It’s been four weeks since England Netball lent its voice to call for systemic change by launching NETBALLHer – a programme to better educate women and girls at all levels of sport about their bodies across the different life stages.
Working with The Well HQ, the female health experts, with funding support from Sport England, the NETBALLHer movement will enable everyone in netball and beyond, to better understand, nurture and support women and girls.
By educating our staff, coaches, officials and volunteers to create environments where females can train and compete irrespective of what their changing body throws at them, we will collectively improve experiences, fostering a sense of belonging that could reduce drop out and increase the number of females playing across the different life stages. We also aim to improve athlete performance through optimising training around players’ physiology.
We’re here for 𝙃𝙚𝙧 🫶
It’s time for change, to better support all women and girls at every life stage, and we’re leading the way 👊
Join our #NETBALLHer movement on and beyond the court to empower women and girls to show up without apology – and belong 🤝 pic.twitter.com/dKFEa2xp1i
— England Netball (@EnglandNetball) March 31, 2023
To support the Netball Family and beyond, the dedicated NetballHER website has expert resources for topics which so far include:
- Pelvic health
- Menopause
- The menstrual cycle
- Bras and kit
There’ll be more to come on pre- and post-natal, injury and puberty, as well as a series of detailed CPD courses launched this summer on puberty, young women, pre- and post-natal, and menopause.
Since the launch of our industry-leading education programme, social media has been filled with positive reactions to the initiative, discussions on key topics (including NETBALLHersday) and members of the Netball Family openly sharing their experiences, such as Roses Academy athlete Daisy Lees and netball coach Yvonne.
England Netball’s Kelly Gordon and The Well HQ’s Dr Emma Ross also hosted the first-ever NETBALLHer Instagram Live.
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Fran Connolly, CEO of England Netball, said: “We want to create environments at all levels of our game where women and girls can thrive and show up as their authentic selves. With the support of the wider Netball Family, we have the power to bring about this necessary change; to educate people about women’s health, to open up conversations about these topics and to create a system that addresses the drop off rate within women’s sport.
“This is about raising the bar for females, to help educate, inspire, and create a community of support and we are proud to be the first to look at women’s health across the whole of our game.
“Through our work we will continue to put women and girls first, and we hope through the NETBALLHer movement we can enable everyone involved in netball and beyond, to have a better understanding of women’s health.”
