England Hockey, the ECB and England Netball have announced that they will be working together on a landmark project called Team Up for the upcoming home Women’s World Cups.
The next three years are a unique period for women’s team sports. England will host three consecutive Women’s World Cups; 2017 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, 2018 Women’s Hockey World Cup and the 2019 Netball World Cup.
All three National Governing Bodies are working together to build a fan base for women’s team sports and host the best possible World Cups, not only with packed crowds but also by maximising on the legacy they leave behind.
The initiative was launched at a special event at the finals day of the Hockey Champions Trophy, with Alex Danson and CEO Sally Munday representing England Hockey. This a significant date as it is exactly one year to go until the start of the ICC Women’s World Cup in 2017 and we are really looking forward to what we can collectively achieve for women’s sport.
It is vital that we use the World Cups to develop a participation legacy for our sports and we recognise that schools play a large part in the development of a sporting habit for girls. Since London 2012, hockey participation has grown hugely, and today’s announcement is another milestone for the sport.
As part of this Team Up project we want to support schools to deliver our sports to ensure all girls get the opportunity to take part and love playing a team sport.
To do this we are currently developing an affinity scheme in which we want schools to sign up to be a ‘Team Up School’ and through this scheme we will provide support in the form of resources, training, as well as a number of other ways in which they can build up affinity points towards ‘golden ticket’ opportunities such as being ball girls for a World Cup Final!
If you know anyone interested in becoming a Team Up school, please register an interest here to be the first to find out more!
Report courtesy of England Hockey
