Here come the girls...

Women have been making waves in the fitness industry for years – who could forget the lycra-clad fitness guru of the ‘80s, Jane Fonda, or the BBC’s ‘Green Goddess’, Diana Moran?

But what of the ‘real’ women, both in front of, and behind the scenes in the fitness industry? As Sport England’s ‘This Girl Can’ campaign continues to gather pace, we talk to Tracey Thake, Marketing & Communications Manager at fitness equipment supplier, Matrix Fitness, to discover what else is being done in the spirit of ‘girl power’.

With government investment in projects designed to tackle physical inactivity said to be in excess of £1bn, it’s hoped that campaigns specifically targeting the female population will make a measurable difference, but is promotion of ‘real’ women the way forwards?

The scale and impact of physical inactivity among women in the UK is well-documented; with over a quarter classed as inactive1, and so any action designed to tackle this issue is to be applauded, but it goes without saying that it’s not the only answer.

As children we are encouraged to emulate positive heroes, and there is a great deal of merit in having female sporting role models to aspire to, which was the basis for our ‘Team Matrix’ ambassador programme.

As a stakeholder in the fitness industry, we have a commitment to helping to engage people in physical activity, and with 2 out of 3 young people believing that top sportswomen are better role models than other celebrities2, we were quick to realise the positive impact that sports sponsorship could have on this end goal.

Our first venture into the sponsorship arena came through investment in the ‘Vision 1’ female cycling team back in 2009. Former Commonwealth, Olympic, and World Road Race champion, Nicole Cooke, headlined, providing inspiration for younger riders like future star Dani King.

We continue to support the cycling team – which was awarded pro status in January 2015 – and its current squad, including Laura Trott, MBE, (a ‘Team Matrix’ ambassador in her own right), in addition to female talent including Sally Gunnell, OBE and Dani King, OBE.

We receive many requests from sports stars and teams who wish to become part of ‘Team Matrix’, but we are very clear that we’re not just looking for poster boys and girls. A key element of the programme is for our ambassadors to be accessible to our customers and the wider community, working with us to ‘normalise’ sporting activity and inspire others to pursue their own sporting goals.

SO YOUR FOCUS IS ON THE CREAM OF THE CROP?
Far from it; we remain steadfast in our support for grassroots activity too, as not only does this help the athlete at a crucial point in their career, but over the long-term has the potential to demonstrate how success is part of a journey, which in itself is inspirational. Dani King, MBE is a case in point. As a young rider, Dani joined the Matrix Fitness sponsored ‘Vision 1’ racing team, honing her craft with subsequent Matrix Fitness development squads before progressing to the world stage. Olympic and World Championship titles followed, plus recognition from the Queen for her services to cycling. As a ‘Team Matrix’ ambassador, Dani regularly gets involved with community projects that seek to inspire the public to get on their bikes.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR THE AMBASSADORS?
Obviously there is a financial reward, and that’s important. Women have a considerable way to go before their earnings are on a par with their male counterparts, due to the disparity between commercial investment in men’s and women’s sports.

Too many elite sportswomen are forced to juggle their sporting career with a full-time job, but how can we expect to engage young girls in sport if we’re sending out the message that we don’t respect their talent enough to let them pursue it?

Female athletes need commercial investment both to enable them to achieve their potential, and also to ensure the existence of role models for future generations, and we are proud to play our part in that.

WHAT ABOUT THE NON-FINANCIAL REWARDS?
Research suggests that “women’s sport accounts for just 7% of total sports media coverage – for television this figure is 10% and for national newspapers it is 2%.4” We’re working with our partners to increase representation through the media – a prime example being our activity to support women’s cycling by securing coverage of the Matrix Fitness Grand Prix Series on ITV4.

WHAT IS YOUR INVOLVEMENT WITH THE WOMEN’S SPORT TRUST (WST)?
We entered into a partnership with the Trust in 2014, as their work is very much aligned with our own ambitions to raise the visibility, and increase the impact of, women’s sport. The Trust offers a platform for strong, diverse role models to help realise the value of sport; something that our newest ambassador, Laura Trott MBE, will be lending her support to.

As part of our involvement with the Trust, we are proud to be sponsoring the ‘Ambassador of Women’s Sport’ accolade in their forthcoming #BeAGameChanger Awards, and we are delighted to announce that Matrix has been nominated in the ‘Sponsorship of the Year’ category, which recognises the vital role of sponsorship in raising the profile, and increasing the impact of, women’s sport.

DOES YOUR SUPPORT FOR WOMEN EXTEND TO FEMALE REPRESENTATION IN THE MATRIX WORKPLACE?
It certainly does. It’s not just sporting bodies who are increasing the number of women on their board; we now have equality for men and women in our top team following the promotion of Sarah Hitchcock to Chief Operating Officer, and Jo Rich to Director of Key Accounts. In addition, our senior management team is dominated by females; many of whom have risen through the Matrix talent pipeline.