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What Girls Wantin Sport Uniformsto make them feelcomfortable and confidentto participate in sport:A National StudyThe research team acknowledge the Office for Women in Sportand Recreation, Victorian State Government for allowing the samesurvey conducted in the Victorian study to be applied nationally.
The StudyParticipation in sport is lowfor girls and has been fordecades. Young males(15-17 years) are three timesmore likely than youngfemales to engage in60 minutes of exerciseeach day.1Qualitative research suggests thatfeeling self-conscious in sport uniformsmay be one reason why adolescentgirls drop out of sport.2 This is the firstnational study to adopt quantitativemethods to determine girls’ preferencesfor sports uniforms. We found thatgirls need to be provided with flexibleoptions of uniform styles that are madefrom comfortable material and designedfor girls. Findings from this study couldenhance school and sport club uniformpolicies for girls when playing sport orbeing physically active to assist with theirconfidence, feeling comfortable andand readiness to participate.Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2019. “National Health Survey: First Results nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4364.0.55.001 2017-18 Main%20Features Physical%20activity 115.1Slater, A., and M Tiggemann. 2010. ““Uncool to do sport”: A focus group study of adolescent girls’ reasons for withdrawing from physical activity.”Psychology of Sport and Exercise 11 (6):619-626. doi: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2010.07.006.22What Girls Want in Sport Uniforms to Make Them Feel Comfortable and Confident to Participate in Sport: A National Study
Our Respondents727 Australian girls completed asurvey to share their thoughtsand beliefs about sport uniforms.Findings reveal of these girls:82% participatein extra-curricularschool sport,63% live in capitalcities in Australia82% are active on atleast four days perweek77% attend a mixedgender school3% representAboriginal and/orTorres Strait Islander,Outside of school,Netball (41%),Swimming (32%),and Australian RulesFootball (24%) are themost commonly playedsportsOutside of school,Walking for exercise(68%), Jogging (44%)and Gym/Weighttraining (33%) arethe most commonlyperformed activerecreation94% in club sport56% believe theirbody size is withinnormal range5% speak secondlanguage at home,9% identify as LBTIQ What Girls Want in Sport Uniforms to Make Them Feel Comfortable and Confident to Participate in Sport: A National Study3
Girls WANTto wearThe following preferences areidentified for sports uniforms:ShortsT-shirtsDark colours88% prefer to wear shortsduring school sport90% prefer to wear t-shirtsduring school sport85% prefer to wear shortsduring sport outside of school85% prefer to wear t-shirtsduring sport outside of school61% prefer to wear darkcoloured bottoms duringschool sport64% prefer to wear darkcoloured bottoms duringsport outside of school“I would prefer towear dark blue orblack shorts.I have white shortsnow and everymonth I get reallyconcerned aboutleaking and thatpeople can seetoo much”4What Girls Want in Sport Uniforms to Make Them Feel Comfortable and Confident to Participate in Sport: A National Study
Girls DO NOTwant to wearThe majority of girls prefernot to wear skirtsNo Skirts65% do not want to wear skirtsduring school sport58% do not want to wear skirtsduring sport outside of school“The skirt is short and makes me feel selfconscious when jumping and moving”What Girls Want in Sport Uniforms to Make Them Feel Comfortable and Confident to Participate in Sport: A National Study5
States &TerritoriesAcross Australia, views are similarabout sport uniforms, howeverstatistically significant differencesare evident:Girls from NT (16%) are less likelyto prefer to wear tracksuit pantsor leggings than girls from other statesand territories, and are consciousof suitable fabrics“Our sport uniformkeeps the sweatin the material soit smells really bad.Because we livein Darwin yousweat a lot moreand the fabric isway too thick”Girls from WA (53%) are less likelyto prefer wearing singlets for sportoutside of school, compared with thehigher percentage of girls fromVIC (63%) and NSW (72%)1/36From NT (40%) are happy to wearsport uniforms that are similar to boys’uniforms, compared with girls fromTAS (13%)What Girls Want in Sport Uniforms to Make Them Feel Comfortable and Confident to Participate in Sport: A National Study
AgeSocial IdentityGirls of different agesfeel differently about theirbody image.Includes girls who identifiedthemselves as an Aboriginaland/or Torres Strait Islander,LQBTIQ , have a physicaldisability, speak a secondlanguage at home, or haverecently arrived as a refugeeor immigrant.*“I need somethingthat is comfortableand doesn’t show offmy body”Girls from social identity groups enjoysport 7% less than girls who do not identifythemselves in these groupsGirls from social identity groups are 12% lesspleased with how their body looks and 14%less pleased with how their body performsthan girls who do not identify themselves inthese groupsOlder girls (15-18 years) had 7% lowersatisfaction with the appearance of their bodythan younger girls (12-14 years)“Sport uniforms are too schoolfocused and not equal for femalesand LGBTIQ people. Boys get towear looser clothing and girls arewearing tight things that basicallyshow off curves and the femalebody. LGBTIQ people may notidentify as any gender so what dothey wear? It’s all very stupid forme. Let people wear what theywant to wear”*T he number of girls from each social identity groupwas too low to facilitate individual analysis.What Girls Want in Sport Uniforms to Make Them Feel Comfortable and Confident to Participate in Sport: A National Study7
Recommendationsfor sport uniformpolicies376% of girls want their sport uniformto make them feel ready to play,26% of girls report feeling fashionableis the least important feeling that theyseek from sport uniforms.Supply uniforms with materialconsisting of three main features:Hides sweat(90%)Stretchy(81%)Dark coloured(64%)Girls want a range of sport uniformoptions - not one type of clothingsuits all girls.Allow the freedom to choose from a range of sportuniform designs (65%). Sport uniform options enablegirls to feel empowered,to have a choice on whatthey want to wear.“I would like to wear a shirt that doesn’talways get soaked in sweat and shorts thatdon’t stick to your butt when being active”“I am so sick of having to wear“unisex” sports shorts that we allknow are designed for boys, notgirls. They are totally unsuitable forgirls who have hips (which in highschool, is nearly all girls), they aretight on my buttocks so people cansee my undie line, and are extremelyuncomfortable to move in”38Provide uniformsdesigned for girlsand are not unisexdesigns (61%)“Shorts that fit our body(hips and thighs) and singlets that fitour top half (breasts and stomach)”Percentages represent girls’ agreement with descriptor statementsWhat Girls Want in Sport Uniforms to Make Them Feel Comfortable and Confident to Participate in Sport: A National Study
What Girls Want in Sport Uniforms to Make Them Feel omfortable and onfident to Participate in Sport: A National Study 3 Our Respondents 727 Australian girls completed a survey to share their thoughts and beliefs about sport uniforms. Findings reveal of these girls: 82% participate in extra-curricular school sport, 94% in club sport 56% believe .
