Sports & Play
Motor racing – getting girls fired up to win By Mike McCann, PE Teacher at Douglas Ewart School A
survey conducted by Fit for Girls, an initiative aimed at raising physical participation among girls aged 11 to 16 years, has revealed that over half of the girls questioned had not participated in the government recommended one hour of physical activity each day. Many had not even taken part in an extra-curricular activity or sport in the preceding week.
The most common reasons cited in the research for the girls’ lack of participation were feeling embarrassed, unskilled and not wanting to compete with others.
and provides young people with valuable skills like being part of a team. What can schools do to unleash the competitive spirit in girls? Introducing activities that build self-esteem can help girls overcome their concerns and encourage greater participation in sport. Putting up pictures of girls playing sport on the PE notice board and giving them the opportunity to have their say on how they’d like to take part can really help. I have heard of one school that offers beauty treatments as an incentive.
What has worked at Douglas Ewart School is providing a variety of sporting and extra- curricular activities that encourages girls with different interests to get involved. We have had a great response from all our students since introducing karting to our programme.
High Octane PE for Girls Confidence-boosting
With magazines and celebrity culture increasing in popularity, girls can often shy away from competitive sports. They are at their most self-conscious at secondary school and don’t particularly relish wearing a PE kit or running around the field. However, sport is such an important part of their education. It builds confidence, improves general health
Six of our female students have signed up to take part in the British Schools Karting Championship in 2012. Motor sports for girls is growing in popularity and high profile women are paving the way for girls to get more excited about it. Katherine Legge, the first woman to test an A1 grand prix car, and Fiona Leggate, who has broken a world record for the most races contested in one day, are highlighting the role of women in this traditionally male dominated sport. Karting is appealing to girls because they do not have to fit the normal stereotype of a sporty student. Any student aged over 13 can take part. They do not need to be at a particular fitness level and they can be easily taught the skills to operate a kart. Involvement in the BSKC allows the girls at my school, who might not find traditional sports appealing, to be involved in a similarly competitive environment and represent their school.
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The girls enjoy the opportunity to compete with boys on an even playing field. Success in the sport is not just about stamina and strength but finesse in driving the kart. Drivers need to have an awareness of their actions in the kart, be able to have quick reaction times and make prompt decisions about speed. Keeping sight of what’s happening around and in front of you can also increase the chances of being first past the chequered flag.
The exhilarating experience of driving a kart as well as competing and sometimes winning against boys is highly motivating for a girl. It is also a great sport for exploring how you can measure your development and improve. Each lap is driven against the clock and your lap time motivates you to do better. In teams of three, the girls try to improve their performance on the track and this experience can turn them into great team players. This valuable skill will help them to work better with others and solve problems, both during their school years and later in life. Karting also has reaped rewards in the classroom. Developing an understanding of the movement and speed of the kart can be fed into lessons like physics while measuring performance on the track can help improve students’ maths skills. There are a range of skills driving teaches you that support school life, such as the development of spatial awareness and being able to anticipate different outcomes.
The girls at my school are very excited about competing in the 2012 championship. BSKC is a non-profit organisation set up in 2006 to make karting more accessible to young drivers. Schools can enter one or more teams of three students to compete in the nationwide competition, which includes a practice session and participation in a semi- final at the local karting circuit.
uwww.bskc.co.uk.
January 2012
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