Sport England has teamed up with the This Girl Can campaign to inspire more women to get involved with exercising and boost their confidence...
This Girl Can aims to give more women the confidence to take part in exercising no matter what they feel might be holding them back, and to tackle the barriers that stop more women being active.
Sport England has today unveiled a host of new ways for women to get involved with their This Girl Can campaign, including a web app, billboards and TV adverts. They encourage women to connect and share their own experiences on social media, and their community has now grown to over 293,000 people. Sport England have also announced a partnership with Marks And Spencer, selling a limited edition This Girl Can t-shirt. Priced at £12.50, every t-shirt sold will be used by sport England to fund projects to help women in their quest to get more active.
We spoke to Cassie Cava, whose confidence plummeted when her foot was amputated eight months ago. She got involved with the This Girl Can campaign through social media, and has now started running with her friend.
Cassie says, 'I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve been able to hold onto that unrelenting belief that things would work out and I could embrace the change.'
'Just get out there and give it a go. I think that life is far too short to worry about what other people think, and whatever it is that you enjoy, you should get out there and do it.'
'I know all too well what it’s like to be constantly stared at and if people stare, you should just let them, because it doesn’t matter - you don’t have to be the best. You should just put aside all of those doubts and fears of judgement and failure, put them all aside and just give it a go.'
'It’s about having the courage to try things out and to get involved with sport and exercise, even if you’re worried about it. I want to confront people’s perceptions and change the way people look at it, because you don’t have to be the person that people think you are. Anyone can be involved in sport.'
The This Girl Can campaign is all about inspiring women to get over the fears that stop women being active, by highlighting the fact that that the things many people think they are being judged for should never hold them back.
Marks and Spencer is an official partner of This Girl Can's campaign.
To find out more visit thisgirlcan.co.uk, join the conversation by following @ThisGirlCan and using the hashtag #ThisGirlCan.