This Girl Can! RHUL Lacrosse

This Girl Can is an initiative which aims to encourage women and girls of all shapes, sizes, abilities and backgrounds to get active. It was first created after Sport England discovered that women were consistently less active than men despite a general increase in activeness in the English population, and realised this gender gap must be addressed. Launched in 2015, This Girl Can is passionate about celebrating exercise in all its forms. The campaign looks to challenge conventional ideas about sport, and reach out to women who have historically been excluded by traditional exercise. It’s all about subverting stereotypes and getting girls moving without any shame or strings attached.

Throughout the week, Royal Holloway Sport is offering extra active sessions and exercise classes for women. Alongside this, on Friday in the Orchard Collaborative Space from 11am-12pm, there will be a session on identifying barriers and how Royal Holloway can encourage women to get involved in physical activity. The Students Union has also been circulating a survey where you can have your say on how the university can make it easier for women to participate in sport. One of the most popular sports for women at Royal Holloway is Lacrosse. We spoke to some of their committee and members to find out what This Girl Can and Lacrosse mean to them:

“Lacrosse is so important to me, it gives me a space outside of work to be with my friends doing something I love.” – Laura Berry

30th January-5th February 2023

“Getting involved in a sports club like lacrosse not only helps me stay active, but has also helped me develop confidence and gives me a break from normal coursework and deadlines. Training and playing with a team every week helps me develop my fitness, and allows me to feel part of a community who I can rely on both on and off the pitch.” –

Jess Clayton-Rowley, Club Captain

“Sport helps massively with dealing with mental health. Getting out and having a throw around with friends can make you feel so much better both physically and mentally as well as taking your mind off all the stressful parts of your day. The lacrosse club is the foundations of my social life at uni and my teammates are always there for me on and off the pitch. The club is my support network away from home and I would be lost without it!” –

Darcy Currah, Social and Welfare Secretary

“Being a women’s captain has increased my confidence working with lots of different people. Training together to see everyone improving and growing has been really rewarding.” – Laura Berry, Women’s 1s Captain

“Joining lacrosse has been one of the best decisions I have made since being at Royal Holloway. Bonding with your team is such an amazing experience which makes training and matches easy to stay motivated for, and the regular socials have created a supportive environment for people like me who were totally new to lacrosse. Playing such a fun sport regularly is more beneficial for both my mental and physical health than I can put into words.” –

Beth McCowen

“Sport is important to me because - just the same as it is for boys - it’s an outlet to de-stress, have fun and do something competitive. It’s work without feeling like it’s work and it’s a great way to meet friends and have a laugh” – Sophie

Cutler,

Vice President

Being a human is so embarrassing so I’ve decided to stop being embarrassed and also I love my mom

by Hannah Armour

It’s the end of January and the flowers my mother sent me are dying. Well, they’ve always been dying, they were born to die, but they’re falling and wilting and browning and I can’t condemn them to their fate. Maybe if I ignore them the green will return and gravity will cease.

Or maybe, I’ll press them into my books and knit their colours into a scarf and wear them out around town. Not that Egham really counts as a ‘town’.

I didn’t have a vase for them, so I filled up a measuring jug and stuck them in there. I was too embarrassed of her love to cut the stems or saturate the water with ‘flower food’ and now I’ve cut their lifetimes short.

My flatmates assumed they were from him and I laughed. They’ve never been a daughter to a mother.