Empowering Young Women Through Fencing
Our project successfully delivered a 12-week program aimed at empowering young women through fencing and fitness. This included weekly fencing and strength & conditioning sessions, complemented by nutritional workshops. We focused on creating a supportive and inclusive environment, and the feedback from participants strongly indicates an enhancement in physical and mental well-being, increased confidence, and a growing interest in sport.
Our key objectives were to:
Increase female participation in fencing and fitness activities.
Improve physical fitness and overall health among young women.
Enhance mental well-being and reduce stress levels.
Develop essential life skills such as discipline, focus, and teamwork.
Create a supportive and inclusive community for young women.
We believe we have made significant progress on all these objectives, as evidenced by participant feedback and our internal observations.
Weekly training sessions: We consistently delivered weekly sessions, effectively combining fencing instruction with strength and conditioning exercises. These sessions were well-attended and structured to cater to varying skill levels. This squad ran at 10.00am which was followed at 1100 for beginners session 1200 for video analysis and lunch then from 1300 to 1500 hours performance fencing.
Dedicated female-only facilities: We successfully redecorated and designated a private toilet and a communal relaxation space for participants, contributing to a more comfortable and inclusive environment.
Partnership with Live Active Schools: While initially planned, we only managed to attend two schools which allowed 300 pupils to have taster sessions in plastic fencing this was mixed male and female.
They were then invited to attend a couple of free sessions at the Salle during the Easter holidays. This is also extended to all Perth and Kinross schools to a free training between 10-12 in the week of 7th -10th July.
Alignment with Active Scotland Outcomes
Participate, progress & achieve: The program provided a structured pathway for young women to engage in fencing and fitness. Participant feedback like "It's taught me ways to fence better that I wouldn't learn just fencing at the club" and "I want to get better and compete in competitions" clearly demonstrates progress and a desire to achieve personal goals. The establishment of "Girl Squad" fostered a unique environment for focused development.
Wellbeing & resilience: The project significantly promoted mental and physical well-being. Participants joined for "fitness reasons" and found the S&C sessions "more lively." The supportive, female-only environment helped reduce stress and build resilience, with one participant noting the desire to "show support to younger girls as older boys can be intimidating."
Physical confidence & competence: Through consistent fencing training, participants developed increased physical confidence and competence. One participant highlighted, "Because it's built up more confidence fencing people with similar techniques." Parental feedback also noted "a definite improvement in her confidence in fencing."
Inclusion: A core of our project was inclusion, and participant feedback strongly supports its success. Reasons for joining included "I wanted to be able to fence with just girls who fenced similar to me" and to "build a senior girls team," highlighting the positive impact of a dedicated female-only space for fostering a sense of belonging and comfort.
Participant Feedback
We collected valuable feedback from the young women who participated in the "Girl Squad" program. Here's a summary of their insights:
Why did you join Girl Squad?
“Because my brother fences on Saturdays and I thought I'd also like to."
"Fitness reasons."
"To show support to younger girls as older boys can be intimidating to them."
"I wanted to fence with people with similar styles."
"I wanted to be able to fence with just girls who fenced similar to me."
"I joined the girl squad to build a senior girls team."
Do you feel more likely to participate in fencing or fitness activities in future because of the program?
"For S&C it makes a difference (more lively) but for fencing it sometimes makes a difference."
"It's taught me ways to fence better that I wouldn't learn just fencing at the club."
"Because it's built up more confidence fencing people with similar techniques."
"I want to get better and compete in competitions."
Would you continue to attend Girl Squad if it were to continue?
All participants answered “Yes”
What could we do to improve your time at Girl Squad?
"Extend it another 30 mins for more fencing."
"Make sure not all sessions/lessons/games are catered towards beginners."
"More general fencing team matches or games like deal or no deal or similar would be nice."
"Possibly focus on different areas as every time someone new arrives we have to go over basics again."
Parental Feedback
We also gathered feedback from parents, which was overwhelmingly positive:
"I've noticed a definite improvement in her confidence in fencing."
"The timing of the sessions works great with the next fencing sessions on a Saturday."
Evaluation and Impact
Our evaluation plan included pre- and post-program surveys, fitness assessments, and participant feedback. The qualitative feedback presented above clearly demonstrates a positive impact on the girls
Overall Project Success and Learning
We consider the "Empowering Young Women Through Fencing and Fitness" project to be a significant success. The overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants and parents underscores the value of providing a dedicated, supportive, and inclusive environment for young women in sport.
Key learnings from this project include:
The strong demand and positive impact of female-only sporting initiatives.
The importance of balancing introductory content with progression for more experienced participants.
The value of incorporating fun, team-based activities alongside technical training.
The potential for extending session lengths to allow for more dedicated fencing time.
We are incredibly grateful for the funding provided by Scottish Fencing, which made this impactful project possible. We believe this initiative has laid a strong foundation for increasing female participation in fencing and fostering a lifelong love of sport among young women.
