The Pandemic’s Impact on Girls in Sport
We are officially 17 months into the Covid-19 Pandemic, and finally we are slowly starting to see swimming pools, rinks and fields filled with active children and youth. As exciting as that sounds, a study released by Canadian Women & Sport and E-Alliance found one in four girls who participated in sport at least once a week before COVID-19 has not committed to returning. A soccer team that once had 20 girls on the bench, might only see 15 returning. Let that sink in.
This could mean that more than 350,000 miss out on the benefits of participating in sport, with that number likely to increase over time. Is this surprising? Not entirely. However, hearing those numbers out loud gives me knots in my stomach. Being an athlete for most of my life, I can undoubtedly say the experiences, friendships, and skills I developed during my athletic pursuits shaped me into the person I am today. We all know that sport builds character, provides fundamental physical skills, and helps develop confidence. We also know that prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, one in three girls drop out of sport by the time they are 16 years old. Regardless of being faced with a pandemic, girls already face a number of barriers to participating in sport such as cost, inability to access facilities and teams and lack of confidence. Throw in months, even a year of not participating in sport or any organized physical activity, we are seeing more girls not return to sport starting at a younger age, and at an alarming rate.
What struck me the most about reading the study was not so much the statistics, but reading the comments from girls about the impact not playing sport had on their physical and mental health.
“Most girls on my basketball team are really depressed. Some failed school courses. Lots have eating disorders,” one 17-year-old said in the survey of more than 5,000 families.
Girls aged six-12 reported missing friends as the top impact of not being involved in sport due to COVID. Teens aged 13-18 said their physical and mental health was impacted most.
“I feel I don’t like my body the way it looks now, and I feel lazy stuck at home without physical activities and social connection,” a 16-year-old said.
The report also noted that one of the main reasons girls participate in sport is linked to social connection and role modeling. As we see more girls drop out of sport, the remaining girls have fewer friends to play with and fewer opportunities for competition. This truly diminishes the quality of the experience for those participating.
When asked about the personal impact caused by the change in sport participation during the COVID-19 pandemic, the top negative impacts overwhelmingly reported by girls corresponded to the top benefits girls reported last year. Girls are missing the key benefits of sport!
Top Themes for Teens 13-18
- Mental and physical health
- Missing friends
- Stuck at home
Top Themes for Girls 6-12 (as reported by parents)
- Missing friends
- Mental and physical health
- Impact of loss of school and activity at school
Without organized sport, girls are missing the benefits sport offers for mental health, physical health and social connection. So we are faced with an opportunity to change these numbers and change the script for these young girls. Let’s ensure that “not committed to return” does not translate to “did not return to sport”. If you are a coach or a mentor in organized physical activity, start having conversations with these girls. Let’s break down the barriers and get girls moving again.
The read the full report visit: https://womenandsport.ca/resources/research-insights/the-pandemic-impact-on-girls-in-sport/
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