Summer of women’s sport

We have been treated to an amazing start to the incredible year in Welsh women’s sport, with the Cymru Women’s team reaching the Euros, their first ever major tournament. I don’t know if you have watched the documentary on iPlayer but their journey from playing Germany in a field in Haverfordwest with their audience in the tens and a few horses, to their qualification for their first major tournament with some amazing women in Laura McAllister, Jayne Ludlow and Lowri Roberts (and of course Jess Fishlock!) helping them to rise from the point of not having a women’s team at all, to competing at the highest level of international football.

It has been a huge rush to see the mass of Wal Goch supporters in red taking to the streets in Switzerland and the excitement making no distinction between the gender of the players.

Now, so excitingly, we welcome the Women’s Open to Royal Porthcawl from 30 July – 2 August. Darcey Harry from Dinas Powys, who last month won her first Ladies European Tour in the Hulencourt Women’s Open in Belgium, will take to her home course against 143 others at the 49th open here in Wales. It is the first time the competition has been held on Welsh soil and for us all to have the opportunity to watch golfers from all over the world in our own backyard.

Just weeks beyond this, the women’s Rugby World Cup is to be held just over the bridge in England. Tickets are still available for many of the matches in Bristol and the huge competition will see Wales take on Scotland in the Salford Community stadium on the second day of the tournament.

Only last week, we held an event with Glamorgan Cricket, as the women played Kent in a T20 fixture ahead of the men’s. The women’s team turning professional as the country’s first-class cricket team marks a major investment into women’s cricket at this level, and we know they’re passionate about the youth teams too.

The next challenge is how we ensure this focus lasts beyond the excitement of this summer of sport. As Cymru women’s Head Coach Rhian Wilkinson has said recently, her talented international side needs playing time throughout the year at club level. Five of the squad were unattached at the time of the tournament. A player can be fabulous but if they aren’t getting the time on the pitch throughout the year our side will not see the growth of the current players or the next generation.

And so as we celebrate our national sides and the focus on the huge summer of women’s sport in Wales and beyond, my caution is to not forget the need to invest and focus on women’s sport the rest of the year and remember that we still have a need to develop sport for our young girls moving forward, particularly at the community level.

We updated the Wikipedia pages of the Wales Squad before the Ewros and one story was repeated time and again, even with the youngest players: the brilliance of the girls shone out in the local clubs and then many of them had to stop playing in their area because there weren’t girls clubs available for them to move into in their older years.

 If we want international success on the world stage, we must invest in our women and girls in the community.