A ceremony was recently held at the Crowne Plaza Newcastle – Stephenson Quarter to name the regional winners of the #ThisGirlCan ambassador awards.
‘This Girl Can’ is a national Sport England campaign that aims to encourage more women to become active across the country. Twelve-months on from the initial launch, the organisers revealed that 2.8 million 14-40 year old women have said they’ve done some or more activity as a result of the campaign.
North-East based GB runner, Alyson Dixon and Star of BBC1’s Apprentice, Katie Bulmer-Cooke were on-hand to show their support for local women by presenting some of the awards along with Anna Foster of BBC Newcastle.
In Newcastle, ‘This Girl Can’ has been delivered by Active Newcastle in association with Sport England and supported by M&S. Since the start of the campaign over 200 local women have been championing the messages locally.
Members of the public were given the opportunity to nominate people [#ThisGirlCan ambassadors] who they thought had made a stand-out contribution to the local community through their desire to help encourage others to exercise and get fit. Alternatively, someone who’s made a life changing decision to improve their approach to exercise and is achieving their personal goals.
In total, Active Newcastle received over 50 NOMINATIONS with all of women having some amazing and inspirational stories to tell. The recent awards evening celebrated the important role that local women have played in the success of the campaign.
The overall “THIS GIRL CAN – AMBASSADOR OF THE YEAR” award was presented to DONNA DYBALL – Donna also won an award for commitment to ‘This Girl Can’ in Newcastle.
Donna, aged 37, is a stay-at-home-mum of Byker. She was asked how it felt to be named the ‘This Girl Can’ ambassador of the year. Donna said: “I’m totally overwhelmed! It was a complete surprise. I’m just a normal mum, who only started to take part in regular exercise at the beginning of 2015, so I am honoured to have won. I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who voted for me and a special mention to the Welbeck Warrior ladies for all the support and encouragement they have given me.”
Donna talks about the importance of campaigns like “This Girl Can”. She said: “These campaigns are vitally important to encourage women to get out there and give something new a try. It also tells girls and women not to worry about what they look like but to get active, have fun, make friends and improve their health, both physically and mentally. These campaigns really do work and can change lives for the better!”
Donna concludes by giving some advice to those people who might be considering taking up exercise or even taking part in the “This Girl Can” campaign. Donna said: “The hardest part is getting started! So be brave, take that initial step at your own pace – don’t compare yourself to others…and remember to have fun!”
Active Newcastle is a City Council initiative that looks to inspire residents to become more physically active in the region through a host of public facing schemes, programmes and events.
The ambassador awards hold extra significance as women’s physical activity in Newcastle is below the national average, which brings with it some worrying health trends. They have a lower life expectancy than both the regional and national average and a significantly higher rate of cardio vascular disease.
Councillor David Stockdale, cabinet member for communities and facilities at Newcastle City Council, said: “This Girl Can has been a huge success in Newcastle with the hard work and commitment from Active Newcastle and its partners being a fundamental reason behind the big numbers of people getting involved across the City.
“It also shines a spotlight onto the great variety of fitness programmes and facilities that Newcastle has to offer people looking to exercise at all levels.”
Councillor Jane Streather, Newcastle City Council’s cabinet member for public health and housing, said: “Exercise, however big or small, can make a significant difference to somebody’s life; and This Girl Can has been a valuable way to get women interested in improving their own health regimes. It has helped to forge some wonderful friendships as people are joining local groups to take part in healthy activities.”
This Girl Can Campaign Director, Tanya Joseph, said: “Through This Girl Can, we help liberate women from the fear of judgement that many women and girls feel when they exercise, and I am thrilled that the campaign has resonated so strongly in Newcastle. Behind each of the amazing winners is a story of how with This Girl Can has given them a little bit of courage to achieve great things. I am delighted that their efforts are being recognised and I have every confidence that the new This Girl Can ambassadors will continue to inspire more local women to overcome their fear and get active.”
Other winners on the evening included YOUNG VOLUNTEER – STACEY GARDINER of Benwell who began getting girls involved with sport though volunteering with the Hatrick project in the West End of Newcastle.
CLUB SESSION OF THE YEAR went to Walker-based group WELBECK WARRIORS. They are made up of parents who began taking part in a weekly keep fit session. When they got involved with ‘This Girl Can’ their keep fit workouts doubled in size. All of the hard work led to 23 of them completing the ‘Beach Warrior Event’ in Whitley Bay. Also, in the past 12-months some of the mums have even taken up coaching qualifications. This will help them lead their own fitness sessions, as well as, helping out with children’s exercise programmes held at local schools.
Also, RACHEL DICKENS of Blyth in Northumberland won COACH OF THE YEAR – who coaches forFACTORY DANCE ACADEMY in particular in the Cowgate area of Newcastle.
For further information about how local people can get active as part of the “This Girl Can” campaign, they can contact Kerry Nesbitt at Newcastle City Council by calling 0191 278 3331 or emailing kerry.nesbitt@newcastle.gov.uk
Alternatively please visit the Sport England website www.sportengland.org/our-work/