Girls play less sport

The Courier Mail, Fiona Purdon, 23 August 2007

 

Womensport Queensland, a sporting network association, is concerned about the high number of teenage girls
dropping out of school and after-school sports activities.

To counter this trend, Womensport Queensland president, Pauline Harvey-Short, has begun talks with universities,
hoping to create a PhD programme for honours students. The programme will target students writing on research
topics focusing on childhood obesity, Indigenous sport and why girls are more prone to giving up sporting activities
than boys.

It is believed that one of the reasons why high school girls give up sport is the impact it can have on their self-
esteem. Teenage girls are worried about looking clumsy when participating in school physical education classes,
especially in coeducational schools.

Ms Harvey-Short has been a health and physical education teacher at Brisbane Girls Grammar School for 30 years.
She has found that when girls reach year 10, sport takes a back seat to computers, money and boys.

Girls are not exposed to sport at the same level that boys are. Football and other heavily publicised sports provide
boys of all ages with a steady stream of role models, whereas girls seem to have fewer opportunities to form such
bonds.

Ms Harvey-Short says ‘with the nature of sport and money, opportunities are more easily accessed for boys while
if girls don't develop the skills and confidence in primary school then you are pushing an uphill battle in high school.’

Research has shown that sporting activities give students confidence, discipline, time management skills and aids
them in fostering relationships; because it encourages these traits, playing sport has also shown to promote
academic success.

 

 

 

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