Greenhouse Sports continues to grow female engagement

Published on March 22, 2023 by Ben Wyatt
Girls participation Partnerships Sport for Development

Having set an ambitious target of achieving gender parity across our programmes by 2024, Greenhouse Sports continue to create opportunities for more girls to participate in sport and reduce the barriers they face

Over the last two months, Greenhouse has, through Female Participation Lead Lauren, and support from a number of organisations and female role models in the sports industry, successfully hosted a number of events specifically designed for our female participants.

Sweaty Betty Foundation X Greenhouse Girls Only Sports Bra roadshow
We have been busy putting on some amazing girls only sports bra events across London with the aim of educating girls on the importance of a sports bra and providing girls with this essential piece of sports apparel. The timing of these events couldn’t have been better with Women in Sport  releasing research in March that only 36% of girls aged 11-18 wear a sports bra during PE which has a negative impact on their experience. Over the course of the events to date 400 girls have taken home a brand new Sweaty Betty sports bra not only did we provide girls with the knowledge to empower them we also wanted to inspire so held Q&A’s with inspirational role models including Paige Robinson, Lipa Nesa, Savannah Sachdev, Kerry Dixon, Tyra Mills and Lauren Heria. Each event rounded off with a multisport festival focused on fun allowing the girls to put their new kit to the test.

Singer Capital X Chelsea Event
Through our partnership with Singer Capital Markets, we had the opportunity to take 15 female participants to Chelsea’s training  ground – Cobham – for a day of football training and fun. The day saw Greenhouse Sports and IntoUniversity girls come together for lots of football but that wasn’t all that was on the agenda, Chelsea Women’s captain Magdalena Erikkson, Czech Republic’s Katerina Svitkova, and Scottish international Erin Cuthbert joined the afternoon to answer questions, sign autographs and join in with some of the games. The day was a huge success and all of the girls left with big smiles on their faces.

Girls Only Holiday Camps
During the Easter holidays, we hosted an all-girls basketball camp, with three schools taking part in what was an exciting day of basketball as well as a great opportunity for building relationships with students from other Greenhouse schools. Speaking about how the day went, Greenhouse’s Taner Adu said:

“The success of the girls only basketball day at Mulberry School during the Easter break has sparked excitement among Greenhouse coaches who are already planning ahead to May and the Summer in order to put on some amazing girls only sessions in order to encourage participation.”

Taner Adu, Coach Development Lead.

A huge thank you to partners Singer Capital Markets and the Sweaty Betty Foundation, as well as Paige Robinson, Lipa Nesa, Savannah Sachdev, Kerry Dixon, Tyra Mills and Lauren Heria, for bringing these events to life, and inspiring so many girls in the process.

With what has been a fantastic start to the year for our girls, we’re excited to continue to inspire even more girls into sport on a regular basis, and eliminate barriers to their participation.