Women's Sport Week - What's it about?

Sally Hancock, Chair of Women in Sport, talks about the inaugural Women’s Sport Week and how you can get involved.

Led by Women in Sport along with national governing bodies, major media suppliers, businesses and delivery partners including Sport England, Women’s Sport Week will launch on Monday 1 June 2015 – and we want you to be a part of it.

Women’s Sport Week is an opportunity for those involved in sport – whether playing, delivering, leading or working – to celebrate, raise awareness and increase the profile of women’s sport across the UK.

In 2013, the Government established a ‘Women and Sport Advisory Board’ to engage more strategically with the sectors that influence the sporting landscape. The Advisory Board’s recommendations included making 1-7 June, 2015, ‘Women’s Sport Week’ – which coincides with the start of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and provides the perfect opportunity to reach out to women and inspire them to get active.

I strongly believe that this is an exciting time for women’s sport, and this dedicated week seeks to get the nation focussed on the fantastic contribution women can, and already make to the UK’s sporting landscape, at the beginning of a huge summer of women’s sport.

The England Women’s football team are in Canada preparing for kick-off in their World Cup group against France; the Australian women’s cricket team will be visiting these shores with their male counterparts to contest the Ashes; and England’s netballers will soon head off in the other direction to compete for the Netball World Cup in Sydney.

This is a great opportunity to celebrate the success stories in women’s sport and continue the momentum we’ve been working hard to build.

Not only is Women’s Sport Week an opportunity to showcase our female athletes who are at the top of their game, but also to encourage more women and girls to get involved. At Women in Sport we strive for equal opportunities for women and girls, in sport, and in society as a whole. By increasing the visibility of women’s sport, in the media and in everyday life, we will inspire people to play their part at every level and make sport normal for women and girls.

So what’s actually happening during Women’s Sport Week to achieve this?

• Blogs and interviews with leading figures in women’s sport will be hosted on a dedicated Women’s Sport Week website which will also showcase the best of what’s happening.
• There will chances to win tickets to major women’s sport competitions, thanks to UK Sport.
• BBC Sport and Sky Sports will be running special coverage for Women’s Sport Week
• Social media will be awash with Women’s Sport Week activity too. We’ll be using #WSW2015 on Twitter and a number of famous names from sport will be taking over Women in Sport’s Twitter account (@womeninsport_uk) during the week to answer your questions.

Help us to transform sport for the benefit of every woman and girl in the UK; champion their right to take part in and benefit from sport, from the field of play to the boardroom.