|
Promotion
|
News |
|||||||
| Volume 7 Number 3 | Fall 1996 |
GIRLS AND WOMEN IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND SPORT
Table of content
"Recreation and sport opportunities for all" is a common statement found in most recreation and sport organization policies indicating their wish to have inclusive programs and services that are available to everybody.
Although this statement is a step in the right direction of inclusively, there usually is one important step that is left out - the action plans. These plans are necessary to ensure that these programs and services are accessible to everyone. So even with good intentions, a lot of programs and services may still be inaccessible to community members.
One sector of the population that often finds most recreation and sport programs inaccessible are those on a limited income, especially women.
Women on limited incomes do not have adequate access to recreation. Many people on low incomes feel socially isolated and do not have a sense of community belonging. As a result they are not familiar with the community and what it has to offer for sport and recreation activities.
In Canada, 83% of single parent families are headed by women and 62% of these families live below the poverty line. Research has demonstrated the strong relationship between low socioeconomic status and poor health, but little research has been done on this in relation to women and physical activity.
The Kamloops Women's Action Project is one research project that was aimed at examining this relationship. It was initiated by a group of low income women who identified a lack of access to physical activity services in their community as a major factor inhibiting the development of healthy lifestyles for themselves and their families. It became apparent to a
committee know as FAAR (Families for Affordable and Accessible Recreation) that there were a number of complex issues surrounding health and recreation for low income women that required further investigation and action.
A number of community partners were recruited, along with two university-based researchers, who then began to formulate a research and action project. The aim was to pilot strategies for increasing access to local physical activity services for low income women and to provide recommendations for other communities interested in similar initiatives.
After initial research, a needs assessment was conducted using focus groups and surveys to identify the issues and concerns that low income women had about their health and involvement in physical activity.
The program coordinators involved with this project then designed and implemented recreation programs to
Volume 7 Number 3 Fall 1996
maximize benefits for the participants and to minimize the barriers.
Among the programs that were offered, was a "Self Defense for Women" class and a "Mom and Tots, Fun and Games and Fun and Friendly Fitness". The second program was unique in that it gave the women the opportunity to attend a fitness class while their children participated in an activities class, or they could stay with their children and participate. The key to this program was the flexibility that allowed the women to go back and forth between their own fitness program and their children's activities.
Most of the women who participated in these programs enjoyed the fact that they could be active and provide activities for the children at the same time. They enjoyed meeting new people and felt more self-confident because they were able to increase their fitness while providing quality activities for their children.
The results of this project provided some interesting insights into how to include women on limited incomes into existing sport and recreation activities. It is important to interact respectfully with people on limited incomes, to make subsidy policies known so that people don't have to ask for it or prove that they comply, and include a symbol to indicate free or low cost programs. This will encourage those who do not think they can afford your program to apply. Simple steps like these will open up your programs and services to the community and make sport and recreation accessible to all.
Information provided by Dr. Wendy Frisby, UBC, Human Kinetics.
Contact Promotion Plus for more information.
305 - 1367 West Broadway
Vancouver BC V6H 4A9
Phone (604)737-3075
Fax (604)738-7175
Promotion Plus is working with Sport BC as part of "Kaizen" to provide
continuing education to the sport community professionals. We will be hosting
a one-day Harassment Prevention Workshop designed specifically
for the staff and volunteers of Provincial Sport Organizations.
The workshop will provide an understanding of what constitutes harassment, the
liability for the organization, the basic principles to investigating harassment
complaints, and provide possible approaches to investigating and resolving harassment
complaints.
Janna Taylor will be facilitating the workshop. She will share
her practical experience from invest-igating harassment complaints through her
position as Director of the Equal Employment Program for the City of Vancouver.
As a harassment and diversity trainer, Janna has worked with sport and recreation
professionals for over 7 years.
Date: October 16, 1996
Time: 8:30 - 4:30
Place: Room 106 - 1367 West Broadway, VancouverLimit - 25 participants.
Please call the Promotion Plus office at 737-3075 to register.
|
Nervous about public speaking? |
Wanting to improve your speaking skills? |
Promotion Plus is offering training opportunities for women
who want to
increase their confidence and skills in public speaking.
| "Foundation Building" Course Tuesdays, 5:30pm - 8:30pm October 8 - November 26 #301 - 1367 West Broadway |
"Tune Up Your Skills" Workshop Thursday, 5:30pm - 8:30pm October 17 OR November 14 #301 - 1367 West Broadway |
|
| This course is designed for women who have little or no
experience speaking, but have an interest in gaining experience and skills.
