Campaign aims across Wales to

ACAMPAIGN to encourage more Welsh women and girls to get involved in sport has been launched.

Sport Wales’ Our Squad campaign aims to get women involved in sport regardless of fitness level, ability or activity.

And as part of the first phase, the campaign is looking for Welsh women and girls willing to be part of a “virtual squad” to share their positive experiences of sport.

They will be assisted by sporting ambassadors from around Wales.

It comes after research shows fewer women and girls are taking part in sport than their male counterparts.

In a recent study, 576,000 women in Wales said they don’t currently participate in any form of activity, while 54% say they’ve done at least one sporting activity in the last four weeks, compared with 63% of men.

Sarah Powell, chief executive of Sport Wales, hopes Our Squad will allow women to share their positive experiences with sport and encourage other women and girls to try new activities.

She said: “There are some truly outstanding programmes and projects out there already successfully engaging women and girls – whether it’s Streetgames’ Us Girls programme, Run Wales’ social running programme or Merthyr Girls Can’s lifechanging fitness programme.

“They are making sport and physical activity, and the many benefits that come with it, more accessible for females and it’s usually down to the people who run the projects and take the time to ensure others have a good experience.”

She added: “Together with our partners, we want to showcase these opportunities and give a platform to the ladies who have helped to break down barriers for other women and girls to enable them to try something new or get back into sport.”

The campaign will launch across Sport Wales’ social media channels from today – women and girls looking to be a part of Our Squad are invited to like Our Squad’s Facebook page and follow on Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram.