IAPESGW International Update, February 2018: News and resourcesfrom around the world
2月号は平昌オリンピックの論説を中心に、オリンピック・パラリンピックに関する記事が掲載されていました。掲載記事の中から、今月はWHO（世界保健機関）のEuropean
Activity
andrelated
Sport Monitoring
System（EUPASMOS）の取り組みについて紹介
We want to hear aboutUnion
whatPhysical
you andyourorganisations
are doing and the
します。
information you are producing. You can send your information and news to any
EUPASMOSプロジェクトは、2月18-19日にかけてハンガリーのブダペストで始動しました。このプロジェクトは、ヨーロッパを横断しmember of the executive board for inclusion in the ‘Update’ each month – view their
た身体活動のレベルやスポーツへの参加状況を測定するための標準化されたシステムを確立することを目的にしています。幕開けとなる会
contacts details
議では、改革の推進や経済の発展におけるスポーツの重要性であることが強調され、全ての政策においてエビデンスベースの政策づくりを保証するための信頼性が高く、比較可能なデータの蓄積が差し迫って必要であると述べられました。その点、EUPASMOSは、身体活動のKeep right up to date with our news
政策や方略を評価し、国家間の身体活動やスポーツへの参加状況のより正確な比較を可能にすることで、国に有益な情報を提供することがWe have set up social media accounts to share all our latest news with you:
できるといいます。このプロジェクトは既に12カ国で実施されており、詳しい情報は下記のEUPASMOSのウェブサイトもしくは2019年8月にポルトガルで行われるSport and Youth学会で発表する予定です。

You can now follow us on Twitter - take a look

We're on Facebook too - view our page

Our page on the website
IAPESGW Regional event - International Congress Cubamotricidad
22 - 26 October 2018, Havana Convention Center, Cuba
The World Organization of Stimulation, Education and Child Development (OMEEDI), theInternational Association of Physical Education and Sports for Girls and Women (IAPESGW),
the International Association of Sports for All (TAFISA) with the National Institute of Sports ,Physical Education and Recreation (INDER) of the Republic of Cuba, with the auspice ofprestigious institutions and international organizations are convening the International
Congress Cubamotricidad 2018, which will take place from October 22nd to 26th at theHavana Convention Center, Cuba.
View a flyer for the event in English
View a flyer for the event in Spanish

1February Editorial
The sport highlight this month has been the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
One of the unbelievable successes, and creating Olympic history, was Czech athlete Esther
Ledecha who won two gold medals in two winter sports: Women’s Parallel and the Giant
Slalom: the first time a male or female athlete has done this. When interviewed she modestly
said: “I have fun with both”.
A media talking point has been the language used in the women’s events. Some sports calltheir events “Ladies” and others “Women’s”. It depends how the sports name their sports.
However, the IOC has a commitment to the principle of gender equality and is looking into astyle guide for future Games.
There are no events called Gentlemen’s so why are there still events for Ladies! It is common
practise in international sport to use Men and Women when naming events, with Golf still an
exception.
UNESCO is also calling for fairer and more equal media coverage of sportswomen. They
claim “only 4% of sports media content is dedicated to women’s sport and only 12% of sportnews is presented by women” Look at the UNESCO radio package for more detail.
A major recent event was the launch of the European Union Physical Activity and Sport
Monitoring System (EUPASMOS) which has been established to create a standardised
system to monitor physical activity and sport across Europe. A huge project that you can readmore about.
Close to home and my heart is the announcement that the Australian Women’s Rugby 7’s
team has a new sponsor in the Meat and Livestock Association (of which I am a member as I
farm cattle) to promote Aussie beef. Our Rugby 7’s won the gold medal at the Rio Olympics
and are developing a higher profile as role models and participation rates are increasing in thisrelatively new sport for women and girls.
This type of sponsorship is growing as it links well with women’s sport and that athletes needgood, home cooked, high quality food. Netball Australia has a similar sponsor with a national
pasta company. So if looking for a new sponsor don’t forget the food industry as it makes agood match: most shoppers for food are women and the family cooks!
We have included news from Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, UK, USA and Northern
Ireland where their Active, Fit and Sporty program for young girls is progressing very well.
Read more about this and Sport England, which has announced set targets to achieve its
vision of a more active nation. For example: to increase women who are regularly active by
250,000 annually. Active is defined as 150 minutes or more of moderate exercise per month.
A great challenge ahead.
And dear members and readers enjoy International Women’s Day on March 8th - I lookforward to hearing how you celebrated the wonderful achievements of women in yourpart of the world.
Janice Crosswhite OAM
Communications Director

2International
Inside the games reports (28 January 2018)
Mixed gender and class relay in athletics among new Paralympic disciplines at Tokyo
2020
A mixed gender and class 4x100 metres relay in athletics and two mixed gender swimming
relays have been added to the Tokyo 2020 programme as the International Paralympic
Committee (IPC) confirmed the medal events for the two sports.
Following a two-day meeting in Bonn, the IPC Governing Board also confirmed that triathlon
will have eight events, four for men and women, at the Games.
That is two more than Rio 2016 when the sport made its Paralympic Games debut.
The International Triathlon Union will now be tasked with confirming the eight medal
competitions which will form their programme at Tokyo 2020.
The mixed gender 4x100m relay has been granted inclusion at the Paralympics for the firsttime by the IPC.
It will see athletes from the various different classifications compete side-by-side. Each teamis comprised of two men and two women.
...................................................................................................................................................
View the full news item

