WISE Magazine - Issue 1

w om en in sp or t & exercise I NSTI TUTE OF SPORT & EX ERCI SE SCI ENCE UNI V ERSI TY OF WORCESTER SEPTEM BER 2016 : I SSUE 1

welcom e Wel come to th e f i rst i ssue of our Women I n Sport and Ex erci se (WI SE) magazi ne and w h at an ex ci ti ng year i t h as b een f or al l of us i nv ol v ed i n th e i ni ti ati v e !

Our Wom en In Sp or t and Exercise strateg y at t he Univer sit y of Worcester w as b or n in ear ly 20 15 out of recog nit ion t hat fem ale p ar t icip at ion in sp or t , exercise and p hysical act ivit y, even in t he 21st cent ur y is well b elow t hat of m en.

As a univer sit y wit h a strong interest in sp or t b ot h at a com pet it ive, academ ic (t hr iving Inst it ute of Sp or t and Exercise Science) and recreat ional level, plus a lar g e fem ale st udent and staff p op ulat ion, it w as per t inent t o develop a strateg y t hat sup p or t s, develop s and p rom otes an eq uitab le ap p roach t o sp or t and exercise.

The strateg y developed sup p or t s a num b er of t he Univer sit y strateg ic aim s (b eing act ively involved in fulfilling cult ural, sp or t ing and com m unit y act ivit ies; to developing self-confidence; creat ing op p or t unit ies t o flour ish and achieve, acq uire hig h level em plo yab ilit y skills), and also sup p or t s t he develop m ent of t he Inter nat ional Centre for Inclusive Sp or t . As a univer sit y we are in a p osit ion t o develop eq uit y of op p or t unit y and resp ond t o t he need s of fut ure g enerat ions and raise aspirat ions of our fem ale st udent s and staff in m any d ifferent w ays. We are keen t o see t hat our effor t s are not seen as delib erately d iscr im inat or y b ut t o ?level t he playing field ? and ensure t hat fem ale sp or t and p hysical act ivit y has t he sam e sup p or t and op p or t unit ies afforded as m ale sp or t . We are str iving t o m ake an im p act !

We are ver y excited ab out m any of t he developing W ISE init iat ive at t he Univer sit y of Worcester, m any of w hich are contained in t his fir st issue of our Wom en In Sp or t and Exercise (W ISE) m ag azine. All of us w ho are involved in t he init iat ive are ver y m uch looking for w ard t o new develop m ent s in 20 17 such as t he Sever n Star s Net b all team in t he Super leag ue com pet it ion ? one of our m ost sig nificant achievem ent s in t his last year in p ar t ner ship wit h t he Univer sit y of Gloucester shire.

by V anessa Jones Strategi c Lead f or WI SE

W ISE SUMMIT 20 16

by Gill Renfree g.renfree@worc.ac.uk On Wed nesd ay 11t h May t he W ISE w or king g roup held an infor m al net w or king event at t he Univer sit y Arena t o help celeb rate our b iannual W ISE Week. Vanessa Jones, strateg ic lead for t he task-force b eg an t he after noon wit h an introd uct ion on t he achievem ent s over t he p revious year and shared fut ure plans t o create, p rom ote and develop w om en in sp or t at t he Univer sit y of Worcester and b eyond int o t he local reg ion by estab lishing effect ive p ar t ner ship s.

W hile after noon tea w as ser ved t he w or king op p or t unit ies b et ween t hose involved in t he p rovision and cont inued p rom ot ion of w om en in sp or t and exercise in t he Worcester shire area b eg an in ear nest . Exter nal or g anisat ions t o t he Univer sit y such as Worcester War r ior s, Worcester shire Cr icket , t he Malver n Hills Distr ict Council and Br it ish Fencing cam e along t o sup p or t t he init iat ive along side all t hose involved wit h t he W ISE

init iat ive and new and interested staff and st udent s of t he Univer sit y. It w as noted t hat it w as "a g ood w ay t o g et involved in t he Univer sit y event s and show how we can help " and t hat "m aking contact s w hich can help t o d r ive for w ard fut ure p rog ram m es w as help ful".

The inspirat ion and ideas d iscussed will take t he W ISE p roject in a d irect ion over t he next 12 m ont hs t hat will aim t o include m ore st udent s especially wit h t he 'This BUCS Gir l Can' week in Novem b er 20 16, or g anised by Br it ish Univer sit ies & Colleg es Sp or t (BUCS) t hroug h Worcester St udent Union. The next W ISE sum m it will b e hosted ag ain at t he Univer sit y of Worcester in sum m er 20 17 wit h t he aim of b r ing ing a strong er b and of researcher s, p ract it ioner s and t he st udent b od y t og et her. Wat ch t his sp ace!

