London Sport and BPT Focus on Female Fitness Gains with Successful Pilot Programme

6 November 2023

In April 2023, Black Prince Trust was awarded funding from London Sport to deliver a 24 week fitness programme targeting young females ages 13-24. The programme was designed to provide young females with more opportunities to get back into physical activity through weekly sessions and help participants learn new skills to be able to workout at home.

As part of the programme, participants who attended 3 or more sessions were gifted free equipment packs consisting of 2kg dumbbells, skipping ropes, yoga matts, resistance bands, gym bags, leggings, and sports bras. In addition, participants were also provided with free access to Les Mills online content to help shape and inspire their home workouts.

To deliver this inspiring programme, Black Prince Trust partnered with local fitness providers, Criss Cross Active, and the Foundry Gym who delivered the weekly sessions.

In addition to the two weekly sessions (one for ages 13-17 and one for adults ages 18-24), over the summer, Black Prince Trust partnered with Greenhouse Sports and delivered three bespoke 3-week programmes to their female basketball, volleyball, and tennis programmes. These sessions were delivered by coach Tess Glynne-Jones, a personal trainer and online coach from the local area.

Coach Daniel from Greenhouse Sports said “the girls had an amazing time during their sessions at BPT. It was great to see them embracing new challenges and pushing themselves out of their comfort zone. The girls also had great fun using and learning about gym equipment and having the opportunity to do certain exercises that they wouldn’t have done before. The sessions were made even more enjoyable due to the encouragement and positive nature of Coach Tess who made the girls leave the sessions with a huge smile on their face and with a greater attitude towards exercise.”

On 13th September we delivered the final session of the Female Fitness Programme. In total, between May and September, 41 fitness sessions were delivered to young females. Following the successful delivery of the programme, Black Prince Trust are delighted to announce that the fitness sessions will be continuing in a slightly different format still delivering 2 weekly sessions, under 18 girls (Wednesdays 5pm to 6pm) and under 18 boys (Wednesdays 6pm to 7pm).

Black Prince Trust Programmes & Partnerships Manager, Diana Voynova, said “it has been great to witness week on week the growth of the programme and the impact it has made particularly to the younger age group. Due to the popularity of the under 18 sessions, we are continuing to invest in weekly delivery but with two under 18 sessions, one for girls and one for boys to meet known demand. We are dedicated to providing people of all ages and abilities with opportunities to be active and will continue to grow our fitness programme with more adult classes in the near future.”

If you want to find out more about our offering and how to get involved, please contact our team at community@blackprincetrust.org.uk.