Izzy, Eliza, Amelia and Anita from Norfolk United
Women in Sport has launched #TimeTogether, its national campaign to empower daughters and mums to reconnect and discover new ways to get active together whilst inspiring others to do so too.
Following a year of widespread disruption where activity levels have dropped and time online has soared, the charity is calling on daughters and mums to set aside time to reconnect through exercise and activity.
Backed by England Netball along with other organisations across the sport, health and wellbeing sector, Women in Sport want daughters and mums across the UK to share their experiences and inspire others to feel the physical and mental benefits of being active together.
While more teenage girls believe that being physically active is important for feeling good about themselves (89%), 60% are not meeting the physical activity guidelines of 30 minutes activity per day and sadly, 55% of girls have lost confidence in their sporting ability since lockdowns started (Women in Sport Covid Attitudinal Data, July 2021).
“Lockdown had a big toll on my confidence and I would like to rebuild it in order to be a happier person.” (Katie, 16)
Mums are also often reluctant to allocate time for themselves to be active with, 32% of women saying that they couldn’t prioritise exercise during lockdown as they had too much to do for others (Women in Sport, Lockdown Research, 2020).
The campaign inspires daughters and mums to discover a new way of spending time together by being active.
“Getting active with your mum is good as it gives you motivation to get up to get active… and for this person to be your mum makes it better! You know your mum isn’t going to judge you so you can feel completely comfortable.” (Eva, 16)
#TimeTogether is the result of Women in Sport’s teenage girls research, looking at how the relationship between mother and daughter can be instrumental in encouraging teenage girls to be active.
Whilst they fear judgement and anxiety in many areas of their life, research shows teenage girls cherish time alone with their mum and view their relationship as a ‘safe space’.
48% of girls say their mum encourages and supports them most to get active and do exercise.
Stephanie Hilborne OBE, Chief Executive of Women in Sport, said: “Girls in their teens tell us they want to be more active and that they know exercise is good for them, but they are faced with multiple pressures, whether this is schoolwork, commentary on their appearance or their sense of what society expects of them.
“Combined with the impact of female puberty, this means girls drop out from sport rapidly at this point in their life.
“Often at the same time, their mothers are fraught with work pressures, carrying the burden of care for relatives, and coping with menopausal symptoms.
“During both these life stages our bodies and our minds need the release and freedom of sport and exercise more than ever.
“There has rarely been a more important time to put down our phones, turn our laptops off and get active together.”
The #TimeTogether campaign will be running throughout October. For more information visit www.womeninsport.org/timetogether.
England Netball will be sharing stories from members of the Netball Family during the month so make sure you’re following on Facebook, and Twitter. You can ready about Izzy, Eliza, Amelia and Anita from Norfolk United here.
For mums and daughters interested in taking part in netball, Back to Netball is a fun and friendly (re-)introduction to the sport.
More than 110,000 women and girls of all ages and levels of experience have already (re-)discovered their love for the game and realised the many benefits of getting involved.