W ISE Weeks

by Dr. Rachael Bullingham r.bullingham@worc.ac.uk This year we have held t w o W ISE weeks t o p rom ote and encourag e w om en int o sp or t and exercise. The idea of t he week w as t o p ut on a rang e of act ivit ies for b ot h Univer sit y staff and st udent s so t hat t hey could tr y som et hing new.

The fir st week t ook place in ear ly Decem b er and offered a wide rang e of act ivit ies for b ot h staff and st udent s. The staff net b all session were well attended wit h som e staff playing for t he fir st t im e! Zum b a (htt p ://stellat hom as.zum b a.com / ) w as led by t he St udent Societ y and w as ver y successful in g aining new m em b er s t o t he societ y. The d ance sessions such as 'Dance like Beyonce' were a p ar t icular success and has lead t o a reg ular Fr id ay session wit h Dr. Paul Golz, a Senior Lect urer in Dance. These classes cont inued t hroug h t o Easter.

The second W ISE week w as held in May w hich included t he W ISE sum m it . Red Kite Yog a (@red kiteyog a) b eg an a 6-week session for Univer sit y staff at t he Univer sit y of Worcester. The cour se w as over sub scr ib ed and a g reat success in encourag ing w om en t o take p ar t in Yog a. This will cont inue in t he new academ ic year.

Next year t he W ISE week will r un in line wit h t he Nat ional Wom en in Sp or t week (w w w.w om eninsp or t .or g ) from 3 rd t o 9 t h Oct ob er 20 16. More details will follow at t he star t of sem ester 1 on our web site at htt p ://w w w.w orcester.ac.uk/d iscover/ w om en-in-sp or t -and -exercise.ht m l and on Twitter @UoW W ISE

Univer sit y of Worcester Net b all

by Michelle Morgan, Director of Netball A Univer sit y of Worcester Net b all Team have just t ouched b ack d ow n in t he UK after an incred ib le weeks com pet it ion at t he Wor ld Univer sit y Net b all Cham pionship s in Miam i, Flor id a, USA. The sq uad of 12 player s (rang ing from 1st year t o MSc st udent s) t ook on team s from Sout h Afr ica, Tr inid ad and Tob ag o, Ug and a, Australia, J am aica and t he USA over five d ays of com pet it ion. All of t he g am es were stream ed live for fr iend s and fam ily t o w at ch b ack hom e.

The m at ches were hard d ue t o a num b er of t he countr ies having player s from t heir nat ional team wit hin t heir sq uad s; however t he Univer sit y of Worcester Net b all Team never g ave up and played som e incred ib ly strong net b all.

They have g ained new fr iend s and fans and have fully em b raced t he once-in-a-lifet im e op p or t unit y.

The Univer sit y of Worcester team str uck up a tr ue b ond wit h t he USA team d ur ing t he week ? w hich m ade t he final g am e of t he t our nam ent even m ore m em orab le w hen we t ook t o t he cour t ag ainst each ot her ? w hilst Univer sit y of Worcester recorded a 71-28 vict or y ? it w as a tr ue spectacle of respect and new fr iend ship s on show.

The Vital Role of Academ ic Research in Ad ap t ing t o Recent Nat ional Sp or t Policy Chang es

by Verity Postlethwaite PhD Student

Sp or t , recreat ion and p hysical act ivit y has so m uch p otent ial in t he im m ed iate fut ure, and cr ucially it is b eing b acked wit h invest m ent , sup p or t and infrastr uct ure. The p oint for t his com m entar y is t hat no one ind ivid ual or or g anisat ion can achieve t his p otent ial. I will take t his op p or t unit y t o ar g ue t he vital p ar t academ ic research can play in contr ib ut ing t o t he fr uit ion of such p otent ial.

The role t hat academ ic research can play is not ar g ued from t he rose t inted g lasses per spect ive of a b iased , social science PhD st udent . As a PhD st udent I t hink univer sit ies m ust cont inue t o b etter under stand how t hey can contr ib ute t o t he w or ld of p olicy and p ract ice. Such as, consider ing t he p ace and cost research can b e delivered at . But , a b ig m isconcep t ion I have wit nessed from p ract it ioner s and p olicy m aker s, is t hat an academ ic will have t he answer or at least t he for m ula t o create t he answer. In m y opinion t his is not t he funct ion of an academ ic.

