Can we have a sports revolution, Miss?

 

We're going through the summer splurge of sports with the Commonwealth Games currently taking place here in the West Midlands and of course we have had the Final of the Women's Uefa championships in which England did actually win.

Sports and girls has a mixed connection as every sooften we have reports saying how girls drop out of sports in their teens with various things such as a preoccupation with hair, not wanting to sweat, body image issues (but there's a massive problem around sexual images sent by girls to boys!) and lack of role models.

Then consider girls (and women's) football which has risen in popularity over the last five years and in which as I recall officially younger next no girl ever got the ball in the school playground which so binary divided it was bloomin' unreal with approved/unapproved activities for boys and girls just on grounds of gender.

That was often compounded by rigid gender division in team games which meant for many boys had to play cricket and even now in a good number of secondary schools football isn't an option even as girls only team sport.

That was picked on by a number of commentators on Monday, will schools see the success and following by teen girls of the game, their involvement in the game outside of school and make that change.

It wasn't so long a go their was a vogue for pushing personal exercise plans rather than the games element in school sports suggesting all girls wanted to do was excercises.

Apart from seeing improvements within the game, I hope school sports departments grasp the nettle and make participation in P.E. and Games more fun for every child with opportunities for all whatever they're interested in.