Sport girls
FACT SHEET #22 - "YES WE CAN" - GIRLS AND SPORTS
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that every child has the right to recreation opportunities.
Girls' experience of sports
· Many girls love sports, and their numbers are growing.
· Girls often view competition in sports differently from boys. They tend to worry about competing against their best friend, being yelled at by the coach and wondering if they will be more or less popular depending on what sport they play and how good they are at that sport. Girls also often worry more about disappointing team mates and making mistakes.
· Girls and women often view competition as a way to honour the game and appreciate their competitors rather than as a "winner take all" proposition.
Benefits of sports for girls
· Active, athletic girls have been found to have higher self-esteem, more confidence, higher achievement test scores, less depression, improved mental health, more academic success and greater lifetime earning potential.
· Girls who play sports are also more likely to turn away from risky behavior, be it unprotected sex, promiscuity, or experimenting with drugs and alcohol.
How participating in sport and physical activity can help children
· Recreation and sport activities have an obvious positive link to excellent physical growth in children through the development of gross motor skills (running, jumping and other use of large muscles), strength and endurance.
· Participation in physical activity also leads to improved body image. Girls in sport often have a better appreciation of a strong body that is bigger and has more muscles than what is depicted as the "ideal" female image.
· Physical activities also promote social and emotional growth. Two of the most important indicators of healthy social and emotional development are the resiliency of a child and a child's opportunity to enjoy caring relationships with adults who are important to that child. Both of these can be developed through participation in organized physical activities.
· Recreation activities provide a safe and supportive environment for children and youth to explore their strengths, develop skills and test their limits. Children's self esteem is nurtured by the mastery of age-appropriate skills and the achievement of reasonable goals. This mastery contributes to the development of a resilient child. This means that a physically active child, regardless of circumstance, is more likely to thrive.
Physical Activity and Youth:
· Recreation and physical activity is particularly important to helping adolescents though the years of transition to adulthood. The ongoing social relationships that develop from participation in physical activity and recreation provide a core of social resources that can support and protect children and youth as they mature. (CCSD, 1996; CP/RA, 1995)
· High self-esteem, which can be developed by participation in sport and recreation, can lead to a higher level of motivation and can buffer young people against adverse influences such as substance abuse and delinquent behaviour. (Marsh, 1990)
· Physical activity and recreation provides youth with the opportunity to develop leadership skills by participating as coaches and team leaders.
· Once children fall behind in their "recreational" skill development, they are less likely to pursue sports and arts programs at school because they cannot keep up with their peers, they do not make the teams, and their self-esteem suffers. Another consequence is that these children have time on their hands - time they may use getting into trouble. (MCZCR 1999)
How to support girls in sports
(adapted from Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sports)
· Buy a Girl a Ball Not a Doll
· Encouraging Your Daughter - provide good equipment and watch girls' games.
· Photograph your child being active
· Take her to the park and be active with her
· Be an active role model yourself
· Emphasize fun, fitness and skill challenges
· Introduce her to active women
· Watch women's sport events on TV with your daughter
Barriers to girls participation in sports
· Lack of media coverage of female sporting heroes
· Lack of role models. Research has shown that older athletes that work with younger athletes improve both their leadership skills and increase younger girls physical activity.
· Need for quality daily physical education programs for young girls at school
· Need for increased levels of corporate funding for female athletes
· Females at an early age under-value and underestimate their capacity (and potential) for competency in physical activity. This view is shared by others in society, including male peers. As a result, a girl's competency in physical activity constantly falls further behind her male peers.
Resources
Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS)
http://www.caaws.ca/girlsatplay
Girls@Play
Women's Sports Foundation
www.womenssportsfoundtion.org
Promotion
Promoplus@mindlink.bc.ca
Freedom to Grow
http://www.freedomtogrow.com
