U16 Thunder softball team huddled up at practice (Photo courtesy Teagan Rasche)

By Teagan Rasche

Sports build confidence, connections

Dropping out: 1 in 4 girls won’t be returning to sports post-pandemic, study finds

Jul 27, 2021 | 3:00 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – It’s all smiles as the U16 Thunder softball team is back to a somewhat normal season.

It’s been a tough year for the girls without their competitive and social outlet. Most are multisport athletes and say this part of their lives is so important to them.

“It’s honestly really helpful with my mental health and honestly makes me get grades in school,” Madi Perry said.

But a recent study found one in four girls won’t be returning to sports after the pandemic.

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“Everyone has the potential here, anywhere around the world,” Thunder player Camryn Burgevitz said. “They have the potential to play D1 sports or professional and it’s sad those girls are dropping out way too early.”

The study, released by Canadian Women & Sport, unfolded over many months. CEO Allison Sandmeyer-Graves says the results reinforce how important sports are for girls.

“Missing sports in their lives has meant broken connections with friends, struggling with mental health, and one might assume but it really showed up in the data, the physical aspects as well,” Sandmeyer-Graves said.

She adds many girls aren’t feeling fit and the lack of confidence in their post-pandemic bodies is keeping them on the sidelines.

Multisport athlete Sarah Pimblett couldn’t imagine a life without sports and she feels sad for the 350,000 girls who aren’t returning to play.

“I think they’re forgetting what sports brings to your life and you’re going to be losing that,” Pimblett said.

Medicine Hat Panthers Track Club head coach Sonya Brown isn’t surprised by the study. Brown says there are a variety of reasons, but the biggest being finances and confidence.

“You put those barriers in place and a year-long pandemic where they haven’t been active and aren’t participating, their confidence level is just gone so far down,” Brown said. “In addition to that, they lost that social interaction which is the number one reason why girls participate in sport.”

KidSport Medicine Hat and Redcliff has seen firsthand the impact those barriers can have but are offering support to families who need it.

“KidSport Alberta does offer $300 per child per season for registrations to help cover those registrations for sports,” said Niki Gray of KidSport. “We are here in the community for Medicine Hat and Redcliff to try to break down those barriers.”

Other ways to encourage girls to stay in sports is by making practices fun, not focusing on physical appearance or changes in skill level and by being active yourself.

For athletes on the fence about playing again, softball player Albany Mastel says it’s not too late.

“Without sports, your life would be so different and for so many people to stop doing it, it would just change your life completely,” Mastel said.