Bury beat off competition from towns across England this week to secure £1.8million of Sport England’s National Lottery funding in aid of getting more women active.
The town will be the location for an intensive year-long sporting experiment designed to rigorously test the changing fitness habits of women and girls.
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Maria Miller MP, is adamant increased female participation can be achieved by harnessing the heady success of London 2012.
“Last year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games were a triumph for women’s sport, showcasing positive role models such as Jess Ennis and Ellie Simmonds,” she said.
“It is vital that we build on that success, and get more girls and women playing sport.
“We are making good progress, more than half a million more women are playing sport in the last year, and our broadcasters are responding to pressure to increase coverage of women’s sport.
“But we want to do more. This pilot project in Bury, backed by £1.8 million of public money, will help us us close the sports gender gap.”
Despite a big increase in the number of women playing sport regularly over the past year, men are still much more likely to be active.
Sport England invested £10million in female sports projects in January, with the aim to address the fact that just one in eight women play sport regularly.
Bury’s Emmerdale soap star and Strictly Come Dancing contestant Lisa Riley is delighted her home-town is at the forefront of bridging England’s sporting gender gap.
“It’s brilliant that Bury is taking centre stage in this campaign to get women more active,” she said.
“There’ll be something on offer to tempt everyone so I really do encourage all women to give it a go.
“My experiences on Strictly showed me how much fun you can have getting moving so I’ll definitely be looking to join in some of the activities over the next 12 months.”
The evolving diversity of sport available in Bury will include dance and fitness sessions, such as zumba, pilates aimed at older women, and boot camps for the stronger hearted.
The council-backed campaign will even offer mums the chance to pitch in with a game of ‘school-run rounders’.
Bury council leader Mike Connolly is enthusiastic about the role the Greater Manchester town will have in attempting to alter England’s sporting landscape for the better.
“We are absolutely delighted to be chosen for this pilot project and we are raring to go,” he said.
“Over the next 12 months we will be doing everything we can to change the sporting habits of our women and girls in every corner of the borough.
“We will be offering an exciting range of activities to thousands of women and girls, there will be lots to try out and get involved in.
“There will be every opportunity for women and girls to get moving, so, come on, let’s play sport, get fit and have fun!”
While Sport England Chief Executive Jennie Price insisted their aim is increase female involvement by making sport more accessible for women across the country.
“We are determined to make it easier and more appealing for women and girls in Bury to take up sport,” she said.
“This campaign is about making Bury a place where playing sport comes naturally – because your friends do it, the women you work with do it and, most of all, because you enjoy it.”
As the pilot progresses, Sport England will work with partners across community sport to ensure lessons coming out of Bury are put into practice nationwide.
Image courtesy of Channel 4 news, via YouTube, with thanks
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