Why girls should play sports: sports to enhance academic, health and wellbeing in life
Women in Sports Empowered Hong Kong (“WISE HK”) invites you to join us for a panel discussion, “Why girls should play sports: sports to enhance academic, health and wellbeing in life.” In this event, educators, parents and students will be sharing their experiences, perspectives and stories of how sports are a necessity for girls, and what are the long-term academic, life skills, and social and emotional benefits. Together, we will explore what and how we can foster playing sports as a lifelong habit and what we can do to bridge the current participation gap often seen between boys and girls. While parents can join the discussion, we are also inviting any girls between the ages of 6 to 14 for a sporting activity at Happy Valley Recreation Ground. So parents can join us for a talk and girls can join us for a quick run and some bootcamp and HIIT exercises! To register for this, sign up: https://goo.gl/mH3Hhh
Event context
In a recent study of over 10,000 girls, The Girls’ Index™: New Insights into the Complex World of Today’s Girls, it was found that girls who play sports report higher levels of confidence, often have higher grades than those who do not play sports and are 14% more likely to believe that they are smart enough for their dream career and 13% more likely to consider a career in mathematics and / or science. They are also 16% less likely to want to change their body image. Research also show that sports and exercise enhance children’s brain functioning and are beneficial for a whole range of health and wellbeing measures such as improved sleep, reduced risk of obesity and less anxiety and depression. Not to mention that sports foster the friendships, community, life and interpersonal skills that children — as they age and transition into adulthood and working life — need to thrive professionally and personally. Sports are important and they are important for girls. Yet in Hong Kong, our children are not receiving sufficient exercise and sports. In fact, schoolchildren in Hong Kong are known to not spend enough time doing physical exercise, scoring low on overall physical activity levels and are found to lesser outdoor time than prisoners. In the 2018 Women In Sports Empowered Hong Kong survey that explored women’s and girls’ experiences towards sports in Hong Kong, 77% of our under-18 year old respondents felt that women faced more challenges playing sports when compared to men. The biggest challenges they faced were: physical challenges (25%), sexism (18%) and lack of confidence (16%). The latter two statistics are alarming: our under-18s are twice more likely to report sexism and lack of confidence as challenges, compared to our other older age groups. Moreover, fewer opportunities to play in sports and fewer role models (e.g., fewer professional women athletes) are challenges faced by 10% and 9% respective of our under-18 respondents. Are girls being held back from accessing sports in Hong Kong? If this is the case, and given the importance of sports to enhancing girls’ confidence and helping them to aspire to dream careers, how will lack of access to sports manifest throughout our girls’ lives, and impact their livelihoods? How can we, as a community of educators, parents and even corporates / professionals inspire a stronger culture of sports for girls? How can we as stakeholders in the future of all our girls take action to foster an active wellbeing for them?
Event details
Date: Saturday 9 June 2018 Time: 1030am – 1230pm Location: theDesk, 20/Fl., Leighton Centre, 77 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay Cost: HK$100 Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/why-girls-should-play-sports-sports-to-enhance-academic-health-and-wellbeing-in-life-tickets-45621994614 Thank you to theDesk at Leighton Centre for supporting us with the venue! 
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