British Swimming claims a report aimed at encouraging more women to become involved in sport is ignoring two key sports capable of delivering against its objectives.
Minister for Sport Helen Grant welcomed the publication of the Government's Women and Sport Advisory Board report this week which outlined progress made in women’s involvement in sport over the past 18 months.
However, British Swimming Chief Executive David Sparkes feels recommendations going forward should include support for team sports such as women’s water polo and synchronised swimming both of which saw participation figures rise in the lead up to and post London 2012 Olympics.
“We all want to see more women involved in sport at every level and this week’s report is very encouraging with progress being made,” said Sparkes. “However, I believe there is a lot more we can do and team sports such as synchro and water polo can help to achieve the overall objectives.
“These are two sports that really appeal to women and this is backed up by the participation increases around the London 2012 Olympics. Despite this, there is currently no funding in place to support these sports and to grow the numbers of women involved even further.
“Both are sports that are attractive to women and we have a Minister that claims she wants to see more women in sport. These team sports need support otherwise we will be denying a generation of young girls the opportunity to reach the top of their sport and represent their country.”
Sparkes also believes the sports are perfectly positioned to deliver against wider objectives unveiled this week by Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
“Both synchro and water polo are well placed to assist in achieving wider social goals, as highlighted this week, as well as driving up participation numbers,” said Sparkes.
“They are two very important team sports that can provide many important benefits - from education to developing personalities; from team work in young people through to providing new life skills and better health for older people.
“We need the right support now within these sports if we are to collectively achieve these participation and social aims. The sports are ready to deliver on the objectives outlined this week but we need the Secretary of State and the Minister to show us they are committed to this cause by backing the sports.”
GBR synchronised swimmer Genevieve Randall also believes the sports need additional support so they can play a vital role in attracting women into sport.
“In a world that's too often dominated by sport for all of the wrong reasons, synchronised swimmers, through their hard work and dedication, offer the chance of real role models for young women and therefore should be utilised to drive participation amongst women,” said Randall.
“The down side of being part of a women's team is that there's not much public money for team sports in general and particularly for women's team sports, and this needs to change if we are to continue to attract women to sport through the creation of awareness as well as role models.”
Randall wants to use her own experiences of the sport to help attract even greater numbers by informing people of its benefits and opportunities.
“It's been fantastic for me to be part of a sport which has seen a growing increase in participation. There are so many girls now taking part in development competitions while older women come into the sport for the first time to use synchro as a way of maintaining fitness and having fun,” said Randall.
“The great thing about synchro is that it's not only demanding in terms of sporting prowess but manages to combine that with glamour which is part of its huge draw. What we need is the right support to make more women aware of the benefits.
Randall believes synchro is unique as a sport due to the fact it has traditionally attracted women but is now also attracting men.
“I’m proud to be part of one of only two all female Olympic sports but at the same time it’s exciting that the mixed duet has been introduced as an event at World Championships next year. This shows just how unique synchro is in that it has never suffered from the 'piggy-back' effect where the sport has grown as a development of the men's sport like rugby and football has,” said Randall.
“As far as synchro is concerned we have men following women into sport and men discovering what a great sport synchro is. Perhaps opening synchro up to men will help to promote the sport to a greater number of people while encouraging greater numbers of women.”