Sportswear and lingerie brand Freya Active has teamed up with England Netball to launch a roadshow to encourage women to get back into netball.
As part of the ‘Back to Netball’ 2012 Roadshow, the sport will be promoted throughout the UK across a number of regional Olympic events and at dedicated London Live events in Hyde Park and Victoria Park.
Indeed, Freya ran a one off roadshow on 17 March at the National Schools Netball Tournament to market the brand via promoting the importance of a sports bra to players. More than 650 players (under 19s and under 17s) attended the event at Basildon Sports Village
Freya offered all those taking part free sports bra fittings in a customised Freya Active bra booth. The objective was to educate players about the benefits of wearing a sports bra and to highlight the importance of proper support.
Players were also able to check whether they were wearing the correct bra size for their shape and were also given a range of sports bra and breast health advice.
‘When playing sport, correct sports bra support is so important and are working hard on getting this message across to the younger generation. Taking part in the National Schools Netball Tournament was a fantastic opportunity for us to be a part of, we were able to educate and introduce many young people to sports bras and the benefits of wearing one,’ commented Manley. ‘With such a high number of schools in attendance from nearly every UK region, we hope the message of wearing a sports bra during exercise will be taken more seriously and be given more consideration in future.’
Freya Active is the Official Sports Bra Supplier for England Netball and as part of its supply deal the brand has a presence at all England Netball events and also has its branding on the England Netball Squad kit.
Back To Netball is a regional programme offering a netball introduction/reintroduction for 16-plus women. The scheme’s objective is to encourage those who are no longer playing to get active again and participate in sport.
The programme follows Sport England research showing that more than 338,000 women in the UK no longer play any sport at all. Yet, despite the number of women playing sport substantially diminishing, netball has gone through a resurgence in popularity in the last three years with a 15% rise in participation.
According to the study, ‘confidence’ is now a major barrier to activity, as well as ‘not knowing about opportunities’ to play and struggling to afford the ‘cost’ and dedicating the ‘time’ necessary.
Ann Marie Manley, head of marketing at Freya Active, says: ‘We’ve launched the get 2012 women ‘Back to Netball in 2012′ campaign to try and win women’s love of sport back. It’s about the only sport which women haven’t dropped and there is a reason for that.’
Those taking part become registered as an England Netball Back to Netball participant. This gives them access to information and support from England Netball about how to set up a team or club, local leagues, coaching and umpiring courses and funding and personal insurance (as well as a quarterly digital ‘Netball’ magazine).
Comment:
Freya Active, which launched in 2008, sees this deal as part of its ongoing strategy of educating women about the importance of sports bras.
It seems an appropriate time for the brand to launch the roadshow, as, with the Olympics Games in the UK this summer, public levels of interest in sport is at a recent high.
Back to Netball aims to provide a platform to leverage this interest, particularly for those looking to get fit but who want to avoid paying high gym fees (sessions start for as little as £2). It also aims to offer flexible timed sessions and provide a way for women to socialise (many new teams are being created following the sessions).
The sponsor also looks set to benefit from other netball associated factors. Not only is the sport growing in the UK, but its Superleague is now being shown on Sky Sports and there are major events coming up in the near future as well as the Olympics such as the Commonwealth Games and the World Netball Championships.
Links:
http://www.englandnetball.co.uk
http://www.englandnetball.co.uk/my-game/back-to-netball
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