Welcome to our new section on Women and Girls in Paddlesport
The Canoe England Development Team are committed to increasing the number of females participating in Paddlesport as well as encouraging those already taking part to stay in the sport by providing greater opportunities and information for those already hooked! The project formally known as Girl Power has been reignited into action with the scope broadened to include all women not just the young (hence the name change).
Currently in the early stages of the project, we plan to use this section of the website to bring you information and news on Women and Girls Development days, equipment, useful contacts, paddling experiences and more.
There are many women out there who currently enjoy and participate in Paddlesport. Many more have the desire but are not sure how to start and a huge number unaware of what they are missing out on.
Did you know….?
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Of the 7 athletes that went to Beijing Olympics for canoeing 4 were women!
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The Great Britain Women Polo Team are the current World Games and European Champions
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Lucy Wainwright, Sprint K1, is the current 200m European Champion
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Helen Reeves, Canoe Slalom, won the first ever female Olympic canoeing medal in Athens 2004
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Helen Barnes holds the World Record for the fastest time to do 100 Eskimo Rolls in a kayak (3minutes and 42 seconds)
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Anna Hemming is 7 times World Marathon Champion
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Fiona Jarvie and Lowri Davies are current European Champions in Freestyle.
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The senior women's Canoe Slalom Team are the current World and European Team Champions
We would value your feedback and consultancy through different stages of this project. If you would be interested in helping please email [email protected].
With the 2010 competition season in full swing, we took the opportunity to catch up with eight of our successful and up and coming female athletes to find out a bit more about what motivates and inspires them both within and outside of the sport.
- Women and girls respond better to the social, health and well-being characteristics of sport rather than competition.
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Adolescent females place greater emphasis on self-comparison and comments from adults than do adolescent males, who rely more on competitive outcomes as their basis for personal judgement of physical competence.
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Girls, on average, have less self-confidence than boys and rate their performance or ability more negatively than boys
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Self Confidence is also linked to competition. Although some women enjoy the competitive element of sport, many girls and women are turned off sport because it’s competitive.
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For many girls training is too time consuming, boring and repetitive
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For women and girls the relationship between body image and physical activity is a vicious circle; the more self conscious they feel about their bodies, the less likely they are to take part in sport, and yet, participation in sport has a positive effect on girls’ perceptions of their bodies.
Useful websites:
Women Sports and Fitness Foundation (WSFF)
Sport England Small Grant Programme
Useful Information:
WSFF- How can Sports Clubs attract and retain Women and Girls?
WSFF- Teenage girls and Drop out
Cuckmere Valley Canoe Club Womens Development Day- Case Study
Surf Development - Case Study
Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation Factsheets
Funding
There have been several enquiries to the office regarding what funding might be available to set up a Women and Girls project at your Club. The best thing to do is contact your regions Paddlesport Development Officer. They will be able to advise you of funding that may be available in your region as many County Sport Partnerships have funding available for such projects, although every region varies. The other funding option is to apply for a grant from the Sport England Small Grant Programme. This scheme has been set up to support local community sport projects which seek to increase participation, sustain participation or develop opportunities for people to excel at their chosen sport. Grants can be awarded from £300 to £10,000. You can apply at any time and a decision will normally be made within 6 weeks of receipt of the application.
To find out more visit their website.
More guidance can also be found on WSFF Fact sheet on Funding.
Runningsport Tips for Small Grant Applications