Local ladies, jiggle, giggle and wiggle at our ‘This Girl Can’ Charity Night Out’

Leicester-Shire & Rutland Sport, in support of local charity Hope Against Cancer, hosted a 'This Girl Can' Charity Night Out at Brockington College in Enderby.

Over 210 women of all ages from across Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland attended the event On Friday 6^th March 2020, the fifth annual Leicester-Shire & Rutland 'This Girl Can' Charity Night Out offered local women and girls' a night out of fun and fitness with their friends and family.

The event, held to coincide with international women's day, featured a variety of activity taster sessions including Bhangra Blaze, Hula Hooping, Netball, Tai Chi, Belly Dancing, Boogie Bounce, Vinyasa Yoga, Salsa Fit, Kickboxing, Zumba, Sitting Volleyball and Run/Walk Fitness sessions.

Overall the night raised £1200 for Hope Against Cancer who have been Leicester-Shire & Rutland Sport's Charity for this event.

At the end of the night came the unbelievable sight of a mass Clubbercise! The ladies danced the night away in a darkened room with disco lights, glow sticks and dance tunes, the fitness class that felt more like a night out than a workout! Finally a relaxing cool down Pilates session wrapped up the night, bringing the pace back down to a gentle close.

The aim of the night was to celebrate and encourage women being active, to try something new and to have fun doing it.

Our chosen charity this year is Hope Against Cancer. Hope Against Cancer's mission is to fund innovative research that leads to improved treatments and better outcomes for cancer patients in Leicestershire and Rutland. They do this by working in partnership with local universities and hospitals to ensure that Leicestershire remains a centre of excellence for cancer research and treatment to achieve the greatest impact in the local and national fight against cancer.

Vicky Standing, Community Fundraiser for Hope Against Cancer said, "It's been absolutely amazing, the women here have come together to try a range of activities and its been great meeting and speaking to everyone and help raise the profile of the charity."

Millie Richardson, Miss Leicestershire and Hope Against Cancer Ambassador said "This evening has been fantastic, it's been great way to try new activities and meet new people as well. Exercising is not only important for our physical health, but also for our mental health as well as being a great way to meet new people and be social."

Kate Scott, Sports Development Officer and This Girl Can Charity Night Out Organiser said, "Our This Girl Can event had a fabulous atmosphere right from the start with our mass warm up, through to our closing Clubbercise, complete with glowsticks. It was great to see both our regular This Girl Can ladies but also to see some new faces on the night. This year we included more activities than ever before, with local exit routes and opportunities avaliable to continue with after our event."

Leicester-Shire & Rutland Sport and partners are advocating the countywide This Girl Can campaign with the aim to encourage more women and girls to get involved and enjoy sport and exercise.

This Girl Can is a celebration of active women who are doing their thing no matter how well they do it, how they look or even how red their face gets. Helping women to overcome the fear of judgement that is stopping too many women and girls from joining in.

No one gets to choose how you exercise other than you. Your body, your call. And whatever that looks like, we think it's worth celebrating. This Girl Can, funded by The National Lottery, believes that there's no "right" way to get active. However you jiggle, kick, lift, stretch, or sprint, it's time to get moving how you damn please.

For more information and to book places online visit www.lrsport.org/thisgirlcan