Young Women and Sport: Why Belonging Matters More Than Motivation

Many of us know the statistic.

By the age of around fourteen, 60% of girls are walking away from sport. They leave at

roughly twice the rate of boys.

The conversation that follows is almost always the same.

"How do we motivate them to continue?"

After six months of research alongside Manchester Metropolitan University, speaking to

young women about sport, shopping and identity, we've come to a different 'topsy turvy'

conclusion.

Perhaps motivation isn't the problem.

Perhaps a perfect storm of barriers are.

Because what we've heard, over and over again, is that most girls don't wake up one morning

and decide sport isn't for them.

Instead, a number of barriers accumulate until walking away simply feels easier than carrying

on.

Confidence is one of the biggest.

Not confidence in their ability.

Confidence in themselves. They become much more selfaware. 

People are looking at me.

I don’t want to wear tight sports gear? Are my boobs jiggling?

Am I sweating too much?

I'm on coming on my period and feel awful.

I'm too fat.

For many young women, confidence comes before performance, not after it.

If they don't feel comfortable enough to step onto the court, into the gym or through the doors

of a sports retailer, performance never even gets a chance.

Then there is belonging.

As children, sport is often about friendships, laughter and simply taking part.

As girls move through their teenage years, something changes.

Teams become suddenly more competitive overnight at about the age of 14.

Selection matters more.

Winning matters more.

Intensity is ramped up.

If you aren't one of the best, it can start to feel like there isn't a place for you anymore.

Many don't stop because they no longer enjoy sport.

They stop because they no longer feel they belong.

Boys often seem to have more ways to keep sport woven into everyday life. A kickabout in

the park. Five-a-side after work. Casual games with friends that don't require elite ability.

For many girls, those informal spaces are far less visible.

The pathway narrows.

And when one sport ends, they often don't know where the next one begins.

We're also seeing inspiration changing.

For years brands searched for the next superstar athlete to inspire a generation.

But influence has fragmented.

Young women aren't looking for perfection. They don’t feel perfect.

They're looking for people who feel like them. 

Someone who worries about all the little things.

Someone balancing college, friends and training.

Someone who gets nervous.

Someone who takes two steps back before thinking about taking one stride forward.

With that…Relatability has become more powerful than aspiration.

Retail has a role to play too.

Many sports stores still unintentionally create barriers.

Walk into some retailers and you're immediately greeted by loud music, masculine imagery

and male-dominated teen spaces. There is the sign saying womens is upstairs or at the back

and it’s a fraction of the size of the mens. back.

It's subtle.

But environments communicate who belongs long before anyone says a word.

Many young women told us they simply don't feel those spaces were designed with them in

mind. They feel intimidated.

And how they are made to feel is often the biggest reason whether someone walks away.

Feeling watched.

Feeling judged.

Feeling not good enough.

How they are made to feel has the biggest influence whether someone comes back next week.

What's fascinating is where we see the opposite happening.

Take padel or even the rise in pickleball.

Yes, people enjoy the sport itself.

But what people talk about just as much is the atmosphere.

It's social.

Relaxed.

Welcoming.

Music is playing from the boom boxes.

People of different ages and abilities mix together.

You don't feel as though you need permission to be there.

It feels like a community before it feels like a sport or a competition.

That's an important distinction.

Because perhaps the future of women's sport isn't encouraging physical activity.

It's creating better informal communities from where that love of doing sport can

spring from.

Communities where people feel comfortable enough to begin.

Where belonging matters as much as performance.

Where confidence is built before it's tested.

So maybe we've been asking the wrong question all along.

Instead of asking,

"How do we motivate more girls into sport?"

Perhaps we should be flipping it and asking,

"What barriers are we still asking them to overcome?"

The opportunity lies in making sport easier to enter, easier to stay in and easier to feel that

you belong.

Remove the barriers.

And motivation often takes care of itself.