I came to WSFF as an intern just over a six weeks ago, after spending a few months post-university flailing around in panic at the prospect of ‘real life’. So far my time here has reassured me that actually, maybe it’s not so scary after all. The plan is to update this blog regularly to give an idea of what a day spent as an Intern at WSFF is like. 

Because I’ve started it a few weeks into my internship I’ll give you a flavour of some of the things I’ve been involved in so far… as I learnt on my first day, this isn’t the kind of internship where you’re stuck on the tea-run.

WSFF were going through an important office move when I arrived – therefore I have done everything from helping move boxes to being given my own projects to work on now that we have settled in. The research that WSFF do into the commercial value of women’s sport is really important because it is used to show sponsors that it is a worthy investment. I’ve been helping Tim (Head of Policy) out with the new research being conducted, and have been given my own project to find and compile a selection of various sponsorship opportunities currently out there in women’s sport, so that investors are more aware of what’s available. Hopefully they will be more disposed to provide sponsorship when armed with the knowledge the booklet will give them!

Another really interesting project I’ve been involved with has been with Virginia, the Schools Partnership Manager. This has been great because it shows a whole other aspect to the work WSFF does – starting right at the root of the various problems girls and women face in sport and trying to tackle them at this important stage. My project is focussed particularly on looking at the barriers facing girls with a Black and Minority Ethnic background – it’s been found that it is especially hard to increase participation within these groups.

These projects have been interspersed with smaller research jobs or helping update our database. One particular research task stays with me – finding all sorts of statistics and facts about “Why Exercise Matters”.  It really does matter, I quickly realised. You also can’t hang around in an office of people who are so passionate about sport and fitness (Radha on her swiss ball taking the office to her “Body Pump” classes on my right, Leora getting down to prove she can do 20 press ups on my left) without getting involved in physical activity yourself.  Therefore I can safely say that as well as giving me valuable skills and developing me into a more able person, WSFF has probably added a couple of extra years onto my life. Thanks WSFF!

I also feel lucky to have been taken along to lots of meetings and events, (trying to absorb as much as possible), even going into Parliament to sit in on an APPG (with another one coming up in a few weeks!) The Women’s Sport Network event was a highlight for me; great to be able to talk to interesting people over free wine, but even more exciting to feel a part of the buzz that WSFF had helped create around women’s sport. I came to WSFF through a belief in equality, and it definitely helps coming to work knowing you might be doing something to help, and that the people around you want to help too.