BBC Jersey Communities Reporter
BbcThe girls were encouraged to get involved in different sports at an event where they could try at a range of them.
The “Every Girl Moves” event took place at Les Quennevais school on Monday with around fifteen sports clubs on site to give children tasting sessions.
The research of Youth Sport Trust has shown more than a third of girls in England and Wales abandoned sport when they reach secondary school.
The event was created by Lauren, 15, from St Marys Youth Center after hearing how girls on the island sometimes faced barriers in sport.
Lauren wanted the event to show more girls in Jersey than many sports clubs on the island are accessible and have many opportunities for them.
She said: “Most girls want to be involved in sport, but think it’s just for boys or cope with other stigma.
“Sport also improves your mental health and more older girls must remain active.”
Lauren added: “I hope we do it every year and it improves each year so that we can involve even more sports so that we can make the day even better.”
The organizers also hope that getting involved in sports teams will also strengthen the confidence of girls and socialization skills.
Orla, 11, was one of the children who attended.
She said: “It is really important to stay healthy – if you stay on the sofa all day, you will not live very long.
“I think that when girls age, they become obsessed with things like Tiktok, but I will certainly remain sporty and I think girls should just spend your life doing what you like,” added Orla.
She tried netball, football and other sports available during the event.
Mimi, 16, is the representative of young people from Jersey Netball and showed children how to practice sport.
She said: “It’s a competition sport but you are also having fun – everyone who plays it appreciate it”.
She added: “When you are older and you have to mix with boys for some sports, it can push girls back because you can feel a little frightened, but sporting events like this are prefect to change this perception.”
