girls want to play sport... but why don't they?

"Teenage girls' participation in sport" - executive summary.

A research project of Womensport West and WA Healthyway. Reproduced with permission of Womensport West.
PO Box 66, Wembley, WA, 6014. Ph (08) 9387 9776, Fax (08) 9387 5641.


Summary of findings

  • Girls wants to play football and other traditional male sports. They claim to be bored with the lack of variety of sports generally available to girls and would like more community sports specifically for teenage girls, especially in non-traditional sports.
  • They would also like to have a greater involvement in the selection of their physical education sport.
  • Girls indicated that they would like better skills development earlier (ie primary school) and to have more female PE teachers and other sporting role-models.
  • Many girls wanted single-sex sport classes but others were equally adamant that mixed-sex sport was better.
  • Having to train deters many adolescent girls from playing sports because it makes sport too time consuming and serious.
  • Girls report that boys dominate sports equipment and facilities and exclude girls who wish to use them by intimidating, denigrating or ignoring them.
  • They also expressed a desire to have boys educated to change their attitude/behaviour toward girls.
  • A large number of the girls surveyed also reported that their parents tend to promote sport for boys more than they do for girls.
  • An overwhelming number of girls wanted an improvement in the quality and quantity of media coverage of women's sports.
  • Significant deterrents for girls from sport/physical activity were: sport being too serious/competitive, feeling inadequate due to lack of skill acquisition in primary school, playing with or being watched by boys, being treated differently to boys and low body image.
  • The majority of girls said they do not play sport at lunchtime, recess etc.
  • Girls reported that they played sport mainly to keep slim, socialise, belong to a team, feel good, relax, learn new skills, keep fit and relieve stress.
  • No significant differences were found between country and city students.


Conclusion

The findings of this report provide schools and other sport providers with a clearer picture of teenage girls' perceptions of participation in sport in Western Australia. They indicate that a significant number of teenage girls perceive the sporting arena to be male-dominated. Their experience and comprehension of this domination varies, but whatever its manifestation, the interaction is frequently regarded as negative.

Given the opportunity through this survey, the students both articulated their concerns as well as identified possible solutions. Other positive responses are deducible from the data collected. Many of the issues the girls raised clearly reflect current (and historical) cultural values as these are expressed through sport. Other issues are closely intertwined with the complexities of human biology.


Why girls play sport

  • Keep slim and fit
  • Socialise and have fun
  • Belong to a team
  • Feel good
  • Relax
  • Learn new skills


Sport is a major "turn-off" when...

  • It's repetitive and boring
  • It's too serious and competitive
  • Playing with boys
  • Boys watch girls play
  • Girls are being treated differently to boys
  • Girls are made to feel inadequate due to lack of skills


Girls want...

  • More community sport for teenage girls - especially non-traditional
  • A wider variety of sports and activities in PE classes
  • Better skills development in primary school
  • More female PE teachers and other sporting role models
  • Improved quality and quantity of media coverage during school hours
  • Single-sex sport classes when necessary


"Get it through people's heads that girls can play sport, then maybe we'll think we're good at sport, so we can enjoy it too."

The general aim of the project was to gain a better understanding of the factors affecting the participation rates of Western Australian adolescent girls with regard to sport and physical activity.

The project involved surveying 1140 Years 8 to 12 (inclusive) female students from 14 metropolitan and country, mixed sex, government schools.

The study was limited to government schools because in general private schools, which are more than not single sex schools, offer different sporting experiences for girls.

Each member of the 1140 target group completed a questionnaire and participated in a focus study group. By verifying the findings of the questionnaires as well as further exploring the factors affecting teenage girls' participation rates, the focus groups provided an important component of the methodology.


Enhancing girls' participation - What you can do


Schools can...

  • Celebrate girls' participation in sport activities
  • Provide PE specialist teachers in primary schools
  • Encourage high profile sportswomen to visit their school
  • Encourage students to design and choose their own sports clothing
  • Provide opportunities for girls to gain equal access to sports facilities
  • Ensure women in sport issues are included as part of the PE curricula
  • Provide adequate shower and change facilities for girls which allow some privacy
  • Ensure a more even balance of male/female PE teachers - PE Heads of Department


Community sports clubs can...

  • Provide non-traditional sports for teenage girls
  • Experiment with different sports and length of seasons
  • Encourage and support girls to conduct their own competitions
  • Provide competitions which focus on the fun and social aspect of sport participation


Students can...

  • Assist teachers to develop their sport program
  • Provide feedback to the school on changeroom facilities
  • Assist in the selection and design of appropriate sports clothes
  • Provide encouragement and feedback to their peers, champion their participation


Teachers can...

  • Be aware of the issue of body image for girls
  • Segregate groups on ability, rather than gender
  • Give girls more involvement in the selection of the PE sports
  • Experiment with different sports, length of PE lessons and season
  • Modify rules and invent games which encourage the fun and social aspect of sport
  • Provide coaching and activity programs for girls entering high school with inadequate skills


Parents can...

  • Celebrate girls' participation in sporting activities
  • Be spectators and enjoy your children's participation
  • Encourage girls at a younger age to be involved in community sport
  • Assist in the development of skills through practice and play at home


"Parents always watch my brother play footy and cricket but never watch me because they're not interested in netball."



Enhancing girls' participation - What girls say

Girls in Western Australia (as part of the Womensport West 1997 research project) were asked:

"Do you have any suggestions on how to encourage more girls to participate in physical activity/sport?"

They said:


Give students more choices in PE classes.

"Try lots of different sports because then you might find one you like"


Improve skill development of girls.

"We need to learn all the basic skills at primary school like the guys do. We are so far behind in skills by high school.
"Boys have more skills than girls because there are more sports for them to do in the community, like footy, soccer, rugby - there are big comps - we are just supposed to go and cheer them!


Change attitude and approach of some physical education teachers.

"People that don't like sport aren't accepted in society."


Improve the quality and quantity of media coverage of women's sport.

"Women's hockey was not televised last year even though they won, but the men's was televised even when they didn't win."
"You see on television all guys playing sport and you just expect them to play."


Let girls play football and other traditional male sports.

"We played touch rugby - just girls - it was great fun!"


Change boys' attitudes and behaviour.

"We should be encouraged to cooperate with each other if we are to be in mixed sports groups."


Provide more sport in the community for adolescent girls.

"The only sports for beginners are for 8 year olds. If you start off learning with them, it's too embarrassing."


Change physical education classes to single sex classes.

"Even though we should be encouraged to be more confident, it is sometimes more encouraging just to play girls, because we all feel the same about it."
"Yeah, we always feel embarrassed against guys in case we don't play properly."


Body image

Findings from the survey show that the two most popular magazine topics for teenage girls in WA are fashion and diet. These results confirm the very high priority adolescent girls give body image.

Unfortunately, recent research indicates that body-image becomes increasingly negative for girls during adolescence. This is exacerbated by the impossible demands of the ideal body paraded by the fashion and advertising industries through the media. The images of women appearing in magazines, films and on television, the model-shaped thin girls, with very long legs and wide shoulders, represent an estimated 5% of women. The other 95% are left feeling inadequate.
Some good news: studies on factors influencing body image in adolescent girls also found that sports team participation fostered high self-esteem, making girls feel capable and competent about their bodies.

Comments from the focus groups in the study clearly illustrate that a students own body image greatly influenced:

  1. whether or not they participated in sport at school and
  2. if they choose to participate, how confidently they did so.

In line with the research studies mentioned above, this survey also reveals the link between general self-confidence and confidence in the sporting arena:

  • out of the 75% of respondents who believed they were good at sport generally, 80% said they were either popular or very popular with girls and 65% thought they were either popular or very popular with boys;
  • conversely, out of 22% of respondents who believe they were not generally good at sport, only 53% thought that they were either popular or very popular with boys.

The importance - and complexity - of this issue should not be underestimated. The withdrawal of girls from sport especially when combined with the pressure of unrealistic body models can lead to a loss of self-esteem, disordered eating patterns and a lifetime commitment to the tyranny of being thin. It is also crucial to note that in this survey the majority of students who made comments indicating that they had a low body image, were actually slim and healthy looking young women. As one student pointed out "When they [boys] keep saying you're fat it gets into you and you think you are fat and want to go on a diet or something".

A significant aid to improving a young person's body image is to encourage them to experience their bodies being skilful, powerful, fit and healthy. This can create a catch 22 situation. Physical Education is the ideal place to foster healthy attitudes towards one's body. However, if teachers have little understanding of or empathy with those students who are overweight, self conscious and/or physically incompetent, this is a real risk that the girls will withdraw completely.

What can be done to help? The girls themselves, through the focus group offered quite specific and easily adopted suggestions: