety of physical activities is vital to promoting successful participation and increased engagement.  How is this being done in the primary sector and what are the implications for secondary schools? This presentation will look at the concept of physical literacy, evaluate tradition approaches to ‘girls’ sport and physical education and offer a more holistic approach.

Shannon Pepin Bevione  lectures in primary education at Plymouth University and is co-subject leader for physical education.  She  specialises in primary physical education and has almost twenty years of experience in state, independent & international education sectors. In addition to coaching hockey at regional JRPC level, Shannon has also worked as a professional dance choreographer and as an independent primary physical education consultant.

12.20 – 12.50 Attracting girls (back) into sport outside of school - how clubs/NGBs/teams/schools can better prepare girls for sport/life.
Joanne Herbertson, Women & Girls Cricket Development Coach,  Cheshire Cricket Board, @jo_sports

Joanne will summarise how she has experienced attracting girls (back) into sport, outside of school - how clubs/ NGB’s/ Teams/ Schools can better prepare girls for sport/ life. This session will share Joanne’s practical experiences from Cricket, Football and varying sports together with her current thoughts and understanding as a sports coach. Showcasing her belief in the importance of a personal approach to provide girls with the knowledge, tools/opportunity and support to get girls (back) into sport.

Joanne Herbertson, Women and Girls Cricket Development Coach for Cheshire Cricket Board, formerly Northumberland Cricket Board. A volunteer football coach, FUNdamentals Sports Coach and experience with disabled children and adults in various activities. Her motivation is to encourage all to share greater understanding, enjoyment and the advantages of being active.

12.50 - 13.45 Lunch

13.45 - 14.15 Growing your club by engaging with older girls
Melissa Anderson, Valleys Gymnastics Academy

Valleys Gymnastics Academy ('VGA') has achieved significant growth in the three-year period in which it has operated from a dedicated gymnastics facility. The club has an official membership in excess of 1600 (plus a weekly casual user base of over 500 individuals across Gwent schools and leisure centres). In 2014 VGA was the Welsh Gymnastics Club of the Year.  In particular, the organisation has bucked the national trend for girls’ gymnastics participation; 40% of its membership is over age 8 and approximately 20% are of secondary school age. The club works closely with local authority and school partners and has recently joined the Us Girls network to expand its provision for inactive teenage girls. This presentation will share the success that is Valleys Gymnastics Academy and identify what other providers of sport and physical activity can learn from the our journey.

Melissa Anderson is a Lecturer in Sport Development at Cardiff Metropolitan University and is heavily involved in the development of sport within the community. She is Managing Director and Head Coach of Valleys Gymnastics Academy and uses her expertise to provide mentoring to those running community-based sporting organisations.

14.15 -14.45 Sport & Wellbeing – School Case Study, the right mix? All girls or mixed? 
Liz Rodgers, Director of Sport, Sheffield High School - @SheffieldHS

Liz's presentation will focus on meeting the needs of young people today through curriculum and co-curricular programmes and opportunities. She will look at understanding their perception of fitness and sport and the importance of adapting a school’s provision accordingly. During the session successful strategies and ideas will be shared on participation and engagement. Liz will cover pupil leadership, activity balance, praise, reward and publicity, pupil centred targets, co-curricular monitoring and involvement of the entire school community. You will hopefully leave this session with a host of small ideas that are easy to put in place but create a big impact on your pupils, your departments and schools.

Liz Rodgers is Director of Sport and Head of Year 9 at Sheffield High School GDST. The award winning Sport and Well-being Department at Sheffield promote the belief that schools can develop young people with lifelong involvement in and ownership of physical activity, alongside competitive sports performers.

14.45 - 15.15 Social and digital media - it’s impact on women and girl’s sport, body image, fear of judgement and how this impacts engagement 
Danielle Sellwood – Co-founder of Sportsister & Visual Campaign Director Women’s Sports Trust - @Sport_Beautiful

Social and digital media offer huge opportunities to extend the reach of women’s sport and fitness.  Never before have we had the power to challenge traditional media by delivering our message directly to a previously undefined audience.  It offers the ability to transmit a female perspective on the huge benefits of sport, from empowerment and confidence to a healthy mind and body.  What is the impact on girls’ sport and how can it be used to address engagement, body image and attractiveness of sport via role models & imagery?

