Charity event to inspire girls to find strength in sport

Girlvanise aims to give girls the skills to enjoy longevity in sport and wants to show that sport can build healthy bodies and good relationships with other girls.

Founder of Girlvanise, Charlotte Corrigan, from Accrington, is a runner, tennis player and swimmer and is hosting the event for girls aged 12 to 16 in Westholme, Blackburn.

The day will run on Saturday, July 2, from 9.15am to 3.30pm and will host a variety of activities and learning sessions which aims to encourage girls into sport through female focused sportsmanship and supportive empowerment.

Founder of Girlvanise, Charlotte Corrigan

Women in Sport conducted research and discovered only 14 per cent of girls aged five to 16 achieved the recommended levels of physical activity. Worryingly, this drops to just 10 per cent in girls aged from 13 to 16 years.

The same survey found only 28 per cent of girls aged 14 to 16 actually enjoy participating in a physical activity, and seven out of 10 girls would rather stop eating to change the way they look rather than exercise.

Charlotte said: "Therefore, there's clearly still a problem. By the age of 14, many girls are dropping out of sport at twice the rate of boys. So, it's my intention to action to remedy this situation. Ideally, I would like to show girls it's a lifestyle and not just playing a game."

Charlotte Corrigan

Charlotte's plan is compromised of four parts: strength and conditioning to reduce the risk of injury, nutrition for fuelling performance, yoga for flexibility and to improve movement range and a choice of sport from hockey, tennis, swimming, athletics, football and dance. 

Part of the initiative is, also, making links with local sports clubs to try and aim to promote strength in sport. 

Lunch will be provided on the day and is a great opportunity for teenage girls to make new friends while getting motivated and inspired.

You can sign up to the event at the Girlvanise website.