Future Olympians wanted but stats show girls not returning to sports after pandemic pause

Girls have harder time resuming sports post-COVID A new study in Canada determined girls need more convincing than boys to resume playing sports post-pandemic. Jeremy Thompson reports.

EDMONTON — Findings show girls are less likely to return to sports post-COVID-19 compared to boys.

A recent statistic was shared by Canadian Women in Sport stating that one in four girls are not committed to returning to sports after the pandemic, compared to one in 10 boys.

“As sport starts to return, there is an opportunity to change the minds of girls who are not committed to return. Caregivers, teachers, coaches, and community leaders can each play a part to remove the barriers keeping these young athletes away from sport,” read a release by Canadian Women and Sport.

The goal is to reverse the trend of girls not returning to sport.

“We must pay attention to what girls want and design programs with their needs at the centre. It’s not too late to turn this tide,” read the release.

Luis Dominguez, coach of the Edmonton Warriors Soccer Club U-11 girls, says sports are crucial for development. Team building, confidence building, and leadership are some of the skills girls are learning from sports.

Having coached both boys and girls soccer, Dominguez says girls require extra encouragement when it comes to sports.

“The fundamental difference between boys and girls is the girls need a little bit more support,” he said.

“Boys have that tendency where they are able to perform based on expectations from the family. From a girls perspective there is a lot more encouragement that is required and a lot more support is required from the parents, community, team, and especially from the coaches,” he added.

During the pandemic, the soccer team trained virtually which the coach describes as “difficult.” The loss of team building and connection has resulted in some girls leaving the sport altogether.

The soccer coach says female mentors and inspirational female athletes are necessary role models for the young athletes. The success of women in the Tokyo Olympics has been a source of encouragement for the soccer players.

“They are super excited to see the girls go as far as they can and win the gold medal,” said Dominguez.

Michaella, a nine-year old striker on the team, says she enjoys soccer because of the main goal of working together. The Canadian women’s soccer team is set to play against Brazil on Friday in the quarter-final, which has served as a source of encouragement for the young girls.

“One day I wish that I could play in the Olympics for soccer,” she said.

Dia Syed, CEO of Girls in Sport Alberta, says sports are crucial for development for both boys and girls. With the downward trend of girls returning to sports, she says this will impact their growth.

According to Dia, approximately 94 per cent of CEO’s and business executives have played a sport in Canada.

“It’s a hands on learning experience. So they learn how to be, they learn,‘Oh, what I said didn’t work here, but what I’m saying here works,” she said.

For the CEO, she says sports act as a “confidence-builder” and it is crucial women return to the activities they loved pre-pandemic.

“It means that girls are missing out on the benefits of sports, the leadership abilities, the teamwork abilities and, you know, just from the fact that they’re able to transfer these not only to their schooling, but also to their work,” she added.

With files from CTV Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson