(Brecon and
Radnorshire) (Con):...The number of girls playing rugby in the 95
schools and colleges with full-time rugby hub officers has gone
from fewer than 200 to almost 10,000 in the space of just a few
years. I can only hope that each and every one of those girls
enjoys rugby as much as I did. While I am the first to admit that
rugby is my sport of choice, I am a firm believer that all sports
provide lifelong benefits. Unfortunately, it is a sad fact that
women and girls are still 20% less likely to participate in team
sports than men and boys, with many contributing factors to why
that is the case. Sport England research has
found that the main reason for this lack of participation is
fear—something that I am sure all women in the House can relate
to...
...The fear identified in Sport England’s
research as the main barrier to participation is a fear of being
unable to participate, a fear of the judgment of others and, for
many, a fear of choosing to spend time on themselves rather than
their families. That fear is in addition to many other factors. For
many women rugby players I spoke to, there are practical barriers
to participation too, such as not having a club nearby, having to
travel long distances to fixtures and, in one club’s case, only
having two changing rooms, which meant that they were unable to
arrange a fixture at the same time as a men’s match was going on.
That said, I am pleased to hear that over the past decade women’s
sport in the UK has been on an upward trajectory, and I wish to pay
tribute to all those who have brought that about, particularly the
Minister’s predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and
Aylesford (), whom we look forward to welcoming back to her place in
this House very soon.
Increased resources from international and national bodies,
alongside funding from brands, such as Vitality’s sponsorship of
netball and Barclays funding of the women’s super league, have
resulted in the growth of a variety of women’s sport. I
wholeheartedly endorse campaigns such as This Girl
Can, which has seen nearly 3 million women get more
active, across all sports. The Welsh Rugby Union’s schemes such as
rookie rugby and rugby fit are very much to be celebrated, as they
challenge the perception that rugby is not for girls. This has
allowed far more women and girls to reap the physical and mental
benefits of playing...
...At a grassroots level, clubs I have spoken to also have serious
concerns about the finances of the women’s game. Some are worried
that because women’s and girls’ rugby does not receive the same
financial support as the men’s game, they will struggle to restart
training and matches. But it is not all bad news, because in July
the WRU committed to providing an additional £600,000 fund to
support clubs in Wales. Enabled by the UK Government funding of
more than £4 billion to cope with coronavirus, the Welsh Government
have recently announced a £14 million fund for Wales’s sport and
leisure sector. Significant support has also been provided to clubs
by the Be Active Wales Fund, which has also seen funding awarded to
seven bids from rugby union which positively target women and
girls. I was also pleased to see the Department for Digital,
Culture, Media and Sport work with Sport England
to make up to £195 million of funding available to help the sport
and physical activity sector through the ongoing coronavirus
crisis. The UK Government are also making more than £11 million of
Sport England investment in the Rugby Football
League. In May, the Government announced that the RFL would receive
a further £16 million cash injection to safeguard the immediate
future of the sport for the communities it serves...
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture,
Media and Sport ():...In May of this year, rugby league received a £16
million support package from the Government to safeguard the
immediate future of the sport for the communities it serves. The
Government are also supporting the rugby league with more than £11
million of Sport England investment over the 2017
to 2021 period.
Women’s sport as a whole has come a long way in recent years. To
choose just two events, the women’s Six Nations championship and
women’s rugby world cup are fantastic events that shine a
spotlight on brilliant women rugby stars. We are seeing the
popularity of women’s sport continue to grow, with record
audiences attending international and domestic women’s events and
watching them on television.
These events are inspiring more women and girls to become active.
The latest data from Sport England’s Active
Lives survey in April this year showed that before covid, there
were more than 210,000 more active women compared with the
previous year, and we want to continue to encourage more women
and girls to get active and build on the momentum that
initiatives such as Sport England’s This Girl
Can campaign have generated.
Domestically and globally, female rugby participation is growing
at a faster rate than male participation. Overall, the RFU has
said it is seeing 17% year-on-year growth in participation; as of
June this year, there were 40,000 female registered players in
more than 400 clubs, up from just 13,000 in 2012. Furthermore,
90,000 girls are taking part in rugby through schools, colleges
and universities. The RFU has also developed a range of
programmes to encourage women and girls to take part. Inner
Warrior is a series of camps, which has benefited from
Sport England funding, aimed at introducing
women to rugby in a fun and accessible way. The programme started
in 2016 and since then 23,000 women have taken part...
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