Women in Sports Network Ghana in collaboration with the Ghana Tennis Federation is organizing a 12-day tennis training and knowledge enhancement program for girls between the ages of 10 and 16 at the Accra sports stadium.
The event dubbed The Girls’ Camp , under the theme “Mentoring the Next Generation of Women Achievers through Sports and Education” will commence on Monday, August 20th 2018 and end on Friday, August 31, 2018.
According to Philippina Frimpong, “young girls will develop high aspirations when they are exposed to other women who have overcome all challenges and made it” she went on further to say that “through sports girls can receive education, develop self esteem and other life skills that would come in handy some day in their lives” it is understood that the Network of women seek to address some of the misconception that surround women and young women participating in sports.
It is a widely held view shared by mostly parents that sports is not an avenue for women to progress and become successful. She indicated that some adverse effects of growing up, such as teenage pregnancy and other unfavourable situations are being faced by quite a large number of girls in the nation can be addressed with sports.
It is in view of this that the Women in Sports Network in collaboration with Just Because Fitness, J Initiative, McDan Group of Companies, Tennis Foundation Ghana, Tenof and the Ghana Tennis Federation have joined forces to organiz the training and knowledge enhancement program to prove to these young ones that indeed women can make it even in the field of sports.
The knowledge enrichment aspect of the Camp will see the participating girls take and educational trips to institutions where women have risen to the top and participate in decision making. Institutions such as the Ghana Naval Base in Tema will hopefully expose the girls to Service women who work on the ships and the Air Force Base should bring our girls face to face with female pilots in the service. The girls will visit media houses to interact with some female sports journalist.
Also there will be speakers from the University of Ghana, Legon who will educate the girls on scholarship opportunities within and outside the country that are available to women in sports. The other session will comprise tennis training to enhance the skills of those who are already into tennis and to also build up those who have the interest in playing tennis but have not yet started learning to play.
It is hoped that the misconception that sports is not an avenue of progress for women will be cleared by the end of the fourteen-day residential program.
Organisers have assured that next years’ event will feature girls from a different region.