Danielle is a former International GB Canoeist who after 20 years working in design and trend forecasting for major sports brands, so-founded Sportsister.com. Alongside her work with Sportsister, Danielle is the Visual Campaign Director for the Women’s Sport Trust and created the Sport is Beautiful project - an initiative designed to raise the visibility of sports women as inspiring and powerful role models. @Sport_Beautiful

15.15 - 15.45 So HOW LIKEaGIRL? Defining strategies/actions that can be used in schools and clubs
Vanessa Jones, Head of the WISE Task Force, University of Worcester, Women in Sport & Exercise Task Force - @UoWWISE

Vanessa's presentation will summarise the key areas brought to light by the other contributors to this conference including: understanding girls' disengagement with sport and exercise, and the importance of meeting the specific needs of girls in preparing them physically (CoreFIRST) to engage with sport and exercise. This session will review the issues identified and attempt to define strategies and actions that can be used in schools and clubs, by the community and National Governing Bodies, to help develop and harness a lifelong habit of exercise in this population

Vanessa Jones is the Associate Head of the Institute of Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Worcester and Head of the Women in Sport and Exercise Task Force. Vanessa's background is in Physical Education (P.E.) teaching, and has formerly held roles that include Head of P.E. and Associate Advisor of P.E. for a local education authority. 

15.45 - 16.00 Conclusion and Questions - Chair

If we are serious about the wellbeing and achievement of all women and girls in later life, then we must create a culture where girls’ active participation in PE and sport is the norm. An understanding of why this disconnect occurs and how it can be avoided is essential - not just for girls in sport - but for girls throughout life.

Glass Ceiling? It is mooted that fear of judgement in sport (via programmes such as #LIKEaGIRL) extends into other areas of life – right up to the ‘glass ceiling’. Resolving the ‘issues’ around competitive sport may hold the answers to a plethora of wider career, achievement and wellness/confidence issues in girls.

Community sports clubs, and NGB’s consequently face a number of challenges (and hence opportunities) when attracting and retaining girls. They need to become more understanding of the needs of girls & women and be more welcoming to newcomers, providing activities and facilities (shower cubicles, hair straighteners?) that are appropriate to women and girls and not delivered in an immediately competitive manner.

Schools - Perhaps the answer is for Schools to rethink the PE / sport balance by introducing more control-based (as opposed to competitive-based) activity – such as dance, Zumba, aerobics etc. alongside gymnastics etc. Why do many women choose to take these up later in life yet rarely get the chance to engage in more competitive sport once they understand how their bodies can work in a more confident and powerful manner?

Do PE departments, leisure centres and NGB’s really understand why girls do ‘Throw LIKEaGIRL’ and what they can do to help overcome this  . . . and then transition more girls into competitive sport?

A conference presenting real stories and ‘need-to-know’ support

This is not a conference packed with policy presentations – but real anecdotal information and advice to really help delegates better understand why girls do ‘Throw LIKEaGIRL’ and how they might change their thinking about the relationship between, competitive sport, fitness and PE. We hope people will leave the event knowing they have heard some great practical ideas and having learnt how to make positive changes of their own. This event highlights best practice and provides thoughts, tools and to-dos on how to get more girls to become more active.

Delegates will come from community sports clubs, schools, governing bodies of sport, local authorities, community sports trusts, informal sports providers, community sports enterprises, sports governing bodies, community groups, volunteer organisations and other community sports providers.

Trade Show
We will be offering a small Trade Show alongside the conference specifically designed for schools, NGBs and smaller commercial suppliers to promote their products/services which may address the #LIKEaGIRL issues and values.  This will NOT be an expensive, commercial 'show' but a genuine attempt to help schools, NGBs and smaller commercial suppliers to promote their products/services/ideas/ initiatives/programmes which may address the #LIKEaGIRL issues and values. 
More information will be distributed w/c 27th September.  Please email me for more information when it is availalbe.  BOOK TRADE SHOW HERE
*WSNlet/SMNet reserve the right to changes speakers and/or decline trade show applicants without reason.

This is a joint initiative between The Women’s Sports Network (www.wsnet.co.uk) and The Sports Marketing Network (www.smnuk.com) 

The Women’s Sports Network -  is a world- leading community supporting WomenSport and SportsWomen -  Crystallising issues & coordinating opportunities around WomenSport & Fitness by working in partnership with commercial/NGBs/educational/schools & Charity organisations to strengthen their 'position' where it raises the profile of WomenSport & SportsWomen.  Offering better access to Sport/FITNess, alleviating gender-bias and empowering women & girls through SPORT/FITNess in their everyday lives.

The Sports Marketing Network - is the organisation for people passionate about making sport and active leisure vibrant, visible and viable.  SMN engages with a large, active and diverse number of people working and volunteering across sport and active leisure keen to improve their working practices.  Professional sports clubs, leisure trusts, private gym and studios, governing bodies, local authorities, community sports clubs, county sports partnerships, social enterprises, school sports partnerships...they are all represented.  SMN provides information and advice on how to make your club or facility more viable, vibrant and visible sharing best practice across all sports. We publish newsletters, organises seminars and help sports clubs and leisure centres with their commercial, communication and community activities