Each evening will combine spontaneous drills and a short, prepared speech
to give participants a variety of skills, all in a safe and supportive environment.
Cost is $75.00 |
This workshop is designed for women who have experience
in public speaking and who want to put the fun back into it. This one evening
session will involve practical exercises to stimulate new thinking, fun
and creativity. Come prepared with a five minute speech on any topic of
your choice. Cost is $20.00 for each workshop. |
|
Call the Promotion Plus office at 737-3075 for registration or information.
Kelly Zibrik was the only athlete from British Columbia selected to attend the 1996 Olympic Youth Camp in Atlanta.
Janna Taylor, Laura Cousens and Leslie June were all newly elected to the Promotion Plus Board of Directors at our AGM in June. Congratulations!
The 1996/97 Promotion Plus
Board of Directors are:
Indy Batth
Laura Cousens
Kate Friars
Wendy Frisby
Kimberly Gilhooly
Leslie June
Bryna Kopelow
Janna Taylor
Diane Murphy
Brenda Van Tighem
Thank you to our retiring Board members Cynthia Guolo and Janice Hare.
The British Columbia
Centre of Excellence
for Women's Health
.... is seeking an Executive Director for this newly est-ablished research and policy centre in Vancouver, BC.
If you are interested in pursuing this exciting opportunity, please call Rochelle Tucker at (604) 875-3136 for more information. Deadline for application is October 31, 1996.
Atlanta Plus, a coalition of European feminists and female Muslim athletes launched a campaign demanding that nations barring women from their delegations be excluded from participating in the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.
At the 1992 Summer Olympics, of the 169 countries that sent athletes to Barcelona, 34 had no women participants.
The Olympic charter states that "any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, sex, or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement." The result? Countries were not barred from the Olympics but the campaign was successful in raising awareness of this important issue.
Research Review |
Surgeon General's Report Offers New View of Physical Activity
This past summer the first-ever Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health was released stating that regular moderate physical activity offers substantial benefits in health and well-being. The report also contained a number of key findings and information relating to girls and women in physical activity.
About 14% of young people report no recent physical activity. Inactivity is more common among females (14%) than males (7%) and among black females (21%) than white females (12%).
More than 60% of US women do not engage in the recommended amount of physical activity.
In response to these findings, the report also provided suggestions for community involvement in increasing physical activity for women:
Provide environmental inducements to physical activity, such as safe, accessible, and attractive trails for walking and bicycling, and sidewalks with curb cuts.
Provide community-based programs to meet the needs of older women, women with disabilities, women of racial and ethnic minority groups, and women with low incomes. Include child care arrangements to encourage the participation of women with children.
Encourage employers to provide supportive worksite environments and policies that offer opportunities for employees to incorporate moderate physical activity into their daily lives.
A Canadian information kit entitled "A Canadian Perspective on Physical Activity and Health" was created in response to the US Surgeon General's Report and is available from Active Living Canada at (613) 748-5749 or you can email them at alc@rtm.activeliving.ca
A research document conducted for Sport Canada looked at the portrayal of women and men in Canadian TV coverage of the 1994 Lilehammer Olympic Games. The amount of coverage given to men's and women's events was used as a primary measure of gender balance in the coverage. If television coverage reflected the distribution of medal events, 41% of broadcast time would have gone to women's events, 56% to men's, and 3% to the mixed skating events. In fact men's events received considerably more coverage than this (64%), and women's events received less (26%), while mixed events received more (10%). Extensive hockey coverage (32%) is the main reason for the imbalance.
On Sunday, September 15, the 1st Annual Vancouver Women's Triathlon was held at Locarno Beach. In total, over 200 women registered and many spectators came out and enjoyed the day despite the (extremely) soggy conditions. Congratulations to all the athletes who participated, many of whom were first timers; to the many volunteers; and to the race director and organizer Fiona McLean for her endless time and effort!
Physical activity, sport and recreation are an integral aspect of my lifestyle through which my sense of confidence, empowerment, and identity have been and continue to be shaped. Among other activities, I have taught fitness classes and weight training and competed in wheelchair basketball and in dragon boat competitions. My career has spanned many aspects of this field - health and fitness, sport for people with disabilities, college recreation & intramurals, and research. As a student, participant, teacher, volunteer and administrator, I have been actively involved in this field for almost fifteen years. In this time period, however, I have rarely come across other Indo-Canadian women doing the same.
