A recent study shows young girls who used to be sporty have “fallen out of love” with physical activity when they hit their teenage years.

The study conducted by Women in Sport found only around four in ten teenage girls said they are sporty, with only 37% saying they enjoy physical activity.

But some girls in Suffolk and Essex are still enthusiastic about sport with the This Girl Can campaign playing a leading role.

Women in Sport found seven in ten girls avoid being active when on their period, and 65% said they don’t like when others watch them. Other reasons could include:

  • Lack of Self-belief (50%)
  • Lower confidence (58%)
  • Feel judged (61%)
  • Pressure of school work (41%)
  • Don’t like wearing sports kit/clothing (28%)

Kate Dale, This Girl Can campaign lead, said: “Sadly, this research is not surprising; the gender activity gap starts young. Over two thirds of teenage girls have quit sport altogether by the time they are 16 and 17.”

Gracie Besant, British Powerlifting National Bench Champion, said: “It’s disappointing, but in a way, you can understand why there aren’t more girls doing sport.”

The 14-year-old from Colchester beat 170 competitors and broke the English bench press record for 55kg. She said: “One of the biggest pressures is from boys. They always say to me ‘I bet I'm stronger than you and I bet I can lift more than you’.

“But I say, 'I just think you’re bigger and heavier than me so mass moves mass, obviously you can lift more than me'. It is more like a motivation almost though.”

To get girls into sport and being active, Active Suffolk has teamed up with This Girl Can.

This Girl Can is a Sport England initiative that aims to increase female participation in sport and physical activity.

East Bergholt Primary School identified a group of year five and six girls with lower physical activity levels and who lacked confidence in PE and school sports.

By doing this, all the girls agreed they enjoyed taking part in sport as a group as they were all of similar ability and they didn’t feel judged.

The girls grew in confidence by doing this as well, after being given nicknames by their coach, with 13 out of 14 girls saying they are more confident to take part in sports sessions now.