Getting Girls Active

Scotland Women’s Football Team made history this week, as their 2-1 win over Albania saw them qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals.  In what has been described as a "dominant performance", the women brought the hard work of head coach Shelley Kerr to fruition with goals from Kim Little and Jane Ross sealing their fate. 

The jubilation and celebrations that have followed on from the full-time whistle have been immense - but perhaps not quite as loud as they would have had it been the men's team qualifying for the equivalent competition. 

Why does this matter you may ask yourself?

Well, despite the fact that Scotland has some terrific female athletes, a number of  whom hail from Perth and Kinross, there remains a significant gap between males and females when it comes to being active and participating in sport. There are a number of different reasons highlighted by sportscotland as to why this is the case, and one of them is the need for prominent role models that can encourage girls to take up exercise.

This September, as part of the #WOWPerth Women of the World Festival, a free session entitled "New Balls Please!" invites women and girls to join in a celebration of women and sport which will include a meet up with local and national sportswomen, as well as offering up the chance for everyone to have-a-go! 

Ultimate Frisbee - BECCA

Saints - Gary

Logan - LAL

In the UK as a whole, obesity has trebled since 1980 and now one in three girls aged 11 are overweight. The gap between males and females getting active in Scotland is currently 12%, and research has shown around 40% of girls drop out of all sports activity by the time they reach 18-years-old.

Exercise is crucial to maintaining good physical and mental health, regardless of whether you’re male or female, and the benefits alone should encourage you to get fit. Physically active people are at around half the risk of developing coronary heart disease when compared to those who live a more sedentary lifestyle.

Regular exercise helps to prevent other chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes and certain cancers, as well as boosting your mental health by increasing self-esteem and self-confidence, raising energy levels and alertness, and encouraging better sleeping patterns. All of this is proven to help reduce and prevent depression. Regular exercise helps to prevent other chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes and certain cancers, as well as boosting your mental health.

According to sportscotland, one of the barriers to female participation in sport is worrying about body image and how they look while taking part in physical activities. This may be one of the reasons why some girls are put off from going to the gym or taking up sport.

There are such things as women only activities which may be a great way to enjoy getting fit and keeping active. Live Active Leisure currently holds three classes per week across two venues in Perth which are instructor led gym sessions for ladies only.

The classes run on Mondays and Wednesdays at the North Inch Community Campus, and Wednesdays only at Perth Leisure Pool. There is also a ‘Women Only Walk’ class which meets at Bell’s Sports Centre on Wednesday mornings, and all of the sessions are ideal for women looking to get some guidance on how to get themselves more active.

Live Active has also introduced a scheme which is aimed at girls in S5 and S6 who are not interested in team sports or some of the traditional options for PE at school but may be interested in fitness classes such as spinning.  Pupils who attend receive a free one-month membership at the end of the block to encourage them to carrying on with their favourite classes and although the main target of the scheme was young girls it’s also open to S5 and S6 boys.

GALLERY

Think of Perth's local female sporting heroes - women such as Olympic track athletes Eilidh Doyle and Laura Muir, Winter Olympic medallist Eve Muirhead, and Scotland international footballers Lana Clelland, Lisa Evans and Gemma Fay - and then think how we could use these great women to inspire the generations coming up.

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The main images in this article are from local photographer Fraser Band. You can visit his website here.

The gallery contains images of just some of the inspirational local sportswomen and athletes who have featured on Small City in the past 12 months.

For more information on the different classes offered by Live Active Leisure, including the women-only sessions, visit their website here.