Tracey has pledged her support for the Us Girls sport and physical activity programme which targets young women and girls in some of England’s most deprived areas.
Us Girls is a ground-breaking initiative by StreetGames. It aims to get 30,000 young women and girls aged between 16-25 years-old living in England’s most disadvantaged communities more active through sport and physical activity. As well as increasing participation, the programme will encourage over 1,000 young women to become volunteers and aims to help more than 1,250 gain qualifications. Us Girls is funded by Sport England and is led by the sports charity StreetGames.
Tracey has become the Us Girls Parliamentary Ambassador and will promote Us Girls within parliament and Government. She has an active interest in sport and, alongside her parliamentary duties, manages the Meridian Girls U14 football team in her constituency.
Barbara Keeley, Labour MP for Worsley and Eccles South, is also supporting the programme in her role as Sport England Parliamentary Fellow for Women’s Sport. She keeps fit by jogging and entering runs in and around Salford and Greater Manchester.
Both MPs joined Team GB athletes and England internationals, including Katherine Grainger and Charlotte Edwards, and the CEO of Sport England, Jennie Price, at a photoshoot to launch the Women’s Sporting Calendar 2012 in the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday 14th December, 2011.
Tracey said: “I’m delighted to be supporting Us Girls. Having played sport from a young age I understand the benefits – from improvements in health and self-esteem, to reduction in crime and anti-social behaviour – that sport and physical activity can bring. However, without opportunities young women struggle to reap these benefits. Us Girls brings sport and physical activity opportunities to girls who perhaps haven’t had the chance before, and I’m sure many will take this opportunity with both hands.”
Barbara Keeley MP, Sport England Parliamentary Fellow for Women’s Sport, said: “I am very keen to see girls and young women in cities like Salford and nationally taking up more sport and fitness activities. There are many barriers to this and the costs of participation are becoming a stronger reason for not taking up sport or fitness activities. I know that it is worth overcoming the barriers and I hope many MPs will join Tracey and I in supporting the work of the Us Girls initiative in their constituencies.”
Jane Ashworth, StreetGames CEO, said: “This cross-party support from Barbara Keeley MP and Tracey Crouch MP for StreetGames’ Us Girls initiative provides a ringing endorsement of the work we are doing with young women and girls. At StreetGames we believe that all young people should have access to sport regardless of their socio-economic background. Us Girls will provide opportunities to the group of young women and girls that sport has traditionally found to be the hardest to reach – those from disadvantaged communities.”