Helping women and girls get active

Projects which help women and girls take part in sport or physical activity are to be supported through a £300,000 fund.

The Scottish Government and sportscotland are calling for applications led by Scottish Governing Bodies of Sport (SGBs) or Local Authorities, as part of a programme to encourage more women and girls to participate. The launch of the fund comes during the second annual Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week.

Funding awards will range between £10,000 and £30,000. The funding builds on the success of the Sporting Equality Fund launched in 2017, with investment going to projects including wheelchair basketball in Glasgow, netball across Scotland and ‘bike-packing’ adventures in the Highlands.

Sport Minister Joe FitzPatrick announced the fund at a women’s tennis session at Craiglockhart Tennis Centre in Edinburgh.

He said:

“One of the best things we can do for our health is be physically active. Taking part in sport or physical activity brings so many benefits to physical and mental health, self-confidence and self-esteem, learning skills, socialising and most importantly, having fun.

“The numbers of women and girls in Scotland participating in sports and physical activity has increased significantly in recent years, including traditional sports such as netball, hockey and shinty and activities such as recreational walking and biking adventures. But we want to do more and address the barriers that stop women and girls taking part, and this fund helps support that aim.”

sportscotland Chair, Mel Young, said:

“Sport makes a positive impact on people and communities and sportscotland wants to help ensure sport is accessible to all.

“Our Fit for Girls programme continues to go from strength to strength and has an important role to play in shaping physical activity engagement for girls in schools.

“As we celebrate Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week, it is important that we build on our work to increase the understanding around the barriers faced by women and girls in sport. At sportscotland we will continue to work with our partners to help address those issues and extend existing opportunities.” 

Background:

The Sporting Equality Fund, was managed by Spirit of 2012 in 2017 when the £300,000 funding went to 14 projects.

sportscotland will accept applications led by Scottish Governing Bodies of Sport (SGBs) and Local Authorities, encouraging partnership working where this is an effective means of maximising participation.

Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week runs from September 30 to October 5 with a programme of activity to encourage more women into sport and physical activity, raise awareness of those regularly taking part at all levels, and address the barriers that lead to lower activity rates among women.

The announcement of project funding follows the Scottish Government’s support to help fund Scotland’s women’s national football team to train fulltime in the build-up to the 2019 women’s football World Cup in France.