Exclusive: Minister for Sport Mims Davies pledges to increase participation numbers among girls and women (Jeremy Wilson - Telegraph, March 2019)

Mims Davies, the Minister for Sport, has pledged to make increased participation among young girls and women, and a transformation in the visibility of elite sportswomen, cornerstones of a new Government drive for sport.
In her first national newspaper interview since succeeding Tracey Crouch, Davies outlined how a cross-departmental school sport action plan this spring would target worryingly low activity trends among children, especially young girls. She also praised The Daily ­Telegraph’s “brilliant, leading” revolution in its coverage of women’s sport.
Sport England’s Active Lives survey found last December that only 17.5 per cent of children aged between five and 16 are meeting the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines of more than 60 minutes of activity every day. Girls were found to be significantly less active; a finding consistent with similar research by the Youth Sports Trust, which reported in 2017 that fewer than 10 per cent of females aged up to 18 were meeting the recommendation.
Davies described the findings each a “wake-up call for the sector” and, as part of tackling this “huge challenge”, has called for physical literacy to be given the same status at school as maths or English. 

“We are really concerned about the inactivity of our youngsters,” said Davies. “If you don’t get a sporting habit for life when you come through school, it is more difficult to come back.
“We want a balance of sports and activity, physical literacture and well-being. As a minimum schools must ensure children are physically literate. It is just as important that parents encourage kids to be active as it is to read them books or do times tables.
“As parents, we have to not only think about their safety and opportunity, but their activities. Are they doing enough? Are they getting outside in the fresh air? Go out. Get muddy. Be adventurous. Children need to learn how to run, jump, throw, catch. Those basics will allow them to thrive in broader ways.
“If we don’t sort out participation – across schools, communities, ­governing bodies and making this a Government priority – we end up picking up the pieces in the Health Service anyway.”
Davies also cited a recent question-and-answer session with children in Hampshire. “One young girl put her hand up and told me that she wasn’t allowed to play rugby at school and that it wasn’t fair and equal. I think it is really important for schools to look at what availability there is.

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The Telegraph Women's Sport manifesto
The Telegraph is making a commitment to transform the profile of women’s sport and its visibility in the media with the launch of a major new editorial initiative, Telegraph Women’s Sport (TWS).
TWS launches with the following manifesto. It will:
- Address the under-representation of women’s sport through increased editorial coverage in digital and print media.
- Celebrate women’s sport through the introduction of standalone channels, dedicated products and the integration of content into existing Telegraph sections.
- Campaign on key issues to inspire women’s participation in sport from the grass roots to elite level, and hold to account those responsible for its development and organisation.
- Grow audiences by investing in specialist women's sport journalists and encouraging more female bylines.
- Develop the TWS brand to maximise its appeal with readers and sponsors alike, and offer multiple opportunities for interaction and collaboration.

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“If there are concerns about risk, then governing bodies can help schools to understand or adapt how things are played. We have to make sure if you want to have a go, you have a fair chance.”
The detail of the school sport ­action plan is still being finalised across the Education and Health ­departments, as well as Digital, ­Culture, Media and Sport, but one specific Government target is for 500,000 people to be more regularly active by 2020, of which half are women.
“The answer has to come from across the country,” said Davies. “This is not just schools, this is ­parents, the wider community and governing bodies.” 
It is also the media. Davies joined Telegraph columnists Dina Asher-Smith, Judy Murray and Maggie ­Alphonsi at the Piccadilly Circus launch this week of Telegraph Women’s Sport. In an unprecedented publishing commitment, The Telegraph has pledged to address the under-representation of women’s sport through increased editorial coverage and will also campaign on key issues to inspire women and girls’ participation.

Davies described the initiative as “simply a massive chance to effect change” in women’s sport. “The more you see people who look like you the more you feel you can achieve it,” she said. “That’s visibility. That’s real equality. Sport for women shouldn’t be niche. Women’s sport on television remains too much of a novelty. We have some of the most amazing sporting stars on the planet. I recently met Nikita Parris. What a role model. What a star. Dina Asher-Smith, Laura Muir – so inspiring.
“There is a golden opportunity for media to hook into what is huge interest. There is a huge opportunity for sponsors and business. Not just to change and inspire our young girls and young people into more activity. This could change the whole activity of the nation.”
Davies, who became MP for ­Eastleigh in 2015 and was appointed Minister for Sport last November, said she fell in love with sport at school, where she played netball, football, rounders and was one of two girls in the cricket team. 
Her father “thought looking after us was watching sport on TV”, but that only reinforced this passion. 

“I loved the camaraderie – my best was 27 not out,” she said, laughing, before adding, “I like to think I was a pioneer.”
Davies entered politics after ­“being the woman who went to the council complaining about play ­facilities” and “got involved ­because I found people who hadn’t been to a leisure centre for 15 years making the decisions”.
Davies has two girls, aged nine and 13, who enjoyed getting active in local junior park runs and now compete in swimming and cricket.
Paula Radcliffe is a particular personal inspiration and, while Davies describes herself “as unfit as I have been for some time” and “pretty rubbish”, she will be lining up on Sunday at the Eastleigh 10 kilometre race. 
“With small children, finding the time became more ­challenging and that was where running came in,” she said. “Sunday’s race is sold out and 46 per cent of the participants are women. It is one of the fastest growing sports for women.

“You can put your trainers on and go … as long as you can find your sports bra.”
Davies has run in the London and Brighton marathons, and while her new job and Westminster’s wider political intensity have curtailed bi-weekly runs, she is determined to get back into the parks of London.
“It’s absolutely right that women feel that activity is as important a part of their life as anything else,” she said. 
“Find something you love and stick at it. Sport is a great stress reliever. You will meet friends. It helps your broader sense of well-being and that inspires other women and girls to get involved. 
“Research shows if you are more fit and healthy as a woman, you are more likely to get your smear test and have mammograms done.
“The wider challenge is great, but the opportunity is fantastic. I am not in politics to make something unachievable. We are in this to turn behaviour, change the dial and allow our children to get a sporting experience that will set them for life.”