The BSB Erasmus+ group is working on a collaborative project designed to help young female athletes to succeed in pursuing high-level athletic achievement alongside their educational needs. The research, entitled Personality – Perseverance – Practice – Protection – Promotion is a joint effort involving schools, sports clubs and governmental organisations from Denmark, Sweden and Cyprus.
With support from the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme, the research aims to explore the tendency for young high-level athletes – particularly girls – to drop out early in their dual careers. In addition, the project seeks to examine the importance of good governance, to develop support for parents of young athletes and to look into how schools and sports clubs can encourage greater participation in sports while balancing educational expectations.
Over the past few months, participating organisations have been conducting an online survey with female students aged between 14 and 18 currently engaged in competitive sport. The results have already shown interesting differences across the countries surveyed, as well as common factors.
The next phase of the project is being spearheaded by BSB. The school has developed a set of interview questions to be asked of female students who have recently dropped out of competitive sports. These face to face interviews will be conducted by each organisation in the run up to Christmas.
As soon as travel is permitted again, a third stage will see participating organisations meeting in Denmark. Each group will take two girls currently involved in competitive sport who will be given opportunities to spend time together. Also on the agenda are individual interviews and group brainstorming sessions.
The information gathered across all phases will be hugely beneficial to the project as a whole, and BSB specifically, in helping young sportswomen to get the support they need.
Erasmus+, now in its seventh year, is the European Union programme for education, training, youth and sport. One of its key aims is making sport available for everyone, recognising its power to bring people and communities together. BSB is proud to be involved in this vital research project and we are excited to see where the findings of Personality-Perseverance-Practice-Protection-Promotion will take us in the future.