Her Moves

The Girls Get Active Report produced 8 important principles to support teenage girls so they can embrace and embed sport and physical activity into their lives. 

Anyone in sport can use these 8 Principles for Success to either check and challenge existing programmes as to their appeal for teen girls; or innovate and develop completely new initiatives.‍ 

Before delving into these principles, we invite you to: 

1. Determine your target 

2. Step into a teenage girl’s world 

3. What does success look like? 

Pinpoint the behaviour you wish to change by asking: 

• What is your target doing now and how do they feel about sport and physical activity? 
• How would you like them to behave and feel instead? 

‍8 Principles in action 

1. No judgement;

‍Take pressure off performance and give freedom simply to play/move. 

2. Invoke excitement;

‍Bring a sense of adventure and discovery by changing it up and adding in fun expected activities/moments. 

3. Clear emotional reward;

‍Reframe achievement as ‘moments of pride’, not winning, and tailor them to the individual’s motivation. 

4. Open eyes to what’s there;

‍Redefine sport as more than traditional, competitive sport – create diverse offering of sports and activities; don’t hesitate to mix and match.  

5. Build into existing habits;

‍Tap into existing behaviours in other spheres e.g. incorporating arts and crafts into sport e.g. design their gear, style their equipment, personalise their shoes or practice nail art in vibrant colours! 

6. Give girls a voice & choice;

‍Encourage the girls input into sessions and offer choice through options and approaches. E.g. girls lead a fun warm-up to their music choice, they choose and organise a social outing/activity.

7. Champion what’s in it for them;

‍Make it much more than just about health; fun, friendship and lasting memories. 

8. Expand image of what ‘sporty’ looks like;

‍Create truly relatable role models who inspire. Your body doesn’t have to look any particular way to move and engage in sport. 

The first taster programme ran for five weeks with a mix of activities. These activities included climbing with Cork Climbing Club, Inline Skating in the Marina with Cork Figure Skating Association, Introduction to Gym in Leisure World Bishopstown, weightlifting in the Marina with Cork Weightlifting Club, and Kayaking with Inniscarra Sailing & Kayaking Club. Each activity was fully attended, and the feedback provided by the girls was:

“I got to try something new that I wouldn’t have done or had the courage to do thinking it would be difficult to do and expensive. It gave me courage and helped me make new friends”.

“It was fun, and I enjoyed learning how to kayak and finding another way to stay active.”

The second project Cork Sports Partnership coordinated as part of the Girls Get Active Try It Series was a 5-week outdoor taster programme. This took place in Ballyhass Activity Centre in Mallow. Participants took part in Archery, Climbing, Kayaking, Standup Paddle boarding, and Wakeboarding. Another successful programme ran in 2023 was a four-week surfing programme in Inchydoney Surf School. 16 girls took part in the programme.

In 2024, CSP expended the range of tasters and programmes on offer targeting teenage girls. This included a second phase of the two taster programmes similar to 2023 along with a number of longer 4-6 week taster programmes including surfing, weightlifting, badminton, boxing, tennis, and a gym induction programme. 

All the programmes and groups they work with in the Cork Sports Partnership have avenues for girls to continue when the programme finishes. Be it becoming a member of the club, being able to book into the activity at a time that suits them. All activities can be done individually or with a friend or small group.