Fifteen projects aiming to get more women and girls in Scotland taking part in sport and physical activity are set to benefit from £300,000 of investment from the Scottish Government’s Women and Girls fund.
The beneficiaries of this programme include women and girls who have previously had little or no access to sport and physical activity for a wide variety of reasons. Some of the most marginalised in society have been targeted for support such as residents of Scotland’s most deprived communities, survivors of sexual abuse, and young women and girls with severe physical impairments.
Sports Minister, Joe FitzPatrick, together with sportscotland, launched the fund in October to celebrate Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week. Today he congratulated the projects who have been successful in their applications and said:
“There are so many benefits to making sport and physical activity a part of daily life. From improving physical and mental health, to developing skills and strengthening communities, the impact can be life-changing and that’s why we want as many people as possible to enjoy those benefits.
“It is encouraging to see that participation in sport and physical activity by women and girls in Scotland is increasing, but some still face barriers to taking part. The projects who will be supported through the £300,000 Women and Girls fund have shown great insight and innovation in understanding those barriers and taking steps to address them. I look forward to seeing the impact that they have.”
Projects will be delivered across Scotland led by governing bodies of sport and local authorities, in conjunction with other partner organisations.
The projects will receive between £10,260 and £28,000 to support their plans to engage more women and girls in sport and physical activity and builds on the success of the Sporting Equality Fund launched in 2017.
Commenting on the investment, Mel Young, chair of sportscotland, said: “Sport has the power to change lives and the projects chosen to receive this funding demonstrate that the benefits of participation go way beyond simply improving physical health.
“For some of the women and girls, the impact literally could be life-changing, as they develop the social skills, self-confidence and employability skills they need to progress in life
“sportscotland’s Fit for Girls programme consulted with girls directly to identify and understand the barriers to participation and the Women and Girls fund gives us the ability to build on that knowledge. By working with our partners, we can deliver opportunities to target the least active who would gain the most through a life-long engagement with sport.”
In most of the projects, the sports and activities on offer have been chosen in consultation with the women and girls who will participate and range from traditional team sports, including football, to fencing and outdoor sports.
Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) has been awarded £15,000 from the Women and Girls fund to engage women and girls with severe impairments into the sport of Boccia. SDS are in the process of appointing a Boccia Development Officer who will engage with women and girls in a wide variety of settings and support these individuals into local sessions or clubs. This programme is being run in partnership with disability organisations including Capability Scotland, Muscular Dystrophy UK and Cerebral Palsy Scotland.
The Women and Girls fund has been set up to support the Scottish Government’s priorities of tackling inactivity and addressing inequality, contributing to the Active Scotland Outcomes framework.