MSP’s Visit Carnegie Judo Club As Part Of Their Inquiry Into Female Participation In Sport And Physical Activity

Last week the Cross-Party Health, Social Care and Sport Committee visited Fudog Martial Arts and Carnegie Judo Club with Fighting Chance Project (Scotland) in Dunfermline as part of the Inquiry into female participation in sport and physical activity.

The Committee’s inquiry into the health and wellbeing of children and young people highlighted a significant decline in participation of girls in sport and physical activity as they reach adolescence. This can have a significant negative impact on their physical health and mental wellbeing. Based on these findings, the Committee agreed to undertake an inquiry into sport, looking specifically at barriers to female participation, including the intersectionality of additional barriers to participation, such as ethnicity and disability.

The visit was made by members of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee Gillian Martin MSP (Committee Convener), Evelyn Tweed MSP, Stephanie Callaghan MSP, Gillian MacKay MSP and Tess White MSP supported by Ewan Masson (Participation and Communities Team), Heather Galway (Assistant Clerk to the Committee) and Sarah Swift (Scottish Parliament Information Centre). They spent time hearing the opinions of females and young people from across the various classes taught in the dojo, including Team Scotland Birmingham 2022 athlete Kirsty Marsh as well as former performance judoka, Connie Ramsay and Kirstene Feenan.

Jim Feenan Director at The Fighting Chance Project (Scotland) and Head Coach at Carnegie Judo Club said “We were delighted to host Gillian Martin and her cross-party team to the dojo and the chance to speak to a representative group of women and girls from the local area.  This was a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase the benefits of judo and other martial arts in helping improve participants overall physical and mental health. For sure, there was quite a buzz as our guests left.”

If you would like to find out more about the work of Fighting Chance Scotland click here.

Photo Credit: Ross Hart from Dunfermline Press and Dave Wardle