Written By: Will Smith
On Date: 26/7/2017
Fishing has joined up with This Girl Can, the celebration of active women that aims to inspire females to exercise. In recent weeks the Angling Trust's "Get Fishing" campaign has backed This Girl Can by promoting the fact that women of all ages can take part in the all-inclusive, healthy, family friendly and accessible sport of angling, from grassroots right up to elite level.
In the latest move which will boost an interest in fishing, angling is now included among This Girl Can's outdoor activities at www.thisgirlcan.co.uk/activities alongside football, golf, tennis, rugby, cricket and other sports. By connecting with This Girl Can, angling has become part of one of the most powerful sporting campaigns which has contributed to the gender gap between men and women exercising regularly falling from 1.78m to 1.73m, and has seen over 660,000 tweets about #ThisGirlCan.
Kate Dale, This Girl Can campaign lead commented: "We are really happy to support Angling at This Girl Can, it's a great outdoor activity that is accessible for girls and women of all ages. We hope that the Angling Trust's Get Fishing campaign will help more people have the confidence to discover the benefits and pleasures of fishing."
The Get Fishing campaign which last year gave 35,000 people a chance to try angling, connected with the This Girl Can Team to produce a set of brand new posters that show how diverse angling can be - these can be downloaded at www.getfishing.org.uk/this-girl-can-go-fishing. The posters and Get Fishing's social media have seen a spike in interest in women going fishing and have raised awareness of the proven health benefits of angling. More people now know that fishing can be an active sport involving a whole range of low, medium and high intensity physical activity and that it's a great way to de-stress, develop coordination, strength and a competitive streak.
Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency which funds the Get Fishing campaign through fishing licence sales, said: "Angling is a healthy outdoor sport connecting people with nature, but it also creates over 37,000 full time jobs and generates over £1 billion for the UK economy. The support of This Girl Can is fantastic news for everyone who enjoys angling and wants to see the sport flourish in the future."
Fishing events can be found at www.getfishing.org.uk where taster-sessions are available to come and enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits that millions of people get from fishing each year.
Bev Clifford, Angling Trust Ladies Carp Team England Captain and angling publisher said: "To have angling included in the This Girl Can website is fantastic news. Over recent years with more females choosing to participate in angling, this involvement will help raise even more awareness of the benefits and enjoyment of angling as an outdoor sport and celebrate ladies being on the bank. I started fishing at a young age and this set me off on a lifetime of amazing angling experiences resulting in a successful career in angling. I'm now a proud gold-winning angler at international level and encourage more females to go fishing - angling is good for you."
Marina Gibson, licensed angling coach, and fishing guide said: "Recent months have seen great coverage of female angling in national press and on TV. This is really encouraging during a summer filled with other high profile sporting activity. Having angling recognised as a diverse, active and exciting pastime that can be enjoyed by all women is a great boost to this wonderful sport and I welcome more females to join me at the waterside."
Jo Stephenson, Semi-Finalist on BBC2's The Big Fish said: "It is such awesome news that This Girl Can is now on board to promote ladies angling and now with their support there's no stopping us! I'm super passionate about encouraging more ladies to get involved in fishing, to come and cast a line and feel and see the benefits of spending time by the water. Angling is not only about strength or endurance, these come into it but just getting out there, spending time in nature and going fishing is incredibly helpful to so many people who juggle busy lives."
Notes for Editors:
The Get Fishing campaign is run by the Angling Trust to increase the number of people being introduced to angling across the country. Anyone interested in going fishing can find angling events at www.getfishing.org.uk The events listed are for all participants regardless of gender, age, fitness or previous angling experience.
Contact and images for this press release: Will Smith, Angling Promotion Manager, Angling Trust | will.smith@anglingtrust.net | 07432 426 339
The Environment Agency funds the Angling Trust to provide more opportunities for people to go fishing. Money from rod licence sales is spent on improving angling habitat and infrastructure through projects like the Angling Improvement Fund. www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency You can get a rod licence to go fishing at www.gov.uk/fishing-licences/buy-a-fishing-licence Rod licences for those aged 16 and under are now free.
This Girl Can is a celebration of active women who are doing their thing no matter how they look, how well they do it, or even how sweaty they get! This Girl Can exists to empathise with all women and inspire them to exercise regularly. www.thisgirlcan.co.uk
Contact: Joanne Drapier | joanne.drapier@sportengland.org
Sport England is committed to helping people and communities across the country create sporting habits for life. It funds the Angling Trust to strengthen resilience in angling's core market by supporting people to keep fishing, and to deliver an England Talent Pathway to competition. www.sportengland.org
The Angling Trust is the National Governing Body and representative organisation for coarse, game and sea angling in England and Wales. We campaign to protect the water environment and fish stocks, promote participation in angling (particularly to under-represented groups and those from deprived backgrounds) and organise national and international competitions. www.anglingtrust.net
Bev Clifford, Ladies Carp Team England Captain, Carp-Talk owner and Angling Trust Ambassador can be contacted at: bev@carptalk-online.co.uk
Instagram: @bevclifford
Marina Gibson, qualified angling instructor and angling guide can be contacted at: marinagibsonfishing@gmail.com
Instagram: @marinagibsonfishing
Jo Stephenson, Semi-Finalist on BBC2's The Big Fish, fly-tyer, angling guide and Angling Trust Ambassador can be contacted at: jostephensonfishing@gmail.com
Instagram: @jostephenson_fishing
This email was sent by the Angling Trust, the national representative body for angling in England and Wales.
Find out more at www.anglingtrust.net
Angling Trust Limited is a company limited by guarantee, company number 05320350.
Angling Trust & Fish Legal, Eastwood House, Rainbow Street, Leominster, HR6 8DQ. 01568 620 447
This Girl Can... go fishing!