SYDNEY, N.S. — Keeping girls active is the goal of a new pilot project launching in Sydney.
Research has shown that by age 14, girls drop out of sports at two times the rate of boys.
Sydney-based chiropractor Dr. Jen Maher said she’s witnessed another concerning trend among girls in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
“Over the summertime, I was getting a lot of teenage girls in the clinic with back pain, which that shouldn’t be happening,” said Maher, who runs Island Chiropractic and Family Wellness with her husband.
Maher said it was during a walking meeting with a CBRM recreation co-ordinator that she brought forward a program idea specifically targeted to young women. Maher later secured provincial funding for a pilot program known as AGIRL-Active Girls in Real Life. The sessions are offered on a limited basis and are free to middle-school students who identify as female.
“Sport breaks down barriers and helps develop skills that contribute to achieving goals during all stages of life,” Maher said.
“We wanted to provide opportunity to also introduce new sports — so if they don’t make the school volleyball team, or they don’t make the school soccer team — we want to show them that it’s not all about the sports you see in junior high school.”
Maher said the first half of the program will be geared toward sport and activity, while the second half of the lesson centres on leadership.
Among the activities to be showcased are rugby, CrossFit, skateboarding, yoga and possibly archery.
Maher said physical activity during formative adolescent years has broad positive impacts in adulthood.
According to the World Health Organization, children and adolescents, aged 5-17, should do at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity daily.
Maher said the all-female pilot project will run at Malcolm Munroe and Sherwood Park Education Centre between March 16-20 as part of a collaboration with the CBRM recreation department, School’s Plus and the Nova Scotia Health Authority. The program is offered to students attending each respective school.
“It was a matter of kind of pooling all of our resources,” said Maher.
“If we get a great response then hopefully this is something I envision becoming an after-school program and maybe even being able to offer it year-round.”
During the winter break, AGIRL will run at Malcolm Munroe between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. and at SPEC from 1-3 p.m.
AGIRL will later launch as a once-a-week after school program at Riverside School and Whitney Pier Memorial Junior High in May.
To book a seat in any of the upcoming sessions, or for more information, phone 902-563-5510*. Spaces are limited.
*Story has been updated with a new phone number provided by the CBRM Recreation Dept.