England Touch launches women and girls working group

Women play an integral part of the Touch community. Not only are England’s Women’s teams European champions in the Opens, 27s, 35s and 18s categories, Touch is also played with Mixed teams, including across the Junior, Opens and Seniors divisions, demonstrating equality at its heart and that it is truly a sport for everyone.

Furthermore, one in four of England’s High Performance coaches are women, as are three out of five non-executive directors and five out of six regional leads, not to mention the many volunteers across all levels of the organisation and 37 percent of our membership.

However the England Touch Association is not resting on its laurels. Growing the sport among women and girls is one of the organisation’s key focuses for the next few years, and to help achieve that goal the Association is announcing a new working group which will help shape strategy and share ideas and best practice.

All ages and backgrounds are welcome, and ETA General Manager, Sammie Phillips, says that important goals can be achieved.

“Growing participation in Touch for women and girls is a priority within our strategy, given the potential trajectory of growth in this area and the success of national programmes such as This Girl Can,” she says.

“Our new working group will help shape our approach and we welcome the involvement of individuals from across the Touch community, as well as people who may be indirectly involved in our sport through being a parent or relative of a player, referee or volunteer.

“We’re already working with partners such as Women in Sport and the RFL, and have been expanding participation into the Womens 40s age category for the first time in the Nationals and High Performance programme.

“Participation is not just about playing, but refereeing, coaching, administration and volunteering, as well as being a supporter, too, and we’re excited about getting even more women to enjoy our sport!”

To find out more about the women and girls working group email sammie.phillips@englandtouch.org.uk