North Cardiff sports campaign builds on women's Euros legacy

Cardiff North MP Anna McMorrin has launched a campaign to support girls in sport, in the wake of the Wales women's soccer team reaching the European Championship Finals for the first time and the success of the winning England team.

Studies show 1 in 3 teenage girls drop out of sport by the age of 17 – often due to injury, a lack of support, or a loss of confidence. Research also suggests female athletes are three to six times more likely to injure their anterior cruciate ligament than male athletes.

The campaign has kicked off with an eight-week training programme for four girls from AFC Whitchurch, designed to help improve fitness and prevent injury, as well as specific education about pelvic health and the effects of the menstrual cycle in relation to sport performance and injury prevention.

The evidence-based trial, sponsored by Principality Building Society, is delivered by expert female coaches, Rachael Sowden-Taylor and Melissa Jenkins, at ION Strength and Conditioning in Llanishen.

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Image: Girls in Sport — Anna McMorrin MP

Anna said "At the grassroots level, girls are facing too many hurdles along the way. I was inspired to start this campaign after a young constituent came to me in desperation because of a misdiagnosed ACL injury that could have been prevented and which took her out of playing for 18 months.

"This is happening to too many promising young players. If we can help girls to overcome these hurdles, there are physical and mental benefits – confidence, resilience, and happiness".

A quantitative evaluation of the programme’s impact will provide an evidence base which can be repeated and scaled up for other female youth teams, in various sports.

Anna has also issued a plea to residents of north Cardiff who play or are interested in sport to give their views on in an online sports survey, which takes four minutes to complete: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/X8CYL9W