Squash to be showcased in groundbreaking Girls Do Sport campaign

Squash has been selected as one of nine sports in Scotland taking part in an exciting new multi-platform promotional campaign – Girls Do Sport.

The ambitious partnership between women’s sport equality charity Scottish Women in Sport (SWiS) and the University of West Scotland (UWS) will see ten 15 minute programmes created by students, graduates and staff at the university focusing on women in sport and highlighting one sport per show.

The project has been supported by Brand-Oath who have taken on SWiS as part of their CSR and are responsible for the creative content and look of Girls Do Sport and have extended that look through to the new Scottish Women in Sport website.

The first show, to be aired on Friday (October 13) through various social media channels including Facebook, will showcase Scotland’s prominent female tennis players whilst raising awareness of the opportunities for women in the sporting sector.

Speaking at the launch of #GirlsDoSport this week, SWiS CEO Maureen McGonigle said: “This project is something that was one of our stated aims when Scottish Women in Sport launched in 2013. It’s a great moment for this to become a reality and we are thrilled to be working with UWS on such an exciting partnership.

“The statistics around media coverage of women in sport continue to be low compared with their male counterparts. Girls Do Sport will be an antidote to this under-representation in the media.

SWiS ambassador Judy Murray added: “I’m a huge supporter of anything that encourages girls and women into sport. Sport is competing with so many other activities for girls and women’s attention that we must showcase it better through female friendly channels and ensure that it covers the three Fs – Fun, friends and fitness. Girls Do Sport aims to do just that.”

Tennis, squash, yachting, roller derby, gymnastics, basketball, hockey, boxing and athletics will all feature in the ten-show schedule.

The final episode will be a round-up of highlights from the series.

Minister for Public Health and Sport, Aileen Campbell said: “I welcome Girls Do Sport continuing to highlight female participation issues in sport.

“Coming soon after Scotland’s first Women and Girls in Sport Week, they will help us to further understand the barriers that women and young girls face and help to drive change.”

Senior Lecturer within the School of Media, Culture and Society and academic lead on Girls Do Sport, Elizabeth McLaughlin, said: “This is an exciting and ambitious project which gives Sports Journalism students and graduates the opportunity to work with Scottish sports and build contacts for their future careers in the sports media industry. 

“Building graduate attributes and offering students a dynamic learning experience to ensure they are highly employable is at the heart of what we do at UWS. “

University of West Scotland Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Craig Mahoney added: “I am really delighted to support the Girls Do Sport TV project as the University of the West of Scotland has a huge commitment towards supporting sport at all levels.

“It is well evidenced that through being involved in sporting activity throughout their lives girls are able to increase their confidence, capability and skills.

“At UWS we aim to give everyone the opportunity to develop their career in interesting and innovative ways and initiatives such as Girls Do Sport provide an excellent opportunity for sports journalism students.

For more information about the schedule and upcoming programmes, click here