May 19, 2015, by Lee Chrimes

This Girl Can Campaign goes viral at 2015 Nottingham Varsity Series

The 2015 Nottingham Varsity series may have been hotly contested, but there was one thing University of Nottingham Sport and Nottingham Trent Sport set aside the rivalry for – the first ‘This Girl Can’ Varsity campaign.

Aligned with Sport England’s smash-hit ‘This Girl Can’ advertising promotion, the Nottingham Varsity version set out to use a high-profile event to celebrate all female students in Nottingham enjoying keeping active, no matter what sport or level. At each women’s Varsity fixture, the teams chose an individual from the opposing side who best exemplified a strong role model enjoying her sport. For example, the player performing best in the game, leading their team or loving every single minute of the game.

All sports took part, from Women’s Football at Meadow Lane to Dodgeball at Clifton Campus. The two winners were presented with limited edition Varsity Series sweatshirts during the post-match ceremony. The recipients posed with the official Nottingham Varsity ‘This Girl Can’ frame, with all the photos posted online as part of the event coverage.

For the students spectating and following online, both UoN Sport and NTU Sport ran a hugely popular Twitter competition. Girls were asked to send in their #ThisGirlCan photos of them enjoying keeping active, and the best were selected to win a limited edition Varsity sweatshirt. Co-ordinated by a team of Student Ambassadors from both universities, the campaign reached thousands of students across the different Varsity fixtures as well as on social media.

Samantha Bell-Minogue, Assistant Director of Sport at The University of Nottingham, commented: “The ‘This Girl Can’ campaign has been hugely popular at the 2015 Nottingham Varsity series, and has really highlighted just how many girls love their sport here, whether they are competing in front of thousands at the Capital FM arena or taking advantage of our beautiful campus to go for a jog with their friends.

“It’s been really valuable to celebrate, together with Nottingham Trent Sport, all the strong female role models here in Nottingham who are enjoying keeping active.”

For those girls looking to get into sport at The University of Nottingham, the new Engage programme offers friendly sessions to fit in with busy schedules. Weekly activities run across all three campuses in a variety of sports, and the emphasis is on fun, drop-in activities open to everyone.

For more information on how to get involved, visit nottingham.ac.uk/sport/getinvolved/engage

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