Collab orat ion wit h academ ic research has a wider role and can rang e from : for m ing q uest ions, fram ing research, creat ing or test ing a t ool, up skilling w or kforces, and d issem inat ing knowled g e. The ab ilit y of univer sit ies t o contr ib ute m ust b e seen b eyond offer ing answer s, b ut in all for m s of p ract ice. For exam ple, t he long ter m im plem entat ion of t he shift in sp or t , recreat ion and p hysical act ivit y cult ure will b e influenced by t he deliver y of teaching t o t he fut ure w or kforce at under g rad uate level. Conseq uent ly, p ract it ioner s, p olicy m aker s and academ ics need t o

com m unicate ab out filter ing chang es int o ed ucat ion.

In t he recent m ont hs I have attended a num b er of w or kshop s, conferences and event s, b ot h academ ic and p ract it ioner focused . Word s t hat have b een com m on t hroug hout are insig ht , out com es and im p act . The p at hw ay of achieving such has b een laid out by Sp or t Eng land wit h t he t went y t hree key per for m ance ind icat or s, w hich I welcom e. Ad d it ionally, or g anisat ions are p rod ucing insig ht for t hem selves m ore and m ore, w hich is fantast ic.

However, for out com es and im p act t o b e tr uly felt , t his p at hw ay and insig ht need s t o b e com plem ented wit h independent and t heoret ically infor m ed sup p or t som et hing an academ ic can offer. As noted univer sit ies need t o im p rove on t heir contr ib ut ion. Plus, on a caut ionar y end note, in b eing op t im ist ic ab out t he vital role academ ic research can play. It m ay not alw ays b e sup p or t ive, b ut also as a cr it ical fr iend . Not all research p rovides p roof or p osit ive feed b ack.

Ar g uab ly t his is as im p or tant as find ing out com es, insig ht or im p act .

HIIT-IT !!

by Alice Burgin PhD Student @_aliceburgin Alm ost t w o t hird s of UK ad ult s are over weig ht or ob ese. Ad d it ionally, over half d o not m eet t he recom m end at ion of 150 m inutes of m oderate intensit y p hysical act ivit y per week. There are not iceab ly p oorer rates of act ivit y in w om en t han m en and p ar t icular ly in over weig ht w om en. Given t he lar g e nat ional econom ic b urden of treat ing b ot h of t hese sep arate issues, as well as t he associated increased r isks of a m ult it ude of chronic

d iseases such as card iovascular d isease, t here is an increasing need for effect ive and sustainab le weig ht m anag em ent strateg ies t hat incor p orate p hysical act ivit y. Bar r ier s t o reg ular p hysical act ivit y, such as lack of t im e, have b een found t o b e m ore p rom inent in over weig ht w om en. This b ar r ier in p ar t icular m ust b e ap p roached in order for p hysical act ivit y-related weig ht m anag em ent strateg ies t o b e effect ive and sustainab le for t his tar g et p op ulat ion. In t his reg ard , it is also w or t h consider ing t he fact or s t hat m ake up ener g y b alance ? ener g y intake and expend it ure ? and t heir interact ion.

Hig h-intensit y exercise has b een show n t o sup p ress shor t -ter m ap pet ite yet , a lack of research int o t im e-efficient uses of hig h-intensit y exercise t o m od ulate shor t and long -ter m ap pet ite, ener g y intake and ener g y b alance w ar rant s fur t her research. This is in order t o d iscover t he m inim um b out s of exercise t o have a m eaning ful effect on ener g y b alance, fat loss and weig ht m anag em ent , wit h reg ard t o infor m ing efficient , effect ive and efficacious exercise inter vent ions.

My research will focus on t he effect s of non-g ym -b ased hig h-intensit y exercise on ap pet ite, eat ing b ehaviour and ener g y b alance across t he shor t and t he long er ter m , b efore infor m ing a long -ter m p hysical act ivit y inter vent ion for over weig ht fem ales. I am cur rent ly recr uit ing for p ar t icip ant s for m y fir st st ud y wit hin m y p roject , w hich I hope t o com plete

by Oct ob er.

by Hannah Chenneour- Cocking h.chenneour- cocking@worc.ac.uk Dur ing 20 15-16 t he St udent s?Union recorded a 15% increase on fem ale club m em b er ship num b er s, com p ared t o 20 14 -15 levels. This increase in m em b er ship num b er s w as along side som e g reat successes for our fem ale club s and team s. Three Net b all team s t op ped t heir BUCS leag ues, along side Bad m int on and Volleyb all also g aining p rom ot ion. This year t here have also b een new op p or t unit ies for w om en t o g et involved wit h St udent s?Union Club s wit h t he for m at ion of Lad ies Cr icket , Fencing and Ten Pin Bowling Club s.

