Canoeing Ireland - Bridge the Gap
What is the Bridge the Gap Initiative?
Bridge the Gap is an initiative set out by Canoeing Ireland which aims to develop and promote women in all Paddlesports disciplines across Ireland. To do this we have examined our 11 unique disciplines to find out how to grow our female participants numbers and grow the number of those women who will take on leadership roles. The best way to do this was to have a team of women to consult who know their niche areas and can represent their communities. We have developed a group of 32 ambassadors for women’s paddling – with representatives from each discipline and corner of Ireland, including coaches, instructors, athletes, committee members, clubs, providers, inclusion coaches, university students and scouts.
What are the aims of the initiative?
Visibility
1. We aim to have 50% coverage of females across all of social media platforms. The ambassadors are chosen as they are already leading role models in their area and are key to driving this. They have committed where possible to make themselves more visible both online and at events
2. We aim to highlight the number of women who attend each event throughout the year
3. We have developed our branding using handheld signs and pull up banners as well as T-Shirts and on-the-water jackets for ambassadors
Coaching & Officiating
1. Aim to see a 20% increase in the number of women who achieve coaching/instruction qualifications from 2019 figures by the end of 2021
2. Aim to record at least one female referee/judge at each competition or event
3. Aim to have 3 competitive disciplines run a high-performance training camp for junior girls in Ireland with top coaches
Leadership & Governance
1. Aim to have female leaders working together on how the future of thesport should look to girls as they grow up. All 32 ambassadors are engaged in a Leadership Training Programme where they have come up with the appropriate developments which will need to be made within their discipline to make paddling more inclusive for women.
2. Aim to have gender equity across all discipline sub committees and organisation board of directors by the end of 2021.
3. The majority of ambassadors have committed to identifying and guiding at least 2 females from their own paddling community towards their leadership journey in a casual mentoring role.
Active Participation
In 2020 (2021) Canoeing Ireland aim to have
1. a minimum of 20 girls and 20 women’s only introductory/intermediate courses run
2. 20 discipline specific ‘coaching clinics’ lead by women
3. Have 4 beginner friendly events run outside the Dublin area to reach rural communities
4. Carry out research on why women who used to paddle have chosen to stop and use this to inform members on future developments
5. Run 5 regional workshops on sustainability for women in clubs
6. Run 5 workshops on the fears associated with paddling as an adventure sport and as a competitive sport
What are the benefits of Bridge the Gap?
The benefits of the initiative may take some time to see, but overall, there are 3 primary benefits.
- The relationships between female leaders in various disciplines will be developed in a positive and constructive way – this will make it easier to develop the pathways between disciplines in future and show the rest of our female members that communication and support between disciplines is important.
- There will be an increase in opportunities for females to attend coaching clinics, introductory courses and events for all abilities – ultimately making all paddlesports more inclusive for women.
- Our male and female members will have strong, visible female ambassadors as role models to look to towards who are more than happy to listen to their suggestions on growing women’s opportunities within their discipline in the future. This will open up the lines of communication between our members and the NGB.
How will this programme be delivered/rolled out?
1. The initiative has been launched to inform our members that we are going to develop and promote the women in our paddling community and provide more opportunities for those who are new to the sport.
2. Delivery of Leadership Training Programme for 32 ambassadors has taken place.
3. Projects have been discussed and developed which include:
- High Performance Training Camps for junior girls in Sprint/Marathon, Freestyle & Slalom.
- Specific Coaching Clinics for female university students
- Casual Mentoring for at least 2 women/girls for each of 32 ambassadors – some encouraged to develop new instructors/coaches
- Training development days for women/girls in various disciplines
- Multi-discipline events which are accessible for all abilities
- Research into why women have stopped paddling
- Workshops on fear management on the water (this is a prominent issue in paddling)
- Increase the number of women who attend events and competitions nationwide
- Providing women’s introductory courses
- Developing opportunities for our competitive female juniors to meet and train together by club meet up days.
- Joining club/discipline committees and Joining Board of Directors
- Growing our social media presence for women through various platforms
- Reach record numbers of female attendance at all events.
- Promote all of our female members and their achievements
4. These projects will be rolled out throughout the year - each one being advertised through our social media platforms and through other clubs/providers social media platforms. Additionally certain courses and workshops will be advertised through our website and members mailing list.
What results have you seen so far from the programme?
- Baltinglass Meet – 29 females from 12 different clubs met for a paddle where they coached each other in multiple disciplines. This sort of event has never been done before and was a great success.
- 32 women have completed a Leadership Training Programme.
- Galway Fest – the largest white-water event in the country saw record numbers of female participants in early March 2020.
- 5km Junior Sprint Series – record number of girls competing
High increase of engagement across all social media platforms and accounts when posting about our female members.