As the start of Women’s Sport Week gets underway, the Youth Sport Trust announces a new partnership with The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), England Hockey and England Netball to launch TeamUp.
The three-year campaign aims to maximise the legacy of three home World Cups by building a fan base for women’s team sports and ensuring all 7 to 13-year-old girls have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of team sport.
Following the remarkable success of GB Women’s Hockey team in Rio, the next three years is an unprecedented period for women’s team sports, with England hosting three consecutive Women’s World Cups - 2017 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup; 2018 Women’s Hockey World Cup and the 2019 Netball World Cup.
TeamUp will have a significant impact on sport for girls in primary and secondary schools – with a goal to ensure 150,000 7-13-year-old girls have more access to team sport. The campaign has a target of over 5,000 participating schools each year; all increasing their offer of team sports for girls with at least 60% providing all three sports - cricket, hockey and netball.
The Youth Sport Trust will be developing two training resources and a Young Champions Toolkit for the TeamUp portal, providing teachers with the tools to deliver high quality team sports to schoolgirls. It is anticipated that half of the 6,000 teachers involved in the scheme will access the free training online. The Youth Sport Trust will also recruit ten hub schools who will aim to increase participation and build collaborative relationships between schools and community sport environments to increase the transition of girls playing hockey, netball and cricket in the community.
Youth Sport Trust Chief Executive, Ali Oliver commented: “We are really excited to be working with The ECB, England Hockey and England Netball, on an ambitious initiative that we hope will inspire and engage more young girls in team sports. Our evidence shows that girls really enjoy the social aspects of being part of a team and TeamUp is all about unlocking the wider relevance and meaning of these sports for girls and young women. Team games can be lots of fun, foster friendship and help develop resilience and other life skills.”
Minister for Sport, Tracey Crouch said:
Our elite women’s cricket, hockey and netball teams have enjoyed great success in recent years, not least through the unforgettable hockey gold medal in Rio. Hosting three consecutive women’s world cups is a perfect opportunity to build on this momentum and get more girls playing and enjoying team sports. The TeamUp campaign will maximise the legacy of these events and help inspire the next generation of women sports stars.
Along with free training, once registered as a ‘TeamUp School’, teachers will have access to a variety of resources. The more girls’ team sport activity they deliver the more reward points they’ll receive, which can be used incentives such as free tickets to events, along with ‘golden ticket’ opportunities such as being ball girls for a World Cup Final.
For more information about TeamUp or to register your school visit: www.teamupengland.com. Pledge your support with #WhyITeamUp @teamupengland.
