WOMEN IN SPORT

WHY ARE WOMEN MORE LIKELY TO GIVE UP ON EXERCISE THAN MEN?

Sports Psychology lecturer Mairi Mulvenna has always found exercise to be a release – a way she can switch off, stay fit, and catch up with her biggest supporters - her friends. “Outside of work, sport takes up the majority of my time”, she says.

Exercise brings so many physiological benefits, for example, improving mood, bringing people together, improving body image, as well as the physical aspects like increasing cardiovascular fitness levels, strength and flexibility. Twentyseven-year-old Irish lecturer Mulvenna, is captain of her local ladies’ Gaelic football team, ‘Roger Casements’ in Coventry, and also represents Warwickshire at county level. As I had never heard about Gaelic football before, Mulvenna explains that Gaelic football is one of four sports controlled by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the largest sporting organisation in Ireland. It is also known as the ‘Gaelic Games’. Gaelic football involves two teams of fifteen players on a rectangular grass pitch with two different ways a score can be made. You can either kick or punch the ball into the other teams’ goals, earning you three points, or you can kick or punch the ball between

Sports England Active Lives Children and Young People Survey

20% of boys aged 5-16 are active everyday compared to 14% of girls. The gap between the genders only widens as children grow older.

Fewer than half of all children regard school physical eduction lessons as a positive experience, and a bad experience at school can put people off physical activity for life.

Enjoyment is the single biggest factor in motivating children to be active.

‘This Girl Can’ campaign is designed to make physical activity more relevant and appealing to women who don’t feel sport or exercise is for them, or who have a inconsistent relationship with physical activity. The third phase #FITGOTREAL aims to encourage more women from ethnic backgrounds into sport. Women in Sport

two upright posts above the goals, over a crossbar. The latter would give you one point. Since submitting her PhD last year at Coventry University, in which she focused on exploring the motivational processes underpinning athlete wellbeing in sport, Mulvenna is enjoying getting back into another GAA sport called ‘camogie’, also known as ‘hurling’. She describes it as similar to hockey but it takes place ‘in the air’. The reality is, many kids do not want to participate in school physical education (P.E) classes. Mulvenna says that “It is a worrying statistic that unfortunately accurately reflects modern society.” A huge factor which discourages kids from participating in P.E is commonly overlooked and that is the feeling of embarrassment. The way many P.E classes are structured is that kids will be told to pick who they want to be on their team for a particular sport, which will favour the popular kids and result in other kids having the fear of not being picked. Mulvenna also highlights that teachers may put a stronger emphasis on achievement rather than on participation, which can further demotivate kids from exercise, because it prevents them from trying. Another barrier which hugely affects P.E participation of girls in particular, is the issue of body image. Many teens grapple with feelings of insecurity and low confidence, making them want to hold back and not push themselves to play sports. And if someone is trying a new sport or fitness activity for the first time, then they understandably may not be so good to begin with, but this lack of ability can discourage them from continuing the sport. However, through perseverance and effort, results would start to show. After all, everyone (including top athletes) start somewhere. A common misconception many women have about fitness, which is linked to body image, is the belief that strength training - for example lifting weights, will make them appear bulky, and instead they think they should be doing extensive amounts of cardio to stay as slim as possible. It is a standard set in today’s society, largely portrayed in the media, which seems to suggest that a woman should fit into some kind of ‘skinny’ mould and that they will only see progress if they exercise for hours on end. But exercise should be enjoyable. It should be finding a form of fitness that you love to do, rather than something you dislike. And, it does not need to be hours of running, it could be as simple as going for a walk or a swim. In fact, Mulvenna stresses that you should “go at your own pace”, because “you are in control and (you) make the decisions.” In order to break down these misconceptions and encourage girls to remain in sport, Mulvenna thinks that education, having a supportive network around you and having role models is crucial. “It is so important that if we want young children to continue sport engagement through to adulthood, they need to have someone they aspire to be, someone to look up to and seek to achieve similar, or to even surpass in terms of levels of success. Without this, it is no wonder young girls choose to step away and focus their time and efforts into some other area.” But, join a new sports club that interests you. In fact, Mulvenna says “when I first moved to Coventry, I knew no-one so the first thing I did when I heard I was successful in my PhD application was google GAA teams in the area. No matter where you go in the world, the GAA provides you with a sense of home away from home – we are a family and for that, I could not be more thankful.” There are so many ways to get creative with fitness as well, with ‘Move Your Body’ magazine documenting a wide range of fitness activities you can try. Inequality between men and women in sports does not only happen in school P.E lessons either. Mulvenna talks about the most common negative experience she continually encounters as a woman in sport and that is the lack of respect womens sport gets in direct comparison to men competing in the same sport. “Often when we have fixtures on the same day and/or time to our male counterparts, they will always get first preference on important decisions that shape how the day unfolds. From preferred match times, pitch to play on and changing room facilities, the list goes on. “(Women) play second best to males – we have some way to go before equality is established across the board.” Yes, there is a long way to go in terms of encouraging women to stay in sport, however, Mulvenna is certain that things are improving, crediting campaigns such as the ‘20x20 – If she can’t see it, she can’t be it’ and ‘This Girl Can’. Things are on the up.

“Go at your own pace. (You) are in control and (you) make the decisions.”