Growing female participation in padel: how a women-only session inspired a new group of players & coaches
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On Thursday 31 October, the LTA, WimX Learning and Legends Padel came together to host a Female Participation Day to help empower the female padel workforce and inspire a new group of players.
30 female padel coaches and players took to the courts at Rocket Padel Ilford for a female-only coaching and networking event, delivered by LTA Head of Education and Qualifications Jo Ward.
Female participation numbers in padel are not equal to males – a trend that is also reflected in competitions and across the workforce as well. This event aimed to address the key barriers that prevent women from joining the sport to open it up to more players and coaches.
Eight existing padel instructors were invited to the venue for a morning of upskilling, which allowed them to expand their coaching skills, experience and importantly, confidence. They were then given the opportunity to put their learnings into practice as they delivered a coaching clinic to a large group of female padel players aged 60 and over.
The players in attendance gained valuable tips ahead of the Seniors padel tournament at Stratford Padel Club the following day. For many, this was their first taste of padel competition – fuelled by the confidence taken from the coaching sessions the previous day. 16 individuals and eight pairs entered the over 60s draw in Stratford – making it the largest tournament in Great Britain to date for that age group.
The event received an overwhelmingly positive response from both players and coaches, with attendees coming away feeling confident in delivering a coaching session.
“The day was a fabulous opportunity to put into practice the skills we've learnt on the Level 2 LTA course under the expert guidance of coaching gurus Jo and Helen”, said padel instructor Vanessa North Pantin. “I particularly liked having time to go through what we were going to deliver for the ladies in the afternoon. Coaching women is different from men, and it was a privilege to be part of the day yesterday.”
The event was delivered in partnership with WimX Learning and the Legends Padel Tour – a calendar of tournaments and coaching camps that have been created for over 60s to provide them with sufficient experience to be able to adapt to the sport.
Sally Fisher, GB Seniors player and co-founder of Legends Padel Tour added, “The LTA’s involvement in our Legends Padel event was game-changing. For everyone, it was a day filled with laughter, new friendships and a great focus on padel excellence. Huge thanks to Jo Ward for her leadership of such an impactful collaboration and event.”
Meanwhile, LTA Padel Manager Steve Yeardley, who was also in attendance at the event, added, “It was brilliant to host 30 ladies at Rocket Padel Ilford earlier this month. The LTA hosted this day in collaboration with WimX Learning and Legends Padel, with the aim to remove barriers, increase visibility, and make it more accessible for females to deliver padel sessions both competently and confidently.
“We very much look forward to hosting more support days like this in the near future to continue to provide interventions for these barriers.”
