Girls Get Active Day - Cumberland Council

Sport NSW and Cumberland Council joined forces to present a Girls Get Active Day on Wednesday, 4 July. The event, designed to encourage more girls to benefit from participation in sport and recreation, took place at the Genea Netball Centre and involved 100 girls from four local high-schools, six elite female athletes and five different sports.

The Girls Get Active event commenced at 9:30am where athletes, Enid Sung (gymnastics), Maddie Studdon (rugby league), Maricarmen Wacher (judo), Simaima Taufa (rugby league) and Tiffany Ho (badminton) engaged in a panel discussion led by Joany Badenhorst, Australia’s first female representative in Para-snowboarding, that aimed to inspired the audience of female high-school students to participate in sport and active recreation.

In addition to being a world-class athlete and university graduate, for over three years, Joany has been working as a motivational speaker with icare NSW. Joany was just 10 years old when she lost her left leg below the knee following a tractor accident on her family’s farm. As part of the icare Speakers Program, she and her fellow Paralympians, share their personal stories in the hope that their experience of a workplace accident, and the affect it had on them, their families, friends and colleagues, will help others to work smarter and look out for each other.

At the conclusion of the panel discussion, the students had the opportunity to meet the panellists and experience the various sporting activities on offer including badminton, gymnastics, judo, netball and rugby league.

Sport NSW and Cumberland Council are committed to supporting the future growth and development of sport and active recreation, which in turn sees people enjoy the benefits provided and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Cumberland Council Mayor Greg Cummings said the Girls Get Active Day was a great opportunity for young women to be inspired and build confidence to participate in sport.

“We have a strong sporting culture in Cumberland and Council want to provide every chance for our young women to be involved in sport. In Cumberland our young people are fortunate to have great female sporting role models in the Auburn Giants women’s AFL team who are passionate advocates for getting girls of all ages and backgrounds involved in sport.

“Council hopes the Girls Get Active Day inspired our young residents to pursue their sporting passions and stay active. With over 150 registered sporting clubs in the Cumberland LGA there are plenty of options to choose from,” Mayor Cummings said.

Sport NSW Chief Executive Officer Darren Simpson is thrilled to collaborate with Cumberland Council for the Girls Get Active Day and hopes the event encourages the female students to participate in sporting activities within their local community.

“Sport NSW was delighted to host this event in conjunction with Cumberland Council. I hope the successful young sports women, and Australia’s first female representative in Para-snowboarding, Joany Badenhorst, inspired the girls to explore the pathways available to them and pursue their own sporting dreams,” Mr Simpson said.

Details

Event: Girls Get Active Day

Date: Wednesday, 4 July 2018

Venue: Genea Netball Centre

Time: 9:30am – 2:00pm