New advice to those looking to engage with specifi c audiences

A report by This Girl Can and Our Parks is offering new guidance and advice to sports clubs, organisations and volunteers looking to get underserved communities get involved in sports and become more physically active.

Called Inspiring More Inclusive Physical Activity Interventions, the report presents the learnings from a free nine-week exercise programme called Couch to Fitness. It was aimed at beginners and built on the insight of the This Girl Can (TGC) campaign into the deep-rooted inequalities that persist in sport and physical activity.

Funded by Sport England, Couch to Fitness helped people build confidence in their ability to be active from the safety and comfort of their own home, with workouts available online and on demand. It was designed specifically to reach culturally diverse and lower socio-economic groups, who both had a greater increase in inactivity than White audiences during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

The new report outlines the learnings from the programme and includes practical and creative ideas for building and promoting a digital offer for underserved communities.

Born Barikor, founder of Our Parks, said: “Couch to Fitness has been a game-changer for our mission to make physical activity accessible to everyone.

“It has allowed us to remove more of the barriers that stop people getting started.”