Reframing Sport for Teenage Girls: Tackling teenage disengagement
- Date Published
- Mar 2022
- Publisher(s)
- Women in Sport
- Document Type
- Report
- More Info
- https://www.womeninsport.org/press-release/more-than-1-million-teenage-girls-fall-out-of-love-with-sport/
- Themes
- Education*, Health & Wellbeing*, Physical Activity, Under Represented Groups*
- Sub Themes
- Mental Health, Physical Health, Females
- Geographic Area
- National
- Lifestages
- Children & Young People
Women in Sport carried out a nationally representative survey of over 4,000[3] adolescent girls and boys age 11-18 years old to explore their engagement in and attitudes towards sport and exercise. The findings are outlined in this report.
The findings illustrate the importance of understanding teenagers' engagement with sport and exercise through a gendered lens. Teenage girls and boys experience it differently and require different solutions. Girls have numerous, complex barriers that influence their enjoyment and participation and understanding how these manifest across the spectrum of engagement is key to providing more targeted and effective solutions that give girls what they really want and need.
Key Findings include:
- Too many girls are disengaging from sport and exercise in their teens. This is huge compared to boys – a significant missed opportunity for the sector.
- Self-belief, capability and body image concerns can be significant issues for all girls, but more so for girls who stop taking part.
- All girls, even the most sporty, need more support to manage the physical and emotional impact of puberty on physical activity.
- Fathers/father figures support their daughters less than their sons and could play a powerful role in encouraging girls to love being active.
- Girls want a wider variety of fun, exciting and accessible opportunities to get active – many like competition if the context is right.
