The Women in Sport Strategy was launched in 2020, following funding from Sport Ireland to secure a full time role for a Women in Sport officer to lead the strategy.
In March 2022, during Women in Sport week, Rowing Ireland published a Women in Sport snapshot of the progress that has been made to date under the four women in sport pillars:
Participation
Coaching
Leadership & governance
Visibility
Some of the key areas for development under these headings for all sports identified in the Sport Ireland Women in Sport Policy (2027) are:
Coaching
- Broaden the coaching base to include more women from grassroots to high performance
- Increase the number of women officiating and refereeing (umpiring in rowing)
Participation
- Significantly reduce the active sport participation gradient between men and women
- Reduce the drop-out from physical activity and sport in young girls
Leadership and Governance
- Progress towards greater gender balance in Board membership of funded bodies
- Provide a pathway for women aspiring to become leaders of funded bodies
Visibility
- Increase the visibility and prole of our female role models in sport
- Use the heroes of today to inspire the next generation of Olympians and Paralympians
Now you can read how we are progressing in 2022 in Rowing Ireland towards these goals:
Coaching
- 160+ coaches in Women’s Coaching Networks
- 12 Coaches on Women’s Coaching Pathway
- 1 Coach on the first Women’s Student Coach Academy
- Established the Women in Coaching Advocates group
Participation
- First Olympic Medal for Women’s Rowing and 9 female Olympians.
- 250 Adult Women participated in the Give it a Row Day
- 76 Women completed 8- week Women on the Water programme
- 1000+ viewers of the online Balance is Better Exercise Classes
- Get Going Get Rowing returns with in person participation events post Covid-19 with the 2022 Munster Schools Indoor Blitz in March 2022 and the Grand Canal Splash n Dash regatta in May 2022.
Leadership and Governance
- 39 Women attended Making Waves Leadership Programme
- 28 coaches completed LIFT Leadership Course to date
- Achieved Constitutional Change for 40% minimum gender balance on the Rowing Ireland Board
- Female Chairs and gender equality on Rowing Ireland Committees report to the CEO and the Board for 2022
Some further updates regarding the programme:
- This weekend on Saturday the 23rd of April, all of our Coaching Pathway participants will meet in Dublin for a workshop event. These kinds of in person events were not held due to Covid-19 in 2020/2021 so it is exciting to see the first of these events taking place. Keep an eye on our social media for photos and updates on this event.
- 455 girls took part in the Munster Indoor Schools Blitz on March 31st. Entries are now open for the Grand Canal Blitz in May which is also targeted at increasing girl’s participation in rowing at school level.
- The Women on The Water programmes are currently running in Limerick and Dublin, with further 2022 programmes to be advertised this summer.
To find out more about current initiatives and updates on Women in Sport, visit the dedicated section of our website:
To get in touch or find out more about how to get involved in our current WIS initiatives:
Email: Ceara O’ Connor – womeninsport@rowingireland.ie
