This Girl Can and Our Ambassadors Making Activity More Accessible for All
We proudly champion women’s active lifestyles working with This Girl Can; a Sport England initiative that celebrates and supports the many real ways women get active. Supported by National Lottery funding, the campaign combats barriers to participation by promoting the message that every way of moving counts.
The programme encourages women to integrate activity into everyday life, whether cycling to work, trying a new sport, or moving in ways that feel right for them. The campaign’s core belief is that there is no single right way to be active, all movement benefits health, confidence and wellbeing.
This Girl Can celebrated its 10th anniversary in January 2025. A key part of the campaign’s success in Somerset has been the involvement of local ambassadors, who share their personal journeys and inspire others across the region. We hear from ambassadors recently and when they first engaged with the campaign, 10 years ago.
Lorraine, This Girl Can Ambassador:
I have always wanted to be more active than I was and when I was asked to help be an ambassador ten years ago it was a real kickstart for me doing more and I will be forever grateful to the This Girl Can campaign for bringing other women into my life through it, for helping me encourage others to get active and for making me do more than I ever have.
Since becoming an ambassador, I have started a female cricket team, played in an all-female rounders team, taken up a small group strength class and a ladies only bootcamp every week and I even completed the London Marathon and that is without mentioning how much I love paddleboarding in the summer or skiing in the winter. As a working, busy mum of boys my life always left little time for me but when I actually focused on creating pockets of time I could see how important that was to my mental and physical health and that I always felt better having done some kind of activity – even if just a dog walk with friends.
Susie, This Girl Can Ambassador:
When the 'This Girl Can' campaign was launched 10 years ago my daughter was 16 months old and I was really trying to find time for myself alongside having two young children and running a business. Putting myself first was always hard as life had so many obstacles. That is something that hasn't changed over the past 10 years…children grow up and businesses get larger and the time to prioritise time to be active remains difficult. Women are always juggling so many things and that's just a fact of life. As we grow older the balance becomes different not less.
Exercising with my daughter now feels like a full circle from 10 years ago…she now inspires me to get outside and move more. I want to do everything I can to encourage her to keep being involved with sports and activities at school and beyond and to keep doing them despite the distractions of exams, friends and in time boys!!! As she begins to get buried by life's others priorities, I will always remind her (as well as myself) to take time out to be active, to breathe, to sweat, to move, to prioritise ourselves! I hope that we can inspire each other as a mum and daughter team. I know I can, I know she can - This Girl Can!!
Claire, This Girl Can Ambassador:
“I am nowhere near fit or have the perfect body but I enjoy it, I do it for me. I don't do it for my children or anyone else, just me. One hour a week is mine.
Our team entered the Taunton Mixed Social Rounders League last year and we held our own, we are a ladies team and played mainly against mixed teams. At first I was very self-conscious playing against men but now I don't care.”
Megan, This Girl Can Ambassador:
“As a consequence of the campaign, I'm now impressed with myself if I have a sweat patch showing because I know that I've worked my chunky and funky butt off for it and I don't care what anyone else thinks. Looking back, I wish that I had taken this approach to physical activity as well as general life sooner.”
Kate, This Girl Can Ambassador:
“I am living proof that small changes can make a massive difference to your physical and mental wellbeing. All a girl needs is the support of her family and friends and the belief that she can do it. As Poppy said to me "if you believe you can do it Mummy then you can" and I did #ThisGirlCan.”
Luisa, This Girl Can Ambassador:
“What a shame then that it has taken me 37 years to finally feel comfortable and confident. So confident, in fact, that my life has changed beyond belief in the past 12 months!”
Justine, This Girl Can Ambassador:
“After doing a couple of run leader courses with SASP I have now run 4 beginners running groups for women, helping them achieve and seeing how elated they are from exercising is my biggest motivation. I felt like I wasn't good enough to be a run leader but SASP showed me it’s never about being the best but about being the best for you. I will never be the fastest or breaking any records, but exercise for me is all about helping your mental health.“
Our This Girl Can Ambassadors have helped:
- Break stereotypes about who participates in sport
- Encourage more women to try activities without fear of judgement
- Share accessible, relatable experiences that connect with the community
What’s next: SASP will continue to support This Girl Can throughout Somerset, utilising our In It Together Somerset (https://www.facebook.com/InItTogetherSomerset/) campaign to raise awareness, ensuring that women and girls have more opportunities and confidence to be active in ways that fit their lives.
About This Girl Can: This Girl Can, funded by The National Lottery, believes that there's no right way to get active – if it gets your heart rate up it counts. And we want more women to find what's right for them.