Concerns about their capability and a feeling of not being good enough are the most powerful barriers preventing inactive girls from taking part in sport, according to a new report.
Sport Ireland's Adolescent Girls Get Active Research Report was undertaken to explore how best to encourage teenage girls, particularly those currently disengaged with sport and exercise, to take part in regular physical activity.
The research - conducted online between August and October 2020 - shows that girls in Ireland aged between 13 and 18 have a narrow, and often negative experience, of a small number of traditional team sports in Ireland.
Girls associate 'sportiness' with team and contact sports, so those who are interested in exercise do not feel targeted by sporting initiatives.
Despite the physical contrasts in rural and urban living, the research found that the underlying wants and needs of teenage girls are often similar. They feel there is a lack of social space where they feel welcomed, wanted and included.
Expanding on the above findings, Nora Stapleton, Lead of Women in Sport at Sport Ireland, told RTÉ: "There was a big difference between urban and rural, the access that they have to physical activity and their attitude towards sport.
"In the rural setting there was a lack of opportunities, while the urban settings had more opportunities but there was a lack of awareness as to what was around them.
"The other area we looked at was what really matters in the girls lives. There is no point in pitting sport in on top of them in addition to what they are already doing. We have to look at what really matters to them and how we can make sport really important in their lives.
"A key area was the barriers that exist for them. We kept hearing this term 'I'm not sporty' or 'I'm not good enough' to join in. These girls from 13-15 are labelling themselves as not being sporty. It kind of comes down to a lot of negative experiences they may have encountered at a younger age in team sports. They see sport as a team environment. So that's what we want to change.
"They saw sporty as being the confident girls in school; the clicky girls, the attractive girls. These are all words they used themselves, so it's all about reimagining, framing what sport looks like to them and that sport is so much more than about team sport. It's not to take way from team sports, we have fantastic team sports and the national bodies are doing fantastic work for teenage girls.
"But there is a whole other cohort out there who don't fit into that space. They don't enjoy it, so we need to bring those other opportunities to them."
The research established eight 'Principles for Success' to engage and connect with teenage girls:
- No judgement
- Invoke excitement
- Clear emotional reward
- Open eyes to what is there
- Build on existing habits
- Give girls a voice and choice
- Champion what’s in it for them
- Expand image of what ‘sporty’ looks like
"We are delighted to be able to present the sector with this hugely important body of research and the tangible principles that they can now take and adopt in their work," said Sport Ireland chief executive John Treacy.
"It is important to recognise that disengaged girls may simply need different or adapted pathways and approaches to attract and sustain their interest in sport and physical activity. The sector is now armed with this knowledge and the insights to really make an impact, to adapt processes and programmes to ensure that girls are engaged in a way that is meaningful to them."
