Fast and Female: Inspiring Young Girls in Sport

Teenagers have it tough.

There have been enough TV shows like The O.C. or Boy Meets World to show us that, but the one troublesome issue that is not talked about and seriously affects teenage girls is the incredibly high drop-out rate in sports for young girls.

Studies show girls are six times more likely to drop out of sports in their early teens than boys (Enoksen). With all the success women have in sport recently, you may be surprised at this statistic but honestly, it makes sense.

Our society and culture focuses more on female appearance than on playing sports and it is imbedded in women from birth, you will notice this just by taking a stroll through the toy store and noticing the cosmetic games in pink and the athletic games in blue.

This is a major deficit we are giving to girls at a young age because sport teaches these mini humans important lessons such as teamwork, resilience, and leadership that they can use for their whole life. Sure, girls can learn these traits in different ways but with 18.7% of women in 2014 being classified as obese (Overweight and obese adults (self-reported) 2014), and 990,000 Canadians having an eating disorder at any one time (LeBlanc 8), we are failing to teach young girls how to live a healthy lifestyle.

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The best way to start a healthy life is when you are young and learn to enjoy sports and athletics! This is where Fast and Female comes in, this is an organization that understands these issues and wants young girls to enjoy sports!

Their mission is to “keep girls healthy, happy and active in sports through their teens. Fast and Furious runs “Champ Chats” all throughout Canada and the United States by having elite athletes come as ambassadors and inspire girls to continue sport throughout their teens!

During these Fast and Female Champ Chats, the ambassadors go through different sports the girls can try and talks to them about the challenges women go through in sport but how to overcome them! Just as important, it gives these girls an athletic role model they can meet. Having a role model during these years is imperative to show them that their dreams in sport are possible.

Red Deer is very lucky because we have a Champ Chat coming here! What a fantastic way to show your daughter, niece, or granddaughter how to live a healthy lifestyle or to aim for the stars, by letting them spend a day with Erin Yungblut, Melissa Lowe, Tara Sliwkanich and Tricia Oshiro, leaders in Biathlon, Bobsled, Baseball and Archery respectively.

Sign up soon because it is on May 13, this Saturday, and the young girl in your life will gain a lot of knowledge, create a sense of belonging with other girls her age who love sports and have a fantastic day! These are the types of events that can change a community by changing one girl’s perspective, so good job Fast and Female for showing the joys of being a fast female.