MOVE | LEARN | EMPOWER | The Girl Factor offers a range of athletic development and education progra
06/10/2023
TGF is back ✨
I promise I never really left, just took a step back to reprioritise. But I’m stoked to be taking a step forward once again!
Clinicians, coaches, parents - please help us spread a 2023 REDs update 🔥
As always, reach out with your stories, questions and comments!
28/06/2022
[3 sleeps to go] 😏😏😏
We launch our female athlete focussed research newsletter THIS FRIDAY JULY 1ST (Happy Canada Day to all the Canadians out there) 🇨🇦
Whether you’re a coach, health pro, parent or athlete, Go Girl aims to fill you in on some of the latest female-specific sports med/science research, and arm you with the most up-to-date knowledge to ultimately improve the female experience in sport & physical activity 🏋️♂️
Fresh editions will be dropped into your inbox on the first of every month ✨
Sign up via the link in our insta bio for all the research goodness, or go to www.thegirlfactor.com.au/research 💓💓
x TGF
We know there’s a lot of research to read…
That’s why we’re launching our very own female athlete research newsletter!!
On the first of every month [starting July] you’ll receive the latest female-specific sports medicine news delivered straight to your inbox.
We are THAT passionate about research translation that we’re making the subscription totally free.
Whether you’re an athlete, a coach, a health pro, or parent… if you’re interested in keeping up-to-date with female-specific sports medicine, then Go Girl is the newsletter for you.
Sign up via the link in our Instagram bio or go to https://www.thegirlfactor.com.au/research
Ps how good are crumpets 🤤
31/01/2022
Yeah the sport + yeah the girls
There are more benefits to sport than improved physical and mental health….
We want more female leaders? We need more girls to stay in sport.
We want to better support girls so they can achieve their academic goals? We need more girls to stay in sport.
We want more empowered females to apply for the job they want? We need more girls to stay in sport.
We want more girls to have positive body image? We need more girls to stay in sport.
Get the gist?
The benefits of sport transcends health. Sport builds leaders, grows confidence, and teaches grit + resilience.
- TGF
27/01/2022
60% of the 6 million participant base in swimming is female 💥
After reports of a misogynistic and damaging culture in swimming, Swimming Australia commissioned a report (June 2021) to investigate the treatment of women and girls in the sport
The independent panel spoke to 150 participants including former and current athletes, parents, coaches, technical officials, volunteers and administrators
The report (partial) was released last week with 46 recommendations
Key take-aways included:
• improving education for coaches and athletes
• promoting gender equality though increasing leadership and coaching roles
• improving communication for physiological benchmarks (weight, body composition & shape)
Swimming Australia has since issued an apology for the way women and girls have been treated in the sport, stating “there were experiences that were difficult to read” and offered reassurance that the negative experiences reported by girls would not be repeated.
Although the report was based on swimming culture, the themes outlined can be applied across sport more generally, and should help guide how we can better support our girls and women.
The full list of recommendations can be found on Swimming Australia’s website (swimming.org.au)
What do you think about the findings?
- TGF
19/10/2021
It’s just… sport
Social boundaries can dissuade girls from participating in certain sports that have traditionally been labelled as ‘masculine’ - this is termed the female athlete paradox.
This one obviously goes both ways - boys shouldn’t be dissuaded from sports traditionally thought of as ‘feminine’ either
But, it could be argued that sport has traditionally been associated with masculinity. This has been amplified because some sports have only just recently allowed females to compete
At its very core, sport is about athleticism. This athleticism can be achieved by anyone, regardless of gender.
So, unless you’re speaking french, it doesn’t matter whether a sport is perceived as feminine or masculine….
It’s just sport - a display of athleticism [plus it’s fun].
What do you think? Have you ever wanted to try a new sport but were worried about being perceived as ‘masculine’?
(I became inspired after the Tokyo Olympics to jump on a skateboard 🛹 I feel like when I was growing up skateboarding was something only boys did…)
- TGF
11/10/2021
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL 2021 💖
Celebrate with us + you might win some yourself some sweet TGF merch!
Be sure to pump some Shania Twain today.…
Let’s go girls 💪
- TGF
move | learn | empower
Kick like a girl [and AFLW superstar]
You know what? Women and men actually do have different techniques when doing certain movements
Kicking like a girl isn’t a bad thing… no no no!
It just means you:
✅ kick with greater knee and hip range of motion
✅ have a stiffer stance leg (this is maybe explained by female’s lower centre of mass)
✅ show lower foot velocity at ball contact (maybe explained by greater ankle range of motion)
So go on, kick like a girl 😎
-TGF
MOVE | LEARN | EMPOWER
28/09/2021
Ever not tried something because you didn’t think you were good enough?
Ever not raised your hand (even though you defs knew the answer) out of fear you’d be wrong?
Yeah, me too.
Fear of inadequacy and low confidence are commonly discussed as reasons why girls avoid, or drop-out of sport/physical activity
We need to be fostering an environment that rewards bravery (even more than perfection) for girls, especially during adolescence
✅ allow girls some time to realise, and attempt to correct their own mistakes
✅ have a ‘bravery team huddle’ where teammates can shout-out each other for trying something new
✅ set clear expectations about skill progression (risk is required for learning to occur)
For more inspo, check out “Teach girls bravery, not perfection” - Ted Talk by Reshma Saujuani [🔗follow link in TGF bio]
So go on girl, be brave.
Go you good thing.
- TGF
MOVE | LEARN | EMPOWER
21/09/2021
Wanna change this stat?
Yeah us too.
Join the movement + support our girls.
Make your pledge to
Head to: www.thegirlfactor.com.au/support-her-sport to make your pledge.
+ you’ll also get your hands on a little something something sent direct to your mailbox 💓 from TGF
- TGF
MOVE | LEARN | EMPOWER
15/09/2021
Hahahaha name a more ridiculous insult than “you ____ like a girl”
Lol.
- TGF
Alright so ‘bulky’ is subjective - it represents different things to different people
But in this context, we’re talking about a gaining a significant amount of visible muscle (or hypertrophy)
Of course genetics, previous training history, training type/volume and nutrition strategies come into play when building muscle, but generally it’s way way way more difficult for girls & women to gain big muscles than boys & men
There are a bunch of different socio-cultural and environmental factors that interact within this topic, but some key takeaways when encouraging adolescent girls to do strength training include:
❌ Don’t dismiss her fear and tell her it’s impossible because she’s a girl and reel off a bunch of facts about female physiology
✅ Ensure she feels heard, understood and validate her feelings. Work to understand her goals in training/sport, then relate the conversation about strength back to this goal
❌ Don’t comment on girls aesthetics/body composition during puberty (even if it’s meant well). Just don’t do it.
✅ Make reference to a variety of female athletes during training. If you can, put up some posters of your team’s favourites for some inspo!
❌Avoid using sayings like “strength training makes you bigger and stronger” etc (unless their goal is to actually get bigger and stronger)
✅Use language that reflects the need of strength in their sport like “this exercise will help you run faster/jump higher” etc
Let us know in the comments if you use any other strategies to support your girls complete their strength training! ⬇️⬇️
-TGF
MOVE | LEARN | EMPOWER
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