After Ottawa’s RA Centre marked National Girls and Women in Sports Day last month, the athletic centre is hoping support for young female athletes can grow beyond the single-day observance.
Programs like She Plays, an athletic development program, and the Girl-Centric Summer Camp are designed to build confidence in girls in sport.
“Sports leads to (an) individual becoming a leader, (impacting) their ability to work with a team or independently, it really can shape an individual,” said Amanda Romozzi, the RA Centre’s director of programming.
Noah Bélanger, head of camps and children’s programs for the centre, said fostering his own relationship with sports at an early age led him to work on the Junior Athletes program, from which the She Plays athletic development program was created.
“After age eight, that’s when we see a large drop off in our co-ed programs — it’s almost strictly boys,” Bélanger said.
Romozzi said that is partly because girls don’t see themselves represented in their own sports.
“(She Plays) comes from some research about girls in sport and the ages they tend to drop off, which is usually about eight to 12,” Romozzi explained. “For some girls, if they’re not in an atmosphere where they see other women play in that sport … They don’t see themselves as being the right sport.”
Bélanger also blamed long-held stereotypes about girls’ athletic ability for the drop in participation.
“(Girls) have a pre-conceived notion that boys are going to be physical and more competitive,” he said. “You still hear people say ‘You throw like a girl’ or ‘You punch like a girl.’ Unfortunately, these things are integrated in the young boys and girls today.”
The She Plays program, exclusively for girls, runs for 10 to 12 weeks and is designed to build community, confidence and a love for sports.
“It provides the girls a space to learn sport, enjoy it, fall in love with it. There’s no expectation to do well … you’re just there to have fun,” Romozzi said.
“In the ages of eight to 12 as a young (woman), your body goes through a lot of changes,” Romozzi said. “It’s a very delicate time, and if you’re surrounded by coaches or fellow athletes that aren’t female, they don’t understand that.”
Romozzi said she watched her daughter blossom after participating in the program.
“She’s really struggled with being in sport,” Romozzi said, as most of the clubs joined were filled with boys.
After participating in She Plays, her daughter gained confidence and showed noticeable growth. At a family day event at the RA Centre, she was able to play basketball alongside mostly boys.
“I thought this might not go well,” Romozzi said. “But she owned it … I can definitely say that it has to do with confidence building.”
“We hope to reach girls of all age groups and all walks of life in sports,” Bélanger said. “And these two initiatives are certainly a step in the right direction.”
Featured graphic from the Charlatan files
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