Call for women and girls to Join the Movement

Treasurer and Minister for Sport, Curtis Pitt, has launched the Queensland Government’s new Join the Movement campaign urging women and girls across the state to become active and healthier for life. 

Mr Pitt said Join the Movement, part of the government’s sports encouragement Start Playing Stay Playing initiative, would use popular social media channels as well as a dedicated website to inspire more women and girls to get active. 

“The aim is to motivate Queensland women and girls to try and overcome the barriers of everyday life to get active and improve their health and wellbeing,” he said. 

“Surveys suggest more than 40 per cent of adult women in Queensland are not undertaking enough physical activity to gain the associated health benefits. 

“Many men should also be more active, but historically men’s sports has received more exposure which has encouraged participation. 

“While women’s sport across many codes has been growing in prominence and should continue to do so, there are barriers facing women and girls such as time constraints due to competing priorities, suitability of facilities and programs, and their own levels of self-confidence.

“I believe Join the Movement is a big step forward in helping us achieve our goal of getting more women and girls physically active. 

“As the father of two girls, I want my daughters to be able to choose the sport they want to play and to have the confidence to pursue that activity with all they've got. 

“I encourage everyone to get on board with this campaign, connecting with like-minded women and girls, attending participation days, providing motivation and sharing ideas for getting active.” 

Mr Pitt said the government was passionate about increasing the participation of women and girls in sport and active recreation. 

“We want all Queenslanders to have the opportunity and the drive to get active for a healthy life – whoever they are, whatever their ability and wherever they live,” Mr Pitt said.

Mr Pitt said the Start Playing Stay Playing program aimed to increase and support the participation of women and girls in sport and active recreation.

“A number of women offered to share their own inspirational stories for the Join the Movement campaign, some of which feature in the campaign’s promotional video. 

“When the call went out for volunteers to feature in the video, more than 130 responses were received which is inspirational in itself and testament to the change in perception towards physical activity.

“Backed by an original song created by local artist MKO Sun, this campaign was made by Queensland women, featuring real Queensland women for Queensland women,” he said. 

• Connect with the Start Playing Stay Playing community by liking it on Facebook, following on Instagram, or through #JoinTheMovement or ‘#IMoveBecause.
• For more information on Start Playing Stay Playing visit: www.qld.gov.au/spsp
• To visit the Join the Movement campaign site, visit: www.jointhemovement.qld.gov.au 

Media contact: 0447 316 432