Teenage girls being ‘pushed out’ of sport, survey finds

[JoyousAsOtters]

www.theguardian.com/education/2022/mar/07/uk-girls-lose-interest-in-sport-as-teenagers-women-in-sport-survey?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

I know some of you don’t want to give the Guardian clicks, but this is an important issue and I think it’s highly relevant to the questions we discuss on this board.

For example,

‘The study, by Women in Sport, found that a fear of being judged and a lack of confidence were the main reasons cited for a waning interest in sport among teenage girls. Its poll of more than 4,000 teenagers found that 43% of girls felt they were sporty at primary pupils but no longer saw themselves this way. This would equate to 1.3 million girls across the UK, the survey pointed out.

Out of these girls, 68% said that a fear of feeling judged prevented them from taking part, while 61% said they lacked confidence. Just under half (47%) said they were too busy with school work to carry on with sport.

And teenage girls were much more likely to say they used to be sporty but were no longer keen on exercise than boys (24%). A report on the findings concluded that girls may need more support to engage with sport as they go through puberty.

Nearly eight in 10 (78%) of girls who said they used to be sporty admitted they avoided taking part in sport when on their period – higher than those who had never been sporty (69%) and those who were still passionately involved in sport (64%).’

This has been known for decades.

Frankly I'm angry they wasted more money on another survey to state the blindingly obvious.
I refused to do PE in the 1980's at secondary as we had communal changing rooms. Pupils still don't have dignified changing areas.

Then there's the lack of time to change nicely, sports bras, getting to grips with periods. Netball and rounders, the worst.

They do seem to have abandoned showers though which is a small bonus.

What can parents do to help?

Yup mine is one of these. Very sporty at primary but an allrounder so used to get picked for lots of teams, but no one team was out of the ordinary.

Secondary the county players make all the teams/the divide is huge between those who Play That Sport Out Of School and those who used to just like sport. 2 years in and now doesn't do anything :(

@jclm

What can parents do to help?

Beyond set an example ? I wonder if that makes any difference?

As a PP said it's old news and a much better use of a survey would be to identify what actually helps

We've known this for years. Periods, with all the messy reality that entails - fear of leakage, product slippage, pain, cramps, associated IBS/nausea. Changing shapes, need for sports bras and things like armpit hair and bikini line worries. The whole thing is absolutely fraught.

Compared to boys who have none of the above to worry about!

I have v sporty daughters but there is so much to help them navigate and that's before we even get to the sexism in school sport and the lack of equal opportunities to play competitively.

Mine is one of these statistics also

She was on the.girls cricket team at primary in yr 5 and 6. Participated in lots of sports activities. Some of which meant a whole day elsewhere which she loved.

Then come.teat 7 she slowly started to lose interest. She tried out fir a local basket ball team..did realky well when she had the ball scored more baskets than many of the others but came away thinking she was too short and that's why she didn't get picked.

Couple that with the lousy range of sports for girls at secondary, she really enjoyed some active girls project when they were doing fight club but the sports alternated and not much else took her interest.

She is taking BTech PE but it's mixed sex so the obvious happens there...

Such a shame schools can't do better drop the stereotypes. ( netball and dance fir girls basket ball and football fir boys etc)

seeing time become a problem and DD1 is 10. The sports want more training time as the time available becomes less. DD just had to pick between Scouts and cricket. Shes gone for Scouts as its year round.
We are about to try Parkrun together as there is no commitment issues.

But swimming, gymnastics, dance... they all want you multiple times a week!

Ours only have GCSE pe option and not btec and the prevailing wisdom is you can only do it if you are good at 2 sports out of school or play one for the school and do one well out of school. So someone who "just likes sport" and is reasonably fit realises they can't do it...

Around yes we had that too and they stopped swimming club when it became clear the commitment needed. Everything at secondary seems to require you to already be good/experienced/already competitive or had years of training. And/or huge time commitment.

But the time and commitment issue must ?be the same for boys yet they don't drop out at the same rate ?

I do think it’s very understandable that girls don’t want to participate in sports while on their periods- mine made me feel very ill at that age. I was too embarrassed to tell PE teachers though so carried on while feeling sick and in agony.

mudge

I think it helps that football/rugby/tennis clubs for boys are ten a penny. Very easy to find one on a Tuesday night when Jacob isn't at his dad's or mum's not working late that day.

Finding one specifically for girls? Would probably mean Finding one further a field. Less convenient. Takes a while evening up getting there amd back which isn't good for home work. And likely there's always a " special boy" who gets to take part. The coaches kid or the little brother of a staff members kid. It's just one boy. A child who's helping out etc

Often they aren't funded or supported In the same way. Boys get proper coaches etc girls the mate if a mate of one of the school mums

But still teaches the girls they haven't got their own space/sport

Public spaces are all for sports dominated by boys and men too. There is very much a message that sport is for men in our society unless you're a professional

I agree that this has been known for years - and I have a daughter for whom this is just becoming an issue, but her school is very sport focused so I’m hoping that will help. What would be great is if there is an opportunity to split the data up by school/area, to identify if any schools or sports bodies are better at this than others.

