March Madness has begun which might seem strange given we’re closer to the end of the third month of the year than the beginning but what I’m referring to is USA’s NCAA college basketball tournament. It’s such an exciting tournament. There are upsets, stars emerge, the talented wow you and it draws crowds. Women’s college basketball is arguably more popular than men’s. Read that again. Isn’t that cool? If you’re still a little unsure, then rest assured that I was last year too. I was lucky enough to have been to see the pro men play - we follow the Sacramento Kings - and had even witnessed the ..read more

‘I love the adrenaline buzz when you ride a winner, there really is no feeling like it’ With no family background in horseracing whatsoever, Lilly started out in the North Cotswold Hunt branch of the Pony Club, embracing a wide range of activities, including Show Jumping and Eventing. Lucky enough to get a pony at age nine, she felt the pull - taking him racing and winning her first one. With a few wins under her belt, she then gave Point-to-Pointing (amateur horse racing) a go. Lilly rode in her first Point-to-Point in February 2015 and scored her first win between the Flags in April 2016. F ..read more

It’s International Women’s Day and we have the perfect interview and initiative for this year’s campaign message of ‘Inspiring Inclusion.’ Muslim activist Lipa Nessa was attending a Youth Sport Trust dinner back in 2022, when she got chatting to the head of The Sweaty Betty Foundation, the charitable arm of the well-known women’s sportswear brand. Lipa was laughing at the name ‘Sweaty Betty’ as in Bangladeshi ‘betty’ means ‘lady’ and recounting how she’d tried lots of different brands’ sports hijabs but they’d all made her look like an egg or a medieval knight. “They did not flatter me, they d ..read more

“I play because I love it. Hockey is one of my greatest passions. I’ll just go for it and see where it takes me. No-one ever regretted trying hard.” Describing herself as, ‘Friendly, brave and passionate’, Tess (Tessa) made her debut for Great Britain in 2018. Playing midfield and wearing No 14, Howard currently has 76 combined caps (the number of times you play for your country) for England and GB and has scored 28 goals. Tess joined her first hockey club aged 11 and was soon playing for their ladies first team (1st XI). She went on to play for England’s U16’s, captaining the U18’s and winni ..read more

You might have seen in the news or on social media that women’s football is going through a rough patch … and that’s an understatement. With the women’s World Cup looming this summer, the game is in crisis. We asked our friends at The Sports Ethics Examiners to delve a little deeper to explain what’s really going on. They focus on the Canadian Women’s Team (Olympic gold medal winning team!) but there are many other cases. Here is a shorter version of their blog that we have created from the brilliant original but if you want all the detail then go here. Just imagine it: you make history for y ..read more

Thirteen year old Betty Glyptis is one smart golfer. She’s funny and clever and a really good golfer. A blog with a difference this week as it’s a vlog so you can watch it or listen to it on the go like a podcast! Listen to how Betty’s hearing impairment affects her golf - something you might not expect! The first question is all about how Betty got into golf (there was a lot of editing due to Caroline’s tedious chat!)…. Thanks Betty for a really fun conversation - we’ll look out for you on our screens in the future ..read more

‘We are only human’ – Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, Commonwealth Games & European gold medal winning 10m platform diver, comes back to this phrase a lot … and other fantastic words of wisdom which leave me feeling inspired and motivated by the end of our chat. But there’s much more to the first woman to win a platform diving gold for England at the Commonwealth Games since 1966, than that. Andrea was scouted to dive as an eight-year-old as she was a swimmer and a gymnast, and she’s been diving ever since. She tells me about how fun diving was as a child: experiencing the adrenaline rush of co ..read more

Today is the International Day of the Girl and We are Girls in Sport wanted to support one of its main objectives this year: ‘Increasing resources for and investments in adolescent girls, including for the networks and organisations that support quality and inclusive education and prioritise their well-being.’ We want to increase resources for sporty girls and with this in mind, we’re super excited at We are Girls in Sport HQ as we launch PLAY ON, the campaign to make sure that sports clubs & venues provide free period wear. Yes! Free period wear! Wouldn’t that be great?! But first, let’s ..read more

COVID has impacted so many of us around the world and it continues to do so. Here, on this World Mental Health Day, rugby playing Ashleigh Rollins shares how it has impacted her mental health and how sport, and in particular, rugby, helped her. Thank you Ashleigh. Rugby Union first came into my life in 2016, where I found myself completely absorbed by the sport. I began playing in secondary school, where I then started playing for South Molton RFC, a club which taught me everything I have to know within rugby. In my first season I won coaches player, something which was hard to come across wi ..read more

It’s not often you’ll find a current newsy piece on our blog but this is SO important that it had to be shared and celebrated! A barrier for girls in sport was broken this week when FINA (the International Swimming Federation) announced that it would allow swim caps designed specifically for people with voluminous hair, such as afro, to be used in competitive races.   Credit - Soul Cap   The cap was designed by a company called Soul Cap and is different to normal swimming caps because its shape accommodates more hair. It was banned for use before the Tokyo Olympics because ‘it did n ..read more