Coinciding with Women’s Sport Week (3-9 October) British Triathlon is pleased to announce that women’s participation in the sport has reached an all-time high.
Women’s Sport Week, a Sport England campaign, aims to raise awareness and increase the profile of women’s sport across the UK. To show support, British Triathlon is hosting a number Women’s Triathlon Training days alongside ‘Getting Women into Triathlon’ workshops to encourage even more females to take their first steps in the sport.
Since April 2012, the number of female Home Nation Association members has increased by 86%, with recent figures showing that 50% of GO TRI registrations are females. In addition, 30% of qualified triathlon coaches are women, compared to a national sporting average of 17%.
Women’s Sport Week is also an opportunity to showcase the female athletes who are at the top of their game. Having collected four Olympic and Paralympic medals between them, and a host of ITU World and ETU European titles, British Triathlon’s elite females have achieved unprecedented success in 2016.
Rio Paralympic Silver Medallist, Lauren Steadman, said: “It’s fantastic news to hear so many more women are taking up triathlon. I believe there are around 1200 events every year in Great Britain, so there is plenty of opportunity to set a goal for next spring and have a go. Triathlon offers a huge sense of achievement, whether that’s competing at the highest level, or crossing the finishing line at your local race.”
British Triathlon Women’s Participation Lead, Jenny Vincent, said: “We’re proud to be supporting Women’s Sport Week 2016 and celebrating the diverse range of females we have involved in the sport.
“We are experiencing a growing interest in triathlon following our women’s success at the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games, along with an increase in participation opportunities.”
“We hope to see these numbers continue to grow over the coming year as we provide more specific chances for women to give tri a try.”
For more information on how British Triathlon are supporting Women’s Sport Week 2016, please visit britishtriathlon.org/womenssportweek.
