Touch Football Australia has today welcomed the release of the Australian Government’s ‘Girls Make Your Move’ campaign which encourages younger Australian women to get physically active.
Minister for Health Sussan Ley said the campaign comes on the back of new research showing nearly 60 per cent of girls aged 15-to-17 reported undertaking little-to-no exercise or physical activity compared to one-third of boys.
“This campaign was a fun way to encourage young women in their teenage years to build their bodies as they are growing.
“It aims to tackle this sliding door moment in a young woman’s life when they actually are laying down the foundation for the rest of their lives.
“Physical activity in the teenage years lays down the muscle and bone you need for the rest of your life. It’s a unique time as your body develops and the greatest opportunity to build up strength for your later years.â€
“It will also help us to tackle a serious ‘epidemic’ of diseases and chronic conditions facing this current generation if they did not exercise more.
“The research is telling us around the late primary to early high school age girls first engage in some form of physical activity within peer groups. And if that first experience is not enjoyable the idea of exercise and sport also can become a negative,†Ms Ley said.
Touch Football Australia CEO, Colm Maguire said the sport of Touch Football has a role to play in reversing the alarming trends in female participation in sport and active recreation.
“Touch Football has always provided a place on the field for everyone with over 42 percent of our participants being female. We are certainly focused on increasing our junior participation and know that we can work harder on expanding our appeal to young girls.â€
“We’re planning for one million people playing our sport annually by 2020 so not only will the number of girls playing Touch Football grow, but we’re investing in our schools strategy to increase the proportion of girls participating as well.
“Our unique offering of social competitions, gala days, events and our representative pathway means there are plenty of fun opportunities to be involved.
“Participation in Touch Football isn’t limited to just being a player. With the assistance of the Australian Sports Commission, we’ve recently invested in the development a Women’s Elite Coaching Leadership Workshop and an Elite Referee and Referee Coaches Workshop to grow the skills of our female volunteers. We have also had strong representation at a governance level and recently elected our first female Chair of the national Board.
“We’re very happy to be able to support the Australian Government’s #girlsmakeyourmove campaign and we encourage each of our affiliates to think about ways they can promote the message in their own community,†Maguire said.
For more information visit: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/girlsmove/publishing.nsf/Content/activities
Related Links
- Girls Make Your Move