Inside the games reports (30 January 2018)
Ostrava to host first women's Para Ice Hockey World Cup
Ostrava in the Czech Republic will host the first edition of the women's Para Ice Hockey
World Cup in May of this year, it has been announced.
World Para Ice Hockey had confirmed earlier this month that the tournament would be heldfrom May 1 to 6.
The sport's worldwide governing body has now revealed the destination of the event, backed
by the Agitos Foundation, the development arm of the International Paralympic Committee.
Britain, United States, Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands, Japan, South
Korea, France, Croatia, Czech Republic, Australia, and Armenia are among the countries
expected to compete in the Czech city.
It is hoped the competition will help the development of the sport, which is not on the
Paralympic programme.
...................................................................................................................................................
View the full news item

Inside the games reports (5 February 2018)
Coventry confirmed as chair of IOC Athletes' Commission
Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry has been confirmed as chair of the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes’ Commission here today.
She replaces United States' ice hockey player Angela Ruggiero and becomes the body's
third successive female leader.

3

Slovakian shooter Danka Bartekova has been chosen as vice-chair to replace France's Tony
Estanguet.
Both elections were uncontested at a joint meeting of the IOC Executive Board and Athletes'
Commission here today.
Coventry, 34, is a seven-time Olympic medallist who won the 200 metres backstroke crowns
in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.
She is also a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Foundation Board and theathlete representative on the Board of the new Independent Testing Authority, as well as avice-president of the International Surfing Association.
She follows Ruggiero and German fencer Claudia Bokel as the third successive female chair
and also becomes the first from Africa after Namibia's Frankie Fredericks.
...................................................................................................................................................
View the full news item

WHO - Europe (6 February 2018)
Developing a standardized physical activity and sport monitoring system for Europe
On 18–19 January the European Union Physical Activity and Sport Monitoring System(EUPASMOS) project was launched in Budapest, Hungary. The project aims to establish astandardized system to monitor physical activity levels and sport participation acrossEurope. The project is jointly funded by the European Commission, through the DirectorateGeneral for Education and Culture, and participating Member States.
...................................................................................................................................................
Following the initial work of a coordination team, led by Paulo Rocha from the Portuguese
Institute of Sport and Youth, project participants are now collaborating to achieve theambitious goal of a valid and reliable system to monitor physical activity and sport acrossEurope. A standard monitoring system will provide better information for countries toevaluate physical activity policies and strategies and enable more accurate comparisons ofphysical activity and sports participation between countries. This system will benefit all
countries in the WHO European Region through the development and dissemination of atoolkit to help countries to implement a standardized system of monitoring and surveillance.
...................................................................................................................................................
View the full news item

UN Women (7 February 2018)
Six women athletes who are changing the game
From a teenager boxer in Moldova to the first woman elected to the International Olympic
Committee, we’re celebrating all the ways women athletes and women in the sport industry
are inspiring us to level the playing field.
Women are more visible in sport now than ever before. At the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris,
where women competed for the first time, only 22 of 997 athletes were women. The London
2012 Olympics was the first Games to see women compete in every sport. In Rio 2016,
approximately 45 per cent of all athletes competing were women.

4Now, as athletes from 93 nations fly to Pyeongchang County in the Republic of Korea tocompete from 9-25 February, women are set to make their mark on the 2018 WinterOlympics like never before.
To celebrate women in sport, we bring you some inspirational women who are breaking
down gender barriers.
...................................................................................................................................................
View the full news item

UNESCO (8 February 2018)
UNESCO calls for fairer media coverage of sportswomen
As millions around the world tune into the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic
Games, World Radio Day (WRD), celebrated on 13 February 2018, is dedicated to thetheme of “Radio and Sports”. On this occasion, the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey
Azoulay, calls on media to provide more equal coverage of women athletes.
“The fight for equality between women and men is central to our work,” said UNESCO
Director-General Audrey Azoulay. “Only 4% of sports media content is dedicated to women’s
sport. Only 12% of sports news is presented by women.”
UNESCO also deplores the stereotypical comments that circulate in the media, often
focusing on physical appearance of athletes or their family status, or even crediting theirachievements to their male coaches and trainers.
On this Day, UNESCO is launching an awareness-raising campaign by making available aseries of engaging spots for radio stations around the world, denouncing the differences inmedia coverage between women and men athletes. Inspired by a variety of real life sporting
moments, and produced by creative agency BETC, the spots draw attention to thewidespread stereotypes, as well as the lack of credit and recognition to which many womenathletes are subject.
Find the radio package here. (link is external) (English: 6 spots, French: 6 spots. Length: 4050 sec)...................................................................................................................................................
View the full news item

Inside the games reports (14 February 2018)
Entries open for IWAS Women's World Games 2018
The International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) has announced that
entries for the first IWAS Women's World Games have opened.
The inaugural IWAS Women's World Games, exclusively for female athletes, will be held in
the English city of Worcester from August 27 to September 1.
It will feature sports such as athletics, badminton, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo andwheelchair fencing.
The University Arena, the country's first sporting arena purpose-designed for athletes withphysical impairments, Malvern College and the Nunnery Wood Sport Complex are the threevenues which will host competition.
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View the full news item

5

National Press Radio - The Torch (18 February 2018)
LGBTQ Women To Watch Out For In The 2018 Games
Gus Kenworthy and Adam Rippon made history in 2018 by being the first openly out, gay
male athletes representing the United States in the Winter Olympics. It's been a momentous
year for LGBTQ representation, with a reported record number of 15 out LGBTQ athletes,
according to Outsports.
That's an accomplishment, after the 2014 Sochi Winter Games saw the arrests of 4 LGBTQ
rights activists. "To put it mildly, the Russian government is not friendly to gay andtransgender people," wrote NPR's Barbara King during the games. Openly gay, two-time
Olympic snowboarder Belle Brockhoff, of Australia, said her parents were worried for her
safety during her time in Sochi.
"The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility ofpracticing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires
mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play," reads the Olympic
Charter.
In that spirit, NPR has compiled a non-exhaustive list of out LGBTQ women athletescompeting at this year's games — "out" meaning that these athletes have publicly
confirmed their LGBTQ identities.
...................................................................................................................................................
View the full news item

Business Insider UK reports (21 February 2018)
Why some female Olympic athletes are referred to as 'ladies' instead of 'women'xxx

The naming of events at the Winter Olympics offers an odd inconsistency in whichfemale athletes are sometimes referred to as "women" and others are "ladies."
It turns out the IOC does not have an editorial stance on which term to use and defers to
the individual sports.
A new program aimed at eliminating the portrayal of gender bias could lead to moreconsistency in how events are named.

At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, 2,952 athletes are expected tocompete and 43% of them are female, an all-time high.
Despite the record numbers, the games still seemingly can't agree on one small detail —should the female athletes be referred to as "women" or "ladies"?
The answer, for now, is "both."If you have been paying close attention to the Olympics, you might have noticed that some ofthe event names refer the female athletes as "women" and some refer to them as "ladies."
For example, on the first full day of events at the Olympics, some athletes competed in theladies' cross-country skiathlon and the ladies' normal hill ski jumping. On the same day, otherathletes competed in the women's singles luge and women's 7.5km biathlon sprint.
In a sporting world that obsesses over every small detail, on the surface this looks like an
odd inconsistency. It turns out there is a simple explanation — when it comes to naming the6events, the International Olympic Committee defers to the governing body of each individual
sport.
......................................................................................................................................................
As part of the "Gender Equity Review Project," the IOC has instituted a pilot program in
Pyeongchang that includes a set of principles and guidelines centered around avoiding theportrayal of gender bias and stereotypes. The project will then be used to create a "wider set"of guidelines and gender portrayal protocol in the near future.
Presumably, those guidelines would include an editorial "style guide" of sorts that would offer
more consistency in the naming of events.
View the full news item

European Commission (21 February 2018)
Open Public consultation on the European Week of SportThe European Commission has launched an Open Public Consultation on the European
Week of Sport.
This consultation will inform an external evaluation of the implementation of the European
Week of Sport.
The questionnaire is available in all EU languages and will remain open from the 19th ofFebruary 2018 until the 18th of May 2018.
Follow this link to have your say!
Source of information

A publication for awareness.....
Sport Diplomacy: Identifying good practices. A final report to the European
Commission. Ecorys for the European Commission, dated January 2018, released
February 2018 (63 pages)
The case study research has highlighted particular projects where the skills, knowledge andexpertise of Member States’ sports federations and NGOs have been applied successfully incountries outside of the EU. The good practice projects cover a range of themes including
disadvantaged young people, disability, gender, health, refugees, and major events.
The evidence demonstrates the potential for international sport projects to have a positiveeffect on the relationships between the countries involved.
Download a copy on this page
Executive summary (9 pages) - access on this page

Journal of Physical Activity and Health: The Official Journal of the International
Society for Physical Activity and Health. Volume 15, Issue 3, March 2018
Editor - the abstracts from the articles in this current edition to be placed on their website are
now available.
View the abstracts

7

Specific countries
AFGHANISTANBBC Sport reports (23 February 2018)
Kelly Lindsey: Afghanistan women's coach says it is 'life or death' for players
Spat at, stoned in the street, and having to avoid bombings on the way to training. All because
you want to play football.
That is the reality for some of Afghanistan women's international team.
Their coach - retired former USA international Kelly Lindsey - has never set foot in the country
because of security concerns.
Some of her players have not even played 11-a-side football before they join up with thenational squad, which was formed in 2010.
Yet, in Lindsey's two years in charge, they have climbed from 128th in the Fifa rankings to106th.
Progress - in spite of the "unique" nature of a job which means all matches and training camps
are held overseas for safety reasons.
...................................................................................................................................................
View the full news item

