NETBALLHer Advisory Board Driving Change

England Netball has appointed 13 individuals to a new NETBALLHer Advisory Board which will guide the future of the initiative and contribute to shaping the broader sports landscape to better meet the needs of women and girls.

Over the last 20 months or so, NETBALLHer has emerged as a beacon of change towards empowerment and inclusivity for women and girls in sport, educating and supporting women and girls at all levels of sport about their female health across the different life stages and creating netball environments that are more supportive of female health and fit for purpose for women and girls.

The initiative was launched in April 2023 to better educate and support women and girls at all levels of the sport about their female health, driven by the knowledge that, whilst we know that netball enriches the lives of players aged five to 95, we cannot ignore that a number of life stages impact female lives both on and beyond the court. During these vulnerable times, women and girls are more likely to worry about showing up authentically, and stop playing just when they need support the most, with 69% of women taking a break from playing netball at some point in their life and 41% of teenage girls taking a break or dropping out of playing netball completely.

NETBALLHer provides expert advice, resources, infographics, and personal testimonies on topics ranging from pelvic health, puberty and the menopause to nutrition, bras and kit. England Netball staff, coaches, officials, volunteers and players across the country have embraced and embedded their learnings into their netball clubs, leagues and community programmes, creating environments in which players at all life stages feel educated and empowered to talk about their own bodies and female health in ways which they haven’t previously.

The creation of the Advisory Board marks England Netball’s commitment to continuing to drive transformative change for women and girls in netball and beyond, and the Board will continue to build on this with a focus on inclusivity, empowerment, and creating meaningful opportunities for women and girls through sport. In short, the Board unites an exceptional group of leaders with influence and experience working across grassroots sport, health, governance, policy, elite sport, law and advocacy, all of whom are dedicated to advancing opportunities for women and girls.

Chair of the NETBALLHer Advisory Board Kelly Gordon says:

“This is a pivotal moment for NETBALLHer. The Board, with its wealth of expertise and forward-thinking leadership, will play a critical role in pushing the boundaries of what is possible, not just in netball but in shaping the future of women’s and girls’ sports as a whole.”

Our very own Doctor Helen Kini is an Advisory Board member, and had this to share:

“As a GP, I look after a lot of women’s health throughout all the different life stages and I have been a massive advocate for physical activity of any type during those stages. I have seen a lot of the barriers that women face, both mental and physical. Over the last five or six years, I’ve become a lifestyle medicine physician through the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine. And that’s very much using the pillars of lifestyle, all the things that we’ve got within our control, – sleep, nutrition, physical activity, connection, reducing harmful toxins – to not only help with our health and wellbeing, but also to prevent and potentially treat chronic disease. And that fits into women’s health around managing menopause, managing PCOS, all the different things that women face and that can become barriers to physical activity.

The Board is so inspiring, and this is a real chance to have a wider conversation about system change, which netball has done on a deep level. It is really exciting. If we can show examples of what good looks like, that would be amazing; if we can communicate the good work that’s already been done and get to the harder-to-reach communities, people from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, who don’t necessarily have the same opportunities. People within those communities need to be sensitively approached if we want to encourage people into netball or into any physical activity.

Using the pillars of lifestyle medicine is a great way of allowing people to make small changes using behavioural science and techniques for the good of their own health, but also then to sustain them. And that creates a ripple effect where you are layering good habits on top of other habits.

Everyone gets bombarded with health information on social media, but we are very keen for people to become more responsible for their own health, things like knowing your blood pressure, being aware of even your waist circumference, your cholesterol, your blood sugars. Everyone’s offered a free NHS health check between 40 and 74 but not many people take that up. We just want to support people to be happier and healthier!”

To join England Netball in this movement, find out more about the different female life stages and how best to support women and girls in sport, visit the NETBALLHer website to find a wealth of articles, diagrams and videos from experts on topics that impact females at different life stages.

Exclusive to England Netball members, why not register today for the FREE NETBALLHer Learning Offer, an online course that allows members to upgrade their female health knowledge. The course is perfect for players, parents, coaches and any other supporters in the Netball Family who are regularly in contact with women and girls – including males.