Healthy Lifestyle Blog
If you’re of the female sex (but no discrimination if you’re not) and you haven’t heard of the “This Girl Can” campaign, then I believe you fall into one of the following:
- You don’t watch/own a television
- You do not have ANY form of social media, and I mean ANY
- You live in a world of your own
- You have been living under a rock
- All of the above
This campaign is aimed at all those women up and down the country who go out there and do their thing. Whether its zumba, swimming, trail running or track sprinting, it applauds and encourages women to participate in sport and overcome the obstacles and hurdles that stand in our way. We might hate to admit it, but when doing sport, we don’t always look our best. Hold on a minute though! Who actually cares? All that should matter is that we finish our run, dance until the music stops or work it so hard we collapse on the sofa once we get home. We should be chasing our personal best or working towards our new goal, not worrying about what we look like! For those of you who are worried, fear not, for I was once one of you! I overheard someone laugh at me and joke about how my legs stuck out at really (but I mean, really strange angles) when I ran past them. It made me sad to hear and I took offense, but then I thought to myself, at least I’m running and it doesn’t matter what I look like because I know the power and strength of my body.
It was these sort of things that we talked about at the Leeds University “Get Out, Get Active” Women in Sport talk that I went to a couple of weeks ago, hosted by Emma Mackensie-Hogg, an active supporter of the “This Girl Can” campaign. (If you also haven’t heard about the “Get Out Get Active” programme run by the University of Leeds, then go have a look at it now!) We talked about why it is we do sport, why we think there are so many barriers and obstacles for women in sport and how we can overcome these. It’s small changes that make the difference – encouraging more girls at a younger age to start playing football, rugby, practicing ballet or swimming. Stop people thinking that some sports are “just for boys” and likewise “only for girls”. Sport should be for everyone, regardless of age, gender, race or ability – it can do so much for people, helping them to turn their lives around. What comes to my mind is an after-school club back home in Lisbon for children from very disadvantaged and deprived backgrounds. In partnership with my school’s rugby team, they started a rugby team of their own, giving these young girls and boys the chance to try something new and direct their energies towards something positive. The result was spectacular; so many children who would otherwise be subject to negative influences, now had something to look forward to and help them shape their lives!
I guess what I’m trying to say today is that sport is for everyone, there shouldn’t be barriers. I can’t think of anything negative about participating in sport! It brings people together and is good for mind, body and soul (if you believe in that). I hope you all try and pass that message along, one person at a time will get us a long way!
Photos
- http://tinamuir.com/this-girl-canOther photos are author’s own