Developing female sport and physical activity
In 2016/17, the Department provided £250k funding to the Female Sports Forum, through Sport NI, to take forward initiatives under the ‘Women and Girls: Active Fit and Sporty’ pledge.
The Female Sports Forum worked with six delivery partner organisations to take forward initiatives to develop female sport.
The initiative delivered included: leadership qualifications for women and girls from ages ranging from 14 to 58 across a wide variety of sports; upskilling workshops for female volunteers; and a Developing Female Leaders Conference.
In addition, the Department provided £120k funding to the development of participation and capacity in female sport and physical recreation, as part as a pre-legacy of a major summer of female sport in NI - the Women’s Rugby World Cup, the UEFA Under-19 Women’s Championships and the GAA Féile Peil na nÓg– through the governing bodies of Rugby, Football and GAA. The initiatives delivered included: coach development courses; club volunteer and capacity building; referee development; participation and coaching sessions for girls; and an Empowering Female Sport Conference.
The Department, in collaboration with Sport NI, the Female Sports Forum and sport governing bodies has developed plans to continue supporting increased capacity across female sport and physical recreation.