AUSTRALIA
Inside the games reports (6 February 2018)
Australian Government release extra funding for 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup bid
Australia's bid for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup has been handed a boost after thecountry's Government agreed to provide a further AUD$4 million (£2.3 million/$3.1 million/€2.5
million) of funding.
The additional money has been released as the Australian Government are confident the bid
has a genuine chance of success.
The Government initially pledged AUD$1 million (£563,000/$787,000/€635,000) to the nation's
effort at securing the hosting rights for the tournament when Australia confirmed its intention toenter the race last June.
Football Federation Australia (FFA) chief executive David Gallop said the money would be
used to to support the appointment of a bid team, who will be tasked with delivering the final
submission to FIFA.
......................................................................................................................................................
View the full news item

Women Sport Australia (February 2018)Play sport, don't pose for sport: WSA heralds the end of F1 grid girls
Women Sport Australia applauds the positive decision by Formula One 1 to axe grid girls.
Women Sport Australia president Carol Fox said it shows strong leadership from a major sport
to end an archaic practice that was out of step and out of date.
"WSA encourages other sports to follow suit and to scrap ring girls, walk-on girls and podium
girls and to provide women with equal opportunity, equal pay and conditions to participate inand play their sport, not pose for their sport," Fox said.

8

"Women in sport should be celebrated for being strong, skilled athletes, not for being atitillating sideline decoration to men playing sport.""The women’s sport revolution we are experiencing is producing great female athletes androle models.""They are creating a healthier, more engaged Australia by inspiring other women and girls toplay sport, not pose on the sidelines for sport."
Source of information

ABC Network (10 February 2018)
AFLW sees Perth Stadium record crowd and quality Freo-Collingwood encounter end adifficult week
It was the most challenging week the AFLW has had to endure since it opened to much
fanfare at Princes Park in February of 2017, but at the end of it came a sweet reward.
A crowd of 41,975 at Perth Stadium saw an 89-year-old record for women's footy broken — nostand-alone match of women's Aussie rules has been attended by more people — and added
to the long list of successes of which this young league can boast.
It will come as a relief to the true believers who, for the first time, saw their game questioned
not only by the perennial doubters but by the AFL itself, who responded with the now infamous"memo" not-so-subtly addressing the standard of football in the league.
......................................................................................................................................................
View the full news item

ABC Network (13 February 2018)
AFL clears transgender footballer Hannah Mouncey to play in state women's leagues
Transgender footballer Hannah Mouncey will be allowed to play in state and territory women's
leagues in 2018, as the AFL finalises its gender diversity policy for the national league.
The AFL blocked Mouncey from entering last year's AFLW draft after she had played several
games for Ainslie in the ACT women's league.
She wants to play in Victoria against the state's top AFLW talent in 2018.
Previously, Mouncey would have had to apply to the individual league she wanted to play forand be given clearance, but the ruling means she is automatically accepted into any league
under the AFL umbrella.
......................................................................................................................................................
In a statement, the AFL said it was developing a more comprehensive policy on theparticipation of trans and gender diverse athletes in its games.
......................................................................................................................................................
View the full news item
Janice Crosswhite sent me this note re the above news:
The Australian Football League has cleared transgender footballer Hannah Mouncey to play inall its competitions- except the AFLW, its top league.
It has stopped short of developing a transgender policy until the IOC and the Australian Sports
Commission make more progress on a “trans participation Policy”.
Mouncey is under the testosterone threshold that determines whether she is eligible for
Olympic sport.

9Golf Australia (13 February 2018)
Women critical to golf's future vision
Golf Australia has moved to address a fundamental imbalance in the game and draw more
women and girls to golf.
GA today launched a new strategy Vision 2025 which aims to tackle the fact that female
membership has slumped to just 20 percent of all membership, the lowest figure on record.
The four-pillar strategy aims to significant increase that figure, along with improving culture atgolf clubs around the country, by 2025 so that, according to GA chief executive Stephen Pitt,“our game is opened up to everyone’’.
Pitt told a media conference at Kooyonga Golf Club today, where the ISPS Handa Women’sAustralian Open starts on Thursday, that the 20 percent membership figure was dire. “That’s
the lowest it’s ever been and we need to address that.’’
He added that only five percent of accredited golf coaches in Australia are female, albeit up
from three percent several years ago.
....................................................................................................................................................
Click to download the full Vision 2025 overview document (pdf)...................................................................................................................................................
View the full news item - includes a short video on the new strategy

BRAZIL
Dates of forthcoming events in Brazil supplied by IAPESGW board member Beatriz
Ferrreira:World Day of Physical Activity
April, 06, 2018
Organization – CELAFISCS – São Caetano do Sul, Brzil
http://portalagita.org.br
VII Maranhense Week of Physical Education. I Regional Seminnaire of Public Politics ofSport and Leisure
March, 5-9th, 2018Federal University of Maranhão, São Luis, MA, Brazil
http://www.geppef.ufma.br/
III Brazilian Congress of Leisure Studies, XVII Seminar of Leisure in Debate
April, 28 to 30, 2018Federal University of Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul – MS, Brazil
https://iiicbel.ufms.br/
III Biannual Congress of the Latin Association of Sport Philosophy (ALFID)
May 8 to 12, 2018
State University of São Paulo - USP – Brazil
https://alfid2018.wordpress.com/

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CANADA
Inside the games reports (5 February 2018)
Canadian athletes set to sing gender neutral national anthem at Pyeongchang 2018
after Senate approves change
Canadian athletes are set to sing a gender neutral national anthem for the first time, followingchanges approved by the country's Senate.
A Bill had been put forward in 2016 to change a line in the anthem O Canada, with supporters
claiming the change would ensure all Canadians are represented.
The English language version contained the line "in all thy sons command", which
campaigners had proposed be altered to "in all of us command".
A similar proposal had been put forward in 2010, but was rejected.
The House of Commons had supported the latest bill back in 2016, having been put forward
by Liberal Member of Parliament Mauril Bélanger, who died later that year.
......................................................................................................................................................
View the full news item

IRAN
Editor - thanks once again to our national rep Robabeh Rostami for supplying an overview ofactivity in Iran for February, and all the excellent photographs, in very informative news
compilation - view the February edition here
An example:

Iranian runners arrived at an Asian gold medal and silver medal
In high jump Sepeideh Tavakoli Jump 1.83 and get gold medal. Maryam Mohebi, Faezeh
Nesaei, Elham Kakoli, and Hanieh Samari in 400m relay with record 3:51:39 get silver medal.
Elnaz Company in 60 meters, Mahsa Mirza Tayebi in pole jump, and Maryam Norozei inThrow weight get silver medals. Sana Dadras in throw weight, Sara Karimei in pole jump,
Nilofar Fshkhorani in pole jump and Sara Nadafi in 60 meter with hurdle and Farzaneh Fasihei
in 60 meter get bronze medal.
NIGERIA
The Week reports (21 February 2018)
Nigerian women bobsled team make history in PyeongChang
Seun Adigun and Akuoma Omeoga become first African athletes to compete in bobsleighNigerian duo Seun Adigun and Akuoma Omeoga “made history in 52.21 seconds” inPyeongChang yesterday, says NBC.

11

Although the pair finished last in their two-woman bobsleigh heats, losing out on the chance ofracing for a medal in this afternoon’s final, they won the honour of becoming the first athletes
from an African nation to compete in a bobsleigh event.
Their inspirational journey has touched many sports fans, predictably drawing comparisons to
the 1993 film Cool Runnings, which told the story of Jamaica’s first-ever bobsleigh team.
...................................................................................................................................................
View the full news item

SOUTH AFRICA
Female Coaching Network (20 February 2018)
South Africa soccer program aims to boost number of female coaches
Football Federation SA (FFSA) has just held its first female-only Asian Football Confederation
C-licence coaching course.
“There’s a lot of interest in the women’s game from the excellent job the Matildas have done,
and certainly at the local level as well, and it cries out as the game’s growing for the femalecoaching base to grow as well,” FFSA’s John Mundy said.
The C-licence program teaches basic skills and techniques so the coaches are able to work
primarily with young players.
“It’s part of a two-year project where our focus and priority is female coaching,” Mr Mundy
said.
“We’re looking for some of these girls learning to coach to also be instructors on courses down
the track.”
Mr Mundy pushed for the course after noticing there were few female coaches in the local
Women’s National Premier League and no female head coaches for SA’s state teams.
...................................................................................................................................................
View the full news item

MSN Sport (27 February 2018)
Meet new Minister of Sports and Recreation
JOHANNESBURG – Tokozile Xasa has been appointed as the new Minister of Sport andRecreation in Cyril Ramaphosa’s first cabinet.
Xasa is the former minister of Tourism, a department she led since last year.
The Department of Sport and Recreation has been presented with its second minister in lessthan 12 months, as Xasa replaces Thulas Nxesi.
......................................................................................................................................................
View the full news item

UK
Sport England (30 January 2018)
Targets to build an active nation - Our target is to get half a million more people active,
with a focus on women and those in lower socio-economic groups
We’re setting a series of ambitious targets to help us realise our vision of a more active nationfor everyone.

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By 2020, we want to:xxx

Increase the numbers of people in England who are regularly active by 500,000 nationally
Increase the numbers of women who are regularly active by 250,000 nationally
Increase the numbers of people from lower socio-economic groups who are more activeby 100,000 (within targeted locations).

We know these targets are not going to be easy to achieve, but that’s why we’ve set them.
Our research shows how challenging it can be for people to get into sport and physical activity
in the first place, and once they have, to stay active
Put simply, everyday life can get in the way.
...................................................................................................................................................
We’ll be using our Active Lives data to measure our progress towards these targets, with ournext release in March giving us the first chance to compare year-on-year figures.
People who we describe as ‘active’ do 150 minutes or more of moderate intensity activity per
week.
....................................................................................................................................................
View the full news item

University of Exeter (31 January 2018)
Teens need vigorous physical activity and fitness to cut heart risk
Guidelines for teenagers should stress the importance of vigorous physical activity and fitness
to cut the risk of heart disease, new research suggests.
Current NHS guidelines say people aged 5 to 18 should do at least 60 minutes of moderate tovigorous physical activity each day to improve their current and future health.
But in a study of adolescents aged 12 to 17, University of Exeter researchers found significant
differences between the effects of moderate activity (such as brisk walking) and vigorous
activity (activity that leaves people out of breath, such as team sports or running around aplayground).
They found only vigorous activity had a significant effects on so-called “risk factors” that raise
the chance of cardiovascular disease, such as body mass index (BMI) and waist size.
Poor cardiovascular fitness and muscular fitness – which are partly genetic but can beboosted by exercise – were linked more closely to risk factors for future heart problems thananything else the researchers tested.
The study, by researchers from numerous European countries, used data from the HealthyLifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) study.
...................................................................................................................................................
View the full news item

Health Club Management reports (1 February 2018)
Light exercise linked to lower mortality in older women, study concludes
Even low-levels of regular physical activity can lead to lower death rates among older women,
research has concluded.
As part of a Women’s Health Initiative study in the US, researchers wanted to learn more
about how much exercise older adults are able to perform, and how it affects their health.

13

During 2012 and 2013, 6,489 women aged between 63 and 99 years old joined the study,
agreeing to take in-home exams, answer health questionnaires and wear accelerometers tomeasure physical activity and sedentary time, as well as keeping sleep logs.
From the beginning of the research through to September 2016, the team recorded the total
number of deaths as 450.
After examining the deaths of the women according to their activity levels, the researchersconcluded that light-intensity and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were both associatedwith lower mortality in older women.
Results showed that just 30 additional minutes of light physical activity per day loweredmortality risk by 12 per cent, while an additional 30 minutes of moderate activity, such as brisk
walking or cycling at a leisurely pace, reduced the risk by 39 per cent.
......................................................................................................................................................
View the full news item

Women in Sport (February 2018)
Workplace Culture Study
We, at Women in Sport, are inviting everyone who works in the sport, physical activity andleisure sector to complete this anonymous survey which investigates your experience ofworking culture.
By taking part you can provide vital information - never collected before - that will help shape
the future of the sector and make it a great place to work for men and women alike.
The survey only takes 15 minutes to complete.
If you have any questions about this research or how we intend to use the findings please
don't hesitate to contact Sally Dalton, Insight Officer at Women in Sport at
sally@womeninsport.org
Access the survey

Youth Sport Trust (5 February 2018)
Girls 'Step Up for Change' at Aylesbury launch event - Girls Active expands throughStepping Up for Change to reach even more girls to get active and enjoy physicalactivity
A new programme which will encourage 14 to 18-year-olds to inspire and guide younger,
primary-aged girls to love PE, sport and physical activity and set them up for future healthy
and happy lives has launched in Aylesbury today.
Following the success of the Girls Active programme which launched in 2013, developed by
the Youth Sport Trust and delivered in partnership with This Girl Can and supported by
Women in Sport, the programme is now evolving to target even younger girls and take a longterm approach to engaging girls.
Funded by Sport England, Stepping Up For Change launched on 5 February at Stoke
Mandeville Stadium and sees teenage girls already involved in Girls Active act as a bridge
between inspiring primary-aged girls to keep active and embrace PE as they transition tosecondary school.
Girls Active research released in 2017 shows that fewer girls place importance on being active
as they get older, with only 59% of 11-14-year-olds stating that physical activity is currently ‘animportant part of my life’. This becomes even more pronounced when looking at the results forolder girls aged 14-16 years (42%).
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The structure of Stepping Up For Change will see eight festivals take place across the UK
between February and March, inviting a select number of Girls Active ‘GLAM’ ambassadorsfrom best practice secondary schools. The girls will then receive training from nationalchildren’s charity, the Youth Sport Trust and inspirational athlete mentors, for the GLAMs to
impart this knowledge to feeder primary-aged girls at the event. Each GLAM will then bepaired with a primary school for the academic year to mentor and support younger girls as
they progress.
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View the full news item

Beyond Sport reports (6 February 2018)
Arsenal’s Lisa Evans launches scheme to get more women playing football
Coinciding with the celebration of 100 years since women gained the right to vote in the UK,
Scotland’s Lisa Evans and three other top European internationals are using social media tospread the word about Women's football.
The Football Association have invested in a number of campaigns in recent years aimed atincreasing girls’ participation in sports. Initiatives like Gameplan for Growth, Together#WePlayStrong, Girls Active, and This Girl Can have marked a growing interest and focus on
this particular social issue.
The latest Office for National Statistics research shows girls still spend almost half the timeboys do taking part in sport and are less likely to be involved in sport at all, with 38.8% of boys
doing sport daily, compared with 26.4% of girls.
The Arsenal and Scotland player Lisa Evans believes using new technology to target
teenagers is vital to increasing the profile of women in sport: “Social media is taking over andis the biggest thing out there for attracting people to anything – be it news, sport orentertainment. Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, they’re the growth markets for teenagers. So
using them is one way we get to the age group we are targeting and hopefully can encouragethem to play football.”Evans is speaking after beginning a vlogging series for Uefa’s YouTube channel, Together#WePlayStrong alongside Basel’s German striker Eunice Beckmann and the Austrianinternationals Sarah Zadrazil and Laura Feiersinger, who play for the German clubs Turbine
Potsdam and Sand respectively.
The four friends film their day-to-day lives, from training to grocery shopping, to give an insight
into life as professional female athletes.
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View the full news item

