Girls in sports at record high, yet many not active enough, U of Minnesota report says

The report also found:

• Girls’ participation rates in all types of physical activities consistently lag behind those of boys and girls’ dropout rates are higher.
  
  

• Girls’ experiences are shaped by the quality and expertise of the adults who make decisions, manage, govern, deliver and coach physical activity programming, many of whom have minimal -- if any -- formal training.
  
  

• Outdated, stereotypical standards of femininity and masculinity continue to influence the extent to which girls participate in or shun physical activity.
  
  

• Female athletes continue to be trivialized through the popular media’s widespread sexualization of women.
  
  

• Traditional models of physical education organized around competition, team sports, power, strength, aggression and which focuses on the “motor elite” rather than skill development, disadvantage girls (and boys) who are less skilled to begin with, which may contribute to a lack of enjoyment and a shunning of lifelong participation in physical activity.
  
  

What can be done to ensure that all girls have opportunities to increase physical activity?

“The United States as a whole -- from parents and coaches to school administrators and community leaders to policy makers -- needs to make a commitment to eliminating the barriers girls in this nation face when it comes to engaging in sports and physical activity,” said Mary Jo Kane, director of the Tucker Center. “Physical activity is not an ‘add-on’ but rather is a core value and principle for healthy and effective living.”

The Tucker Center report is designed to provide a road map that puts the nation on the path to ensuring that every girl has ample opportunity to fully engage in sport and physical activity. “Often, research done by sports scholars sits on the shelves and practitioners -- such as coaches, parks and recreation directors, and physical education teachers -- view the research as having no practical application,” said University of Minnesota Associate Professor Diane Wiese-Bjornstal, another of the report’s authors. “This report aims at bridging the gap between theory and practice by detailing the best sports and activity programs for girls and how to implement those programs.”

For a copy of the report, go to: www.tuckercenter.org.