Recently, I have observed teenage girls playing basketball with skill, enthusiasm and motivation. I have seen women paddle a dragon boat with power, strength and commitment - and then climb Grouse Mountain in record time- just for fun. Active, strong, and extremely skilled Indo-Canadian girls and women are participating with enthusiasm and vigour in sport and physical activity. So why don't we see them more often?
As visible minorities, physically active Indo-Canadian girls and women are invisible. As minorities within the dominant mainstream sport and recreation scene, their specific interests and needs are often not met so they either do not participate or they create their own opportunities, programs and tournaments segregated within the Indo- Canadian community. In addition, healthy, active Indo-Canadian role models are rare. In the media sport coverage, the focus is on professional male sports, especially hockey, football and basketball. Recreational sport, girls and women, or ethnic minorities are rarely considered newsworthy.
Differences based on ethnicity are believed to have tremendous influence on physical activity patterns of girls and women in Canada. It is wrong to assume that, because there is a visible lack of young Indo-Canadian women participating in sports in the schools, that they are not participating at all or they do not wish to participate. We must look beyond the surface to the deeper societal influences, biases, and assumptions that affect participation in sport and physical activity. In order to be inclusive and equitable, we must broaden our definition of sport.
In the case of school physical education, we must seek effective curricular and program changes in PE and sport which have the potential to foster intercultural and social action. Initiatives toward diversity must focus not upon confrontation with difference but toward respect and appreciation for differences.
Little research has been completed on the unique social histories and experiences of Indo-Canadian women. Despite the large population of Indo-Canadians in BC, there have been no Canadian research studies to my knowledge that have investigated their lifestyle behaviours and personal experiences with sport and physical activity. By conducting my own research I hope to begin the long journey towards providing a clearer understanding of the role of physical activity and sport in the lives of Indo-Canadian girls and women.
Thus, the issue of equity for minority groups such as Indo-Canadian girls and women is a complicated and sensitive task as is my role and identity as an Indo-Canadian researcher. We have many gaps in our understanding of barriers to increased physical activity and we need to learn more about these, as well as about our own biases, assumptions, and motivations, through more shared multicultural conversations, stories and literature.
Written by Indy Batth, currently undertaking a masters degree in Human Kinetics at UBC and a Promotion Plus Board member.
The More Than An Open Door Leader's Presentation Resource is a new resource deigned to help leaders improve the situation for girls and women in physical recreation.
The resource was compiled as a result of a partnership between the Recreation Branch of the provincial government and the BCRPA's Women's Committee. The Committee initiated a series of "Train the Trainer" type workshops to increase the number of professionals within the recreation field who could conduct gender equity workshops. The resource is complete with a script, overheads, resources, and current research.
If you would like to learn more about the More Than An Open Door initiative, the BCRPA Women's Committee is hosting an Open House on October 17th at the Downtown YWCA in Vancouver from 4:30pm-6:30pm. Light appetizers will be served and a guest speaker is to be announced.
For More Information Contact:
Diane Murphy
Chair, BCRPA Women's Committee
Phone: (604) 257-8494w or
The BCRPA at (604) 273-8055
Funding is available from Promotion Plus for women coaches taking NCCP courses Level 3 and up.
Call (604) 737-3075 for more information and to receive an application form.
We are pleased to inform you that The Esteem Team
athlete role model program is commencing its third full year of operation this
school year. We are currently looking to add a few new members to our team,
to begin public-speaking training early this fall. As we try to match speakers
to specific requests, we would like to have more female speakers available to
act as role models for B.C. students.
The Esteem Team program involves accomplished athletes giving
presentations to students in school about such topics as making positive lifestyle
choices, setting goals and self-esteem. The athletes who currently speak for
us are positive, energetic, self-confident individuals, who have attained a
high level of achievement in their sport. Public speaking experience is not
required as extensive training is provided, but the athlete should be comfortable
speaking in public and be committed to becoming a good speaker/role model for
children.
If you would like to be a role model, or know of an athlete whom you feel has
the ability to be a good role model for young people, please call The
Esteem Team office at 524-8339. We would be happy to send you an application
form along with more information about our program.
January 30 and 31, 1997
Four Seasons Hotel, Vancouver, BC
The facilitation is over... the challenges & vision created,
and potential strategies/approaches developed in the Kaizen '96 Forum. Now it's
time to take action and move forward!!