Royal Yachting Association (21 February 2018)
Help promote and increase the participation of women in Race Official positions
Are you interested in contributing to the development of sail racing and passionate about
volunteering and the participation of women in the sport, as well as strengthening your own
skills and implementing ideas within the sailing and racing community?
The RYA wants to increase the number of women in race official positions in sailing, ensure
there are opportunities for women with equal access to roles, along with growing female
volunteering across our sport.
The RYA are looking for volunteers to join a special working group to promote and further
women as Race Officials in sail racing. If you are brimming with ideas about how to entice15

women volunteer race officials in to our sport, and you are happy to commit some time to theworking party yourself to progress the initiative, we want to hear from you!
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View the details

Sport Northern Ireland
Active, Fit & Sporty Update, February 2018
This month’s update focuses on the Active, Fit & Sporty partnership’s involvement withcreating opportunities for young females to increase their physical activity levels and develop
their sports leadership skills during their school years.
The Youth Sport Trust have had a busy few months, with 17 schools across the Armagh,
Banbridge & Craigavon and Lisburn & Castlereagh council areas involved with their Girls
Active programme. 10 new schools joined the Girls Active programme in Northern Ireland thisyear, with many now at the stage of providing new sporting opportunities for their girls. 7
schools were involved with the Girls Active programme last year and this year has been about
embedding the process in those schools, particularly through the GLAMs (Girls Leadershipand Marketing Squad). The GLAMs are a group of 6 girls selected to be the ‘voice’ for girls’
physical education in their school, to communicate about what the girls themselves would likePE to look like and to promote new activities or events amongst their peers.
The Youth Sport Trust launched their pilot report at an insight seminar in January 2018, withseveral partner organisations from councils across NI, governing bodies and the active clubs
network in attendance. This event allowed the partners to investigate the most effective way
they can engage girls in physical activity through their programmes and potential future
projects. The pilot report was compiled through the Girls Active programme in Northern Ireland
and, prior to the intervention, evidences the disparity in the amount of physical activity done bygirls in comparison to their male counterparts. Both the girls’ level of participation and theirattitudes to sport fell below that of boys at a similar age, and this report endeavoured toestablish the specific motivations and barriers for girls when participating in sport. The reportdemonstrated the impact that the Girls Active pilot programme had in the few short months it
was running, with the girls’ having a more positive attitude towards sport and consequently
increasing their level of physical activity.
The Youth Sport Trust have been able to deliver several aspects of their programme throughpartnership with Ulster University. Students on Ulster University’s school of sport degrees
have helped with the facilitation of events such as the Girls’ Active Inspiration Day, which not
only helps with organisation, but also allows the students to gain additional skills outside of
their studies. The Ulster University programme centres on four key areas: programmes,
leadership, mentoring and research. This year the 9 physical activities have seen 195
participants across 3 campuses, with 20 girls attending leadership sessions and 10 active
mentors involved with the programme.
The final Active, Fit & Sporty partner organisation who have been working specifically withschools to increase physical activity levels amongst girls is Disability Sport Northern Ireland(DSNI). The first stand of their programme which focuses on engaging young girls in sport isthe My Sport, My Story workshop. These workshops are designed for young females who are
difficult to engage in physical education, with schools themselves nominating which age
groups attend the workshop. The session aims to highlight how local females with a disability
have got involved in sport, with a key speaker invited to explain their own journey and inspire
the girls to involve themselves in more sports activities.
Another aspect of the DSNI project is the schools’ partnership programme. DSNI have seen
keen interest from both special schools and post-primary schools across Northern Ireland inregard to being involved with this programme. The programme is designed to pair up a special

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school and a post-primary school in order to create opportunities for their female pupils toengage with each other and have new sporting experiences. DSNI are also keen to examine
how this partnership could fit in with the Youth Sport Trust’s Girls Active programme, forinstance, by using the Girls’ Active schools as the post-primary partners for this programme.
Through the collaboration which has been outlined, the Active, Fit & Sporty partnership havecontinued to provide opportunities for girls to become engaged in sport during their school
lives. By encouraging an interest in sport at this age, the partners can help these girls to get
involved with sport and engage in lifelong enjoyment of physical activity.
Lauren Callender, Sport Northern Ireland

