December 2018
The NSW Government has today announced a four-year strategy that will drive powerful change for women and girls in sport, leaving a lasting legacy for the way women’s sport is played, led, promoted and consumed.
The $5 million Her Sport Her Way strategy features 29 initiatives under four key pillars that aim to increase the number of women and girls playing sport, invest in the provision of sport facilities that support women and girls, maximise investment in women’s sport across government, corporate sector and media and support the sector to increase the number of women in leadership positions on and off the field.
The Her Sport Her Way grants program will expand and enhance female participation both on and off the field in playing, coaching, leadership and officiating roles, which Minister for Sport, Stuart Ayres, says will shape the future of women’s sport in NSW.
“In recent years, women’s sport has experienced enormous success both on and off the field with record crowds, unprecedented broadcast deals and television audiences,” Mr Ayes said.
“But there is still significant work to be done to increase participation, improve facilities and attract investment.
A key focus of the strategy will include a partnership with the University of Newcastle for the state-wide rollout of the award-winning girl’s empowerment program Dads and Daughters Exercising and Empowered (DADEE) targeting fathers as the agents of change to improve their daughters’ physical activity levels, sport skills and social-emotional wellbeing
Other highlights include prioritising the development of female friendly facilities across the NSW Government’s current suite of $300 million sport facility grant programs and continued collaboration with the NSW Institute of Sport to attract, develop, retain and progress high performance female coaches in NSW.
The Government will also commit to continued investment in attracting and hosting major international women’s sporting events in NSW.
“Her Sport Her Way outlines the NSW Government’s vision for the future of women’s sport in NSW, building a stronger sports sector where women and girls are valued, recognised and have equal choices and opportunities to lead and participate,’ Mr
Ayres said.
“I am confident that it will drive powerful change for women and girls across all sports.”
Minister for Women Tanya Davies said the Strategy will go a long way for women in sport to achieve equality with their male counterparts when it comes to pay, conditions ,
and recognition.
“Her Sport Her Way will empower women and girls, from professional athletes to aspiring junior sports stars, by boosting opportunities for women’s participation in sports to close the gap both on the field and in leadership positions,” Mrs Davies said.
Captain of the AFLW GIANTS side, Amanda Farrugia has welcomed the strategy.
“This strategy is a vital piece of the puzzle as we all work to ensure that women’s sportgrows into its full capacity,” Ms Farrugia said.
“As we’ve seen in recent years with the rise of women’s sport including the AFLW competition, female athletes are a force to be reckoned with and all women should have access to greater high performance pathways, better facilities and quality coaching.
“It’s terrific to see that the NSW Government is taking steps to support women and ensure female sporting talent is nurtured from grassroots to elite sport both on and off the field.”
Her Sport Her Way was developed following consultation with almost 800 sports, stakeholders and industry thought leaders. It will involve the NSW Government working with the sports sector and new partners over the next four years to identify innovative ways to shape the future of sport for women and girls in NSW.
Download a copy of Her Sport Her Way.