By Catherine Brooks
As a culture, we have long been obsessed with women’s bodies, from waif-like models to fitspo, woman’s body, rightly or wrongly, is linked to our perceptions of health, wealth and success in a way that doesn’t apply to the same extent to men. Whilst there has been a rise in the body positivity movement, and female gymnasts can now wear shorts/leggings over their leotards just like their male counterparts, there is still a very long way to go, as was proven in the Paris Olympics.
The Body Confident Sport is aiming to support this change by helping sports clubs
address these issues. Dove and Nike have teamed up with world renowned experts in the
field of appearance research to launch the programme, which is Available in 7
languages. The free online training equips sports clubs, coaches and parents with the skills
and knowledge to address body image issues in sport. Through providing sports leaders with
direction to navigate what can be challenging or uncomfortable conversations, sports clubs
can help girls and young people feel more comfortable participating in the world of sport.
Taking the emphasis away from using sport as a vehicle to get the shredded beach body,
and focusing on the whole host of wider benefits (not least the fact that it can be great fun!)
helps sports clubs to make a step in the right direction. Celebrating the achievements of a
diverse range of sporting heroes, for instance marathoner Allie Kieffer and tennis superstar
Serena Williams, whose bodies don’t fit the industry standard is one way, but more
importantly, sports clubs must continue to take the conversation away from what our bodies look like, and more about the amazing things they can do for ourselves and others around
us.
Sport isn’t just for potential Olympians; from the mental, physical and societal benefits,
everyone can and should be given the tools and encouragement to get involved. Women in
Sport found that nearly half of teenage girls (twice the rate of boys) are dropping out of
recreational sport. Sadly, low body confidence and fear of being judged for how they look
whilst participating is one of the main reasons for this.
A paper published in the journal ‘Psychology of sport and exercise’ found that as many as
44.1% of Canadian National Team Athletes (training for Tokyo 2020) met the criteria for
either anxiety, depression or an eating disorder. Adding to this, Time magazine reported that
60% of female athletes report pressure from coaching concerning body shape, particular
concerning when coupled with the perfectionist tendencies of elite athletes. Coaches, who
often train across both genders, need to consider how the male body develops in an entirely
different way to a female’s body, with growing evidence showing that exercise performance
can be influenced by female sex hormones throughout their month cycle, and that the
shredded low-body fat percentages hailed as the epitome of fitness, are not always realistic,
or indeed healthy for girls.
The programme homes that by coupling coach education with easy-to-use programme curriculum and guides, coaches will be equipped with the knowledge, tools and inspiration to build body confident athletes.