College has said that it is proud to announce the launch of its Women in Sport campaign, marking a ‘significant step towards inclusivity and gender equality in sport at Trinity’. The campaign, initiated in response to Sport Ireland’s Women in Sport Policy 2023, aims to spotlight areas of improvement for female participation across all sports and physical activity at Trinity College Dublin until 2026 in line with ‘Realising Potential: A Strategy for Sport at Trinity 2022 – 2026’.
The Trinity Women in Sport campaign was launched on Wednesday, 7th February at Trinity Business School where the campaign objectives and deliverables were presented, and a panel discussion was moderated by Michelle Tanner, Director of Sport and Physical Activity at Trinity and included panellists Trinity Student Athlete and International Cricket Player, Leah Paul; President of Trinity Rugby, Moira Flahive; Women in Sport Lead at Sport Ireland, Hannah Craig and Trinity Community Athletics Hub Co-Ordinator and Trinity Women’s Soccer coach, Cameron Molloy Moules who shared their stories and insights.
The Trinity Women in Sport campaign objectives are; spotlight improvement areas by identifying and addressing key areas for enhancing female participation in sport and physical activity in Trinity, and to establish sustainable structures for growth in female sports participation by creating and implementing sustainable sports structures that ensure continued growth for female participation, extending beyond 2026.
Hannah Craig, Women in Sport Lead, Sport Ireland commented, “A positive step and key milestone taken by Trinity Sport to recognise the need to develop, implement and embed a Women in Sport campaign linked to their overall Sports Strategy. Even more impactful as the campaign actions are aligned to the 4 pillars (visibility, active participation, leadership/governance and coaching/officiating) of the Sport Ireland Policy on Women in Sport. I truly believe everyone in our society should have the opportunity to benefit from sport; our duty is to ensure there is a place and space for all to participate and flourish through and in sport. I hope to see other third-level institutions follow Trinity’s lead and that Women in Sport simply becomes how we do sport in Ireland.”
Lorraine Leeson, Associate Vice Provost for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Trinity College Dublin said, “The Women in Sport Campaign at Trinity Sport is an important and welcome initiative to promote active participation, pipeline development, and leadership opportunities, all things we are truly committed to here in college. A strategy like this is key to helping us work intentionally to ensure that women are seen and heard in all aspects of sporting life. This campaign not only supports Sport Ireland’s Women in Sport Policy but also our institutional Athena Swan Gender Equality Plan.”
Michelle Tanner, Director of Sport and Physical Activity, Trinity College Dublin commented at the launch event, “Our new women in sport campaign is driven by a commitment to spotlight areas of improvement for female participation across all sports and physical activities at Trinity until 2026. Our vision extends beyond the immediate horizon…establishing sustainable sports structures that ensure continued growth for female participation, not only until 2026 but well into the future.”
She continued, “Tonight’s event is not just a launch, it is a commitment. A commitment to realising the potential within every female student athlete, a commitment to inclusivity, and a commitment to gender equality. I would like to extend my thanks to everyone who has contributed to this initiative. From our panellists, sport clubs, students, to our dedicated team at Trinity Sport and to all of you who have joined us tonight, your support is instrumental in making this vision a reality. I look forward to the impact we will collectively make through the Trinity Women in Sport campaign.”
The Trinity Women in Sport campaign focus areas and deliverables are based around ‘leadership and governance’, ‘active participation’, ‘visibility’ and ‘coaching and officiating’.
The ‘Leadership and Governance’ deliverables are;
- Conduct a review of the Dublin University Central Athletic Club (DUCAC) executive committee to ensure there is adequate gender balance.
- Consult all sport clubs that are structurally split by gender (currently 6 clubs) to identify potential governance changes that would adequately promote female sport clubs.
- Conduct focus groups open to all sport club members to gather student feedback on participation opportunities, accessibility, visibility of women in sport and coaching and officiating opportunities.
- Conduct a review of female coaches employed across all sport clubs and identify coaching and leadership opportunities to promote a sustainable pathway for female coaches.
The ‘Active Participation’ deliverables are;
- Conduct a review of the existing participation pathway and highlight opportunities to increase female participation across existing and new programmes.
- Launch the Trinity Coaching and Volunteer Academy to broaden coaching, volunteering, and leadership opportunities for women in sport.
- Increase opportunities for female participation in sport and physical activity broadly by 20%
- Conduct a university wide sport and physical activity interest survey to outline interest areas for female students and staff.
The ‘Visibility’ deliverables are;
- Launch a marketing campaign to coincide with all sport club, high performance, and participation activities.
- Launch a social media series to showcase female sports clubs and participation programmes.
- Pitch and promote Trinity female sport student athletes to national, online, and regional news media to ensure media coverage of female athletes is increased.
- Launch a dedicated section on the Trinity Sport website showcasing the women in sport programme.
- Publish written news articles and interviews with female sport student athletes or female sport clubs’ achievement which will be published on the Trinity Sport website.
The ‘Coaching and Officiating’ deliverables are;
- Conduct a review of female coaches employed across all sport clubs and identify coach education & leadership opportunities to promote a sustainable pathway for female coaches.
- Launch the Trinity Coaching and Volunteer Academy to broaden coaching, volunteering, and leadership opportunities for women in sport.
The campaign reaffirms Trinity College Dublin’s commitment to fostering a more inclusive, empowering, and diverse sports environment. For more information visit Trinity Sport – Trinity College Dublin (tcd.ie) and Women in Sport | Sport Ireland.