General interest.....
University of Birmingham (7 February 2018)
Schools alone cannot help to prevent childhood obesity, study finds
School-based healthy lifestyle interventions alone are not effective in the fight againstchildhood obesity, researchers at the University of Birmingham have warned.
The warning comes after one of the largest childhood obesity prevention trials undertaken todate has found that a healthy lifestyle intervention carried out in dozens of schools did not leadto significant changes in pupils’ weight.
Led by the University of Birmingham, the West Midlands ActiVe lifestyle and healthy Eating in
School children (WAVES) study was a trial funded by the National Institute for HealthResearch (NIHR). It aimed to assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a programme ofactivities designed to support children aged six and seven in keeping their weight at a healthy
level by promoting healthy eating and physical activity.
Excess weight in childhood is a global problem, affecting around 41 million children under theage of 5 years1. In addition to physical and psychosocial health consequences in these earlyyears, childhood excess weight is an important predictor of obesity in adulthood2, withadditional adverse health and economic3 effects. In the UK around a quarter of children haveexcess weight at school entry (age four to five years)4. The proportion of very overweightchildren doubles during the subsequent six years (from approximately 9% to 19%)4,
highlighting this time period as critical for preventive action.
The 12-month WAVES study intervention included a daily additional 30 minute school-time
physical activity opportunity, and a six-week interactive skill based programme in conjunction
with a premiership football club. It also included signposting of local family physical activity
opportunities through six-monthly mail-outs and termly school led family healthy cooking skills
workshops.
Almost 1,500 pupils from 54 state primary schools in the West Midlands took part in the trial.
Their measurements – including weight, height, percentage body fat, waist circumference,
skinfold thickness, and blood pressure – were taken when they started the trial. They also
wore an activity tracker for five days, recorded their dietary intake and took part inassessments to establish their perceived quality of life, social acceptance and body image.
These measurements were taken again 15 months and 30 months later and were comparedamong pupils who were or were not taking part in the intervention.
The results of the randomised controlled trial, published today in The BMJ, found that theintervention did not result in a significant difference in participants’ weight status.
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View the full news item
Also, you can read the 15-page BMJ article on the WAVES study

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Publications.....
Sporting Future: Second Annual Report. Department of Digital, Culture, Media andSport, 30 January 2018 (30 pages)
Sporting Future set out a new government vision to redefine what success looks like in sport
by concentrating on five key outcomes - physical wellbeing, mental wellbeing, individual
development, social and community development and economic development. The second
annual report on the strategy sets out the progress that has been made in the past year, andfocuses on ten key themes and areas of progress:
x Cross-government working
x Change in participation approachx Sports governancex Anti-dopingx Duty of care, safeguarding and mental healthx Major events: past, present and futurex Safe stadia, accessibility, fan engagement and infrastructurex The sporting workforce
x Elite sport
x Sporting economy
Download a copy

PE provision in secondary schools 2018: Survey Research Report. Research andInsight Team, Youth Sport Trust, February 2018 (9 pages)
The average number of Curriculum PE minutes has declined over time:x

10% of schools surveyed have seen a decline in the number of minutes of core PE for Key
Stage 3 since last academic year.
x The trend is greater for Key Stage 4, where 24% of schools have seen a decline in thenumber of minutes of core PE since last academic year.
x However, the results are even more profound when looking at the trend across the last 5
years - Key Stage 3 minutes have declined by 20% and Key Stage 4 minutes by astaggering 38%.
Download a copy

Scotland’s Mental Health Charter for Physical Activity & Sport. People Active for
Change & Equality (PACE) and SAMH, February 2018(12 pages)
The Charter sets out how sport and recreation organisations can adopt positive mental healthpractice to ensure everyone can engage, participate and achieve in physical activity and sport.
Download a copy

USA
Contemp Clin Trials. 2018 Feb 8. pii: S1551-7144(17)30746-2. doi:
0.1016/j.cct.2018.02.005. [Epub ahead of print] The effect of a randomized controlled
physical activity trial on health related quality of life in metabolically unhealthy AfricanAmerican women. Taylor T et al
Author information18

Abstract
Purpose: African-American women have a higher incidence and mortality from breast cancer
compared to most other racial/ethnic groups. African-American women are also more likely to
be metabolically unhealthy than White women. Several studies have suggested that metabolic
syndrome affects health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Despite numerous exercise studies
reporting improvements in metabolic syndrome, no study to date has examined the effect of
exercise on HRQoL in metabolically unhealthy African-American women.
Methods: This study examined the effect of the Focused Intervention on Exercise to Reduce
CancEr (FIERCE) trial, (a 6-month, 3-arm: (supervised exercise, home-based exercise,control) randomized exercise controlled trial (RCT)) on HRQoL among 213 obese,
metabolically unhealthy, postmenopausal African-American women at high projected risk ofbreast cancer. Assessments (socio-demographics, lifestyle, BMI and HRQoL) were measured
at baseline and 6 months. Change scores from baseline to 6 months in HRQoL were observedby study group.
Results: Baseline education level, marital status, smoking, and BMI were related todimensions of baseline HRQoL. There were no significant differences in HRQoL change
scores between the 3 study groups, however although non-significant, data indicated that
HRQoL was more favorable in the supervised group.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that certain dimensions of HRQoL are associated withbaseline participant characteristics. While we did not observe any significant effects ofexercise on HRQoL over time, we did see a non-significant trend for improved HRQoL in the
supervised exercise group. Additional research is needed to further explore this topic.
Source of information

International Update, February 201819