Good practice could be shared and the fall off into inactivity lessened.

It makes me so sad and angry when girls are failed again and again in this way, it’s so important that sport (not just for exercise but for ambition, athleticism, competition and teamwork) is part of their ongoing experience. And the mental health benefits of an actual positive engagement with sports, getting active and pushing yourself and others to excel.

I also think sport, when done well, encourages a focus on what your body is capable of DOING rather than what it looks like, allows girls to take up space, shout, channel laughter and positive aggression. All round good stuff they are missing out on.

Thinking back to my own teenage years, I did remain doing a sport until 17... the one that was social (athletics). Yes we competed against each other and other teams, but all our training was very social.

I'd love there to be drop in clubs like that for DDs as they get older, rather than super competitive and formal training. One likes team sports, and I can see continuing her Rugby. The other isn't competitive against others. Im hoping she enjoys Parkrun.

I think this is one of the main reasons parents who can afford it send girls to private schools - you just don't see the same fall off. Sport is positively encouraged and success rewarded and facilities are often so much better.

Personally, as the parent of DC who were adverse to competitive team sports, I would like to see a greater flexibility to include fitness and gym classes etc.

We wondered about althetics but our local club, although seems very welcoming, is full of the kids of people who run (understandably.)

The junior section looks fun, but the 11/12 plus looks like a girl trying to join who isn't already a good runner will stand out like a sore thumb.

Cornflake - that doesn't really help the 95% of girls who don't do this though does it? I do agree that must be a great experience for those there.

Cornflake - I do think that is a fab point, I think my daughter would love to "do sport" but the competitive nature is part of the problem. Especially starting something at this age. Ideally they would be able to do sporting activities they could continue as adults. I hardly know any adult women who do competitive team sport, yet lots swim/run/gym for health/fun etc.

Here's the Times piece on this

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/deep-rooted-stereotypes-put-teenage-girls-off-sport-h927f8xkd?shareToken=491e9c0472f8fd7be223e45817d99033

Personally I think a lot of this relates to school.

First of all, PE, it’s very boys sports vs girls sports, but what if one of the girls was more interested in the “boys” sports?

But mostly, I think a lot of it comes from break times. As the children get older it’s very clear that the girls walk around chatting or sit together. Boys meanwhile take up a large portion of the playground or field playing football. I think it can be difficult for girls to join. I also remember DD said she didn’t like going on the field in case she got hit by the ball.

Again, school shoes and skirts. Boys can easily run around in trousers without having to worry about flashing or discomfort. Boys shoes tend to be more trainer style with better grip on the bottom and more support. Meanwhile girls have ballet flat style or at least more ‘open’ shoes with butterflies drawn on the bottom instead of any proper grip!

I think the expectations of what girls vs boys do in break times, plus what they’re able to comfortably do, are widely different

I'm a coach at a children's sports club and wish there would be more research done on what actually helps rather than what the reasons for the drop off are as I think we all know quite a lot about the problem but not enough about the answers.
We start off with an almost exactly 50:50 membership in our youngest group, but by the time we get to the secondary school aged group, boys out number girls something like 6 :1. We get quite a big drop off in numbers in general around that age, as boys are not immune to some of the pressures that put girls off, but it's far more marked in the girls.
We have 4 female coaches out of our 5. The club Chair, Secretary and Welfare Officer are women. This is not an environment where girls come and see no female role models. We have a strong social/exercise for fun ethos and whilst we support members who want to compete it is by no means essential and plenty of our boys don't. We do have a club kit but we don't insist it is worn unless representing the club in competition so there's no issue with girls having to wear tiny shorts or anything, they can turn up to our sessions wearing anything they want as long as it's safe and they can move easily. It's all very relaxed and informal. We've previously held girls only events but we couldn't make them financially viable as so few came.
We know there's a problem. We are doing what we can but to no avail. I know that answers come from better understanding of problems but I think researchers need to be thinking more about what those involved in Youth sport can actually do to make a difference.

Another issue is mental - girls get a lot of fear issues in adolescence. In sports where there’s a danger element like gymnastics, diving, even something like biking, girls at adolescence often start to develop anxiety and fear. It’s not well-studies but I haven’t seen the same issues among boys whereas it seems part of development for girls (maybe tied to differences in puberty?)

Girls also fear being muscular and seen as “mannish” and unattractive, and are discouraged from being aggressive and competitive. And of course the stigma about being thought a lesbian. “Fit” is in right now but that means having a flat stomach and showing off in a sports bra, not having a shotputters’ or wrestlers’ body…

My daughter has been through something like this as well, only in her case it was dance that she dropped. She was very good at it, but she felt alone in the class as the other girls all went to a different school were good friends outside the dance class.

Unlike some, she's followed her friends at her school into picking up a sport (rugby - about as far from ballet as she can get). She's having a great time, but even she admits it's more about the peers than the actual sport. Recently she's been talking about dance in a way that makes me think she might miss it, but she's never go back to the dance school she left.

So to the anxiety/fear of being judged add peer pressure and relationships. There is a big social in/out group aspect to sports and exercise participation, as well.