Women and Girls’ Golf Week starts today across Great Britain and Ireland to raise awareness of the fabulous female side of the game. The week, which coincides with the Ricoh Women’s British Open and the English girls’ championship, continues until Sunday and is the inspiration of England Golf.
It is an online campaign to celebrate the successes of women and girls in many different roles in golf – and to challenge misconceptions. It starts by introducing three amazing career women and inviting women and girls everywhere to join the conversation by sharing their stories with #WhyIGolf The career women, who tell their stories on the England Golf website, are:
Rebecca Hembrough, England Golf’s Women’s Performance Manager. Her job is to help develop the top players in the game so they can be the best they can. She reflects on golf, career and maternity leave! Read Becca’s story
Chloe Gallagher is an assistant greenkeeper at Sunningdale Golf Club. She tells how she took a chance on a job and has travelled the world, worked at the Open and the Ricoh Women’s British Open – and has a date at the Ryder Cup. Read Chloe’s story
Emma Ballard is a marketing manager and she talks about her career, about changing the image of the game and how social media expertise helped her create a great success story with Get into Golf. Read Emma’s story
Tomorrow it’s the turn of volunteers and we’ll hear from, among others, Maureen Clarke, a championship referee who has been volunteering for almost 40 years, and Ella Baker, age 12, a Young Ambassador for England Golf and the Golf Foundation.
The week has the support of Scottish Golf, Wales Golf, the Irish Ladies Golf Union and The R&A and is designed to unite the golf industry behind the aim of growing the women and girls’ game.
There will be a different theme for every day with amazing people being featured. Here’s the plan for the rest of the week:
- Tuesday: Volunteers, the hidden heroes behind the game
- Wednesday: Health & Wellbeing, including celebrities who love the game and why
- Thursday: Performance opportunities for young and aspiring players
- Friday: Participation focus on key areas of the programme nationwide
- Saturday: Championships key events and pathway for progression
- Sunday: Round-up the week’s activities and highlights
Women and girls everywhere are invited to join the conversation on social media using #WhyIGolf and the response in the run-up to the week has been excellent.
Lauren Spray, England Golf Women and Girls’ Manager, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the interest in the week and by the number of women who want to get involved, either by spreading the message or by telling their stories.
“We’re very excited about this week and look forward to many more women and girls joining us – and to hearing from clubs which are running events for women and girls. We’re also delighted to be joined by the other home unions, making this a truly collaborative campaign.”
England Golf and the other home unions, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, have pledged their support for The R&A’s Women in Golf Charter, and this week is one example of their involvement
The Charter was recently launched with the aim of inspiring an industry-wide commitment to a more inclusive culture, enabling women and girls to flourish and reach their potential at all levels of the sport.
Visit www.englandgolf.org for more information
England Golf WAGGweek
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