Keeping Teenage Girls in Gymnastics - the Irish Research Revealed!

As part of Gymnastics Ireland's Women in Sport programme and our “Keeping Teenage Girls in Gymnastics” project, Women in Sport UK facilitated a webinar on Sunday the 21st November, to reveal the data from over a year’s worth of research and engagement with Gymnastics Ireland members.

The webinar had over 160 attendees registered, varying from Gymnastics Ireland members, to other National Governing and Sporting Bodies and international guests from the wider gymnastics’ community including Estonia, Slovakia, Brazil, Ethiopia, and Croatia to name a few. The interest shown is a clear sign that this subject is of huge importance for everyone.

The research team discussed how gymnastics presents a unique and powerful opportunity to support girls who love the sport and other physical activity at a young age. They looked at what drives teenage girls’ engagement and enjoyment in gymnastics and highlighted areas that can be developed to create moments of pride for the gymnasts and to build a positive body image culture in our member clubs and sport in Ireland.

The full report will be published on the Gymnastics Ireland website soon.

Commenting on the day Gymnastics Ireland’s CEO Ciaran Gallagher said: "As we returned to full operation in 2022 following 2 very difficult years of pandemic impact it is great to now be able to return planning for the future. The new research in relation to retention of teenaged girls in sport will frame some very exciting new developments that will launch in 2023+ and support our clubs as we get back to the huge growth trajectory our sport was on pre pandemic. Congratulations to Aimi, Angie, and the team from WIS UK!"

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