Pauline Casey and Louise Barry are both Sports Development Officers with WSP. Pauline and Louise work together to develop sustainable initiatives for women and teenage girls to be physically active in Waterford.
The impact that initiatives like participation programmes developed by local Sports Development Officers can have on getting teenage girls and women active is powerful. Evidence of this was seen at the Camogie Development Initiative that was launched in 2019. Waterford Sports Partnership worked in partnership with Waterford Camogie to deliver a series of participation programmes to develop and improve the skills of girls playing camogie in Waterford. This participation programme reached over 170 girls, and if it wasn’t for this programme these girls may have quit playing due to their non involvement at competition level. Participation programmes like this allow for conversations to happen between Sports Development Officers, parents, coaches, and teenage girls to help give everybody involved a better insight and understanding on how we all can play a part engaging teenage girls and women to be more physically active.
Initiatives can also help Sports Development Officers to identify the training needs of clubs. Waterford Sports Partnership can support clubs to up skill parents, coaches and players to fill roles that are vitally important to their clubs structure. Teenage girls need to see more women lead and demonstrate a role within their club. Waterford Sports Partnership can provide training in areas such as safeguarding, first aid and disability inclusion. With that being said they are not just limited in providing these courses, when needs are identified other relevant areas of training can be explored further.
It is possible for your club to have a real and lasting impact on women and teenage girls in your community becoming more physically active and more involved in sport in any capacity.
Please contact Pauline or Louise to discuss how that can be achieved for your club.
Article Modified: November 05, 2020 9:01 am