Star t ing in t he new academ ic year t he St udent s?Union will b e w or king wit h W ISE and t he Count y Sp or t Par t ner ship t o launch an Act ivit y sur vey t o find out w hat our st udent s w ant t o d o, w here t hey w ould like t o d o it and w hen is t he b est t im e for t hem . We will b e using t he result s from t his sur vey t o ed ucate our plans for t he fut ure. There will also b e a ?Give it a g o week?(w/c 26t h Sep tem b er ) t o show case t he op p or t unit ies availab le t o our st udent s t hroug h our club s and Univer sit y recreat ion p rog ram m e.

Wor king wit h W ISE

by Steph Gagne and Beky Williams Project Manager (Communications, Marketing & I nsight) and Project Manager (Children & Young People)

Throug h w or king wit h W ISE we are ab le t o alig n one of our key ob ject ives held as a Sp or t s Par t ner ship ; t o increase t he num b er of w om en and g ir ls taking p ar t in sp or t and p hysical act ivit y across Hereford shire and Worcester shire. As an ident ified dem og rap hic wit hin t he new Sp or t Eng land plan ?Tow ard s an Act ive Nat ion?fem ale p ar t icip at ion will cont inue t o b e a p r ior it y.

Our vision is t o create a m ore act ive and healt hier t w o count ies, w hich will b e reliant on sup p or t ing , creat ing and sustaining fem ale sp or t ing op p or t unit ies. Be it a coach, p ar t icip ant , volunteer or act ivat or, we w ant t o ensure w om en and g ir ls have accessib le op p or t unit ies t o b e involved in sp or t and p hysical act ivit y. We hope t o w or k wit h W ISE t o create a recreat ional sp or t offer for t he Univer sit y of Worcester in order t o help fulfil t his.

Following t he success of This Worcs Gir l Can in Malver n Hills, we will b e g rowing t his cam p aig n in 20 16/ 17 t o eng ag e m ore schools, sp or t s club s and or g anisat ions count y-wide. W it h t he sup p or t of W ISE and st udent s at t he Univer sit y of Worcester we will b e ab le t o b roaden our reach t o eng ag e m ore young w om en in a sp or t and p hysical

act ivit y of t heir choice. The cam p aig n will also inspire g ir ls, hig hlig ht ing fem ale sp or t ing role m odels along side p rom ot ing wider op p or t unit ies in sp or t . If you w ould like t o sup p or t t his cam p aig n, please contact Step hanie Gag ne on s.g ag ne@w orc.ac.uk or Beky W illiam s on r.william s@w orc.ac.uk Along side t he aspirat ions of W ISE, t he Sp or t s Par t ner ship also celeb rates t he success of w om en in sp or t , helping t o create local role m odels for w om en and g ir ls across Hereford shire and Worcester shire.

Our sp or t s aw ard s will g ive recog nit ion t o a junior and senior fem ale sp or t sper son of t he year, am ong st ot her categ or ies such as volunteer and coach of t he year aw ard s.

Throug h reg ional cam p aig ns such as REACH, an init iat ive t o increase t he num b er of w om en in coaching , we hope t o rew ard m ore fem ale sp or t ing success. We encourag e your nom inat ions wit hin t hese categ or ies; if you know of a deser ving sp or t sw om an, coach or volunteer please sub m it your nom inat ions here w w w.sp or t sp ar t ner ship hw.co.uk/sp or t saw ard s

Next Issue...

Up d ates on : Our cross univer sit y and com m unit y Task Force involving t he Inst it ute of Healt h and Societ y; Worcester St udent Union, Count y Sp or t s Par t ner ship ; Worcester War r ior s; Worcester Cit y Net b all; Old Elizab et hans Cr icket Club Wom en In Sp or t week - all t he p hot os!

Up d ate on t he develop m ent s b et ween t he Old Elizab et hans Cr icket Club in Worcester and t he Univer sit y Wom en?s Cr icket Societ y Par t ner ship up d ate wit h t he Worcester Valkyr ies ? t he newly for m ed p rofessional w om en?s r ug by team at Worcester War r ior s Up d ates on t he Academ ic Net w or king event b eing held in Sep tem b er 20 16 Plus, t he Sever n Star s and t heir cam p aig n in t he Super leag ue Com pet it ion

and m uch m ore! next issue Decem b er 20 16

w om en in sp or t & exercise

http://www.worcester.ac.uk/discover/women- in- sport- and- exercise.html

@UoW W I SE

W I SE@worc.ac.uk