The Kaizen Conference will begin the process by providing the tools, skills
and resources you'll need to achieve financial viability and stability while
becoming responsive and market driven, ensuring sport is clearly owned by both
the participants and their communities.
*Dynamic, innovative speakers addressing
"The FUNDING CRISIS" & "Ensuring sport is MARKET DRIVEN"
* Practical workshops - building the skills and providing the tools you need
to face the challenges ahead.
* Opportunities to network, develop new relationships & form partnerships
with your peers in the field of sport, recreation & physical activity.
For more information contact Sport BC Communications at 737-3025.
Sport BC's Say Yes! To Sport TV show has successfully secured
provincial wide coverage. This bi-monthly community cable series examines the
role that sport plays in the development of stronger and healthier communities.
To date, the program has featured interviews and stories on youth, women's emerging
roles, people with disabilities, funding, athletes helping other athletes, coaches,
seniors, volunteers, facilities, school sports, and sport related careers.
The latest episode of this show features "The History of Sport in British
Columbia". Of special note are the highlight interviews with representatives
from the B.C. Organizations of Hockey, Lacrosse, Athletics, Curling, Wheelchair
Sports, and Promotion Plus. If you would like to know the time and date at which
this month's episode will be aired in your community please call Sport BC Communications
at 737-3025.
A Look at the Paralympics
by Carrie Linegar
Ten days after the Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Games, Atlanta played host
once more to the world's best athletes. More than 3200 elite athletes with physical
disabilities, from 103 nations met for 10 days of Paralympic competition in
19 sports from athletics to wheelchair rugby. The Paralympics has grown since
its inception in 1960 in Rome to the point where it is now only second to the
Olympic Games as the largest sporting event in the world.
Competition was kicked off with the Opening Ceremonies hosted by Christopher
Reeves and with guests such as Aretha Franklin, Liza Manelli, and a 5000 member
choir. Marni Abbott, a 2nd time Paralympian in wheelchair basketball from BC,
was chosen as the flag bearer for the Canadian team of 150 athletes.
Olympic spirit and excitement continued to grow. Paralympic spectators who were
first drawn to events by curiosity were soon drawn by sheer admiration and awe
of the athletic performances. In all, 255 world and paralympic records were
shattered. Young children especially seemed to enjoy the competition as I watched
them run to collect the autographs of Paralympians and, for some, to hold their
gold medals.
Canada ranked 7th overall in the medal standings with 69 medals in total - 24
Gold, 21 Silver, & 24 Bronze. Highlights from our BC Women include; Gold
in 400m freestyle swimming by Rebeccah Boremann; Silver in 200m and Silver in
long jump by Tracey Melesko; Double Bronze in Shotput and Discuss by Ljiljana
Ljubisic; Silver in Discuss by Courtney Knight; and Gold in Women's Wheelchair
Basketball - team members from BC include Marni Abbott, Kelly Krywa, and Marney
Smithies.
The theme of the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games, "Triumph of the Human Spirit",
suggests equality between the disabled and the non-disabled. But despite the
apparent success of the Paralympic Games in Atlanta, advancements must be made
in the level of awareness, support, media coverage, and financial aid to athletes
with disabilities. This type of support will transfer into increased opportunities
for disabled sports as interest and participation continues to grow.
WISRAN is Expanding to the Fraser Valley
The first Fraser Valley W.I.S.R.A.N. (Women In Sport And Recreation
Administration Network) breakfast meeting will feature Leah Pells on October
15, 1996 at Trinity Western University from 7:30 am - 9:00 am.
Leah was a member of our Canadian Olympic team in Atlanta and placed a fantastic
4th overall in the 1500m event. Her presentation will focus on motivation and
goal setting and achieving her personal best in Atlanta.
Contact Cathy Chapplow at #(604) 888-7511 (local 2422) to register or for more
information
Promotion Plus has never charged members for any publications
or services, but as we continue to grow, so do the needs of the people we serve.
Now we are turning to you, our supporter, for your assistance.
Any contribution will help to ensure that all of our readers continue to have
access to all publications and quality rep-resentation for girls and women in
physical activity and sport. Please fill out the form on this page and send
in your donation.
Thank you for your support and enjoy this copy of the Network News.
NETWORK NEWS
Publisher: Promotion Plus
Editor/Writer: Carrie Linegar
Editor in Chief: Tammy Lawrence
e-mail: promotion.plus@telus.net
Back to the Top