Laia Palau, capitana de capitanas
“Si tú cada día le pones pasión a las cosas que haces, seguro que te devolverá algo, por lo tanto #LoInteligenteEsSeguir”.
Always see it in English
Basket Girlz: Learning beyond the court
The Basket Girlz project was created to help ease the problem of teenage girls giving up basketball at an early age. Our aim is for future generations to continue to enjoy sport and cultivate the positive values that practising sport brings to their lives.
The context
The potential of basketball to transform
Our relationship with basketball began in 2011: A bond that has been growing over the years to become the main engine behind Spanish basketball.
What began with the creation of the Endesa League and a relationship with the Spanish Basketball Federation and the National Teams, has developed into so much more: NBA, Spanish Euroleague and EuroCup teams, Spanish Federation of Sports for those with Physical Disabilities, the new Endesa Women's League, etc. we now have a 360-degree relationship with the Basketball Lover community.
But our commitment goes beyond sport: We share basketball's values because we know they make us better as a society: Companionship, altruism, responsibility, discipline, empathy, teamwork.
We understand the potential of this sport to transform, not only in physical development but also as a source of self-esteem, autonomy, personal satisfaction and an environment for learning moral values where equality and integration are an essential factor. That is why we are concerned about data reflecting the large percentage of teenagers giving up sport, especially in the case of young women.
This is the framework that gave rise to Basket Girlz, a project that asks what is behind this reality so as to understand its complex causes and to act as a starting point to revert this trend.
The project
Why do girls give up this sport?
The BasketGirlz program, supported by official bodies like the Superior Sports Committee, the Spanish Basketball Federation and Universo Mujer, is a project to learn about and address the causes why girls between the age of 12 and 18 are giving up basketball.
Basket Girlz is looking to find out why women stop practising sport when they are still teenagers so they will be able to have an influence on aspects that will enable future generations to continue to enjoy what sport, specifically basketball, gives us, and to continue cultivating the positive values that practising sport brings to players.
Under the hashtag #LoInteligenteEsSeguir, Basket Girlz begins with a study led by sports psychologist Mar Rovira with surveys received from 634 coaches, both men and women, and players, both those who are still active and those who have retired. A report that includes in-depth analysis of the reasons for giving up sport at an early age, as well as proposals to reverse this situation.
Download the full report on the Basket Girlz website.
Testimonies
What is basketball to you?
Basket Girlz is based on data regarding the relationship of teenage girls to sport collected in a report by the psychologist Mar Rovira, but it also features the personal stories of 24 women for whom basketball played a key role in their lives beyond the court.
Meet Anna Montañana, former assistant coach of Montakit Fuenlabrada. She started playing basketball when she was very young and from the beginning it was very clear to her that she wanted to be a coach. Despite the barriers, Anna knew how to ignore them to keep moving forward on the path she dreamed of.
“#LoInteligenteEsSeguir because there will always be barriers, and we all have them, but no matter what, we have to move forward".
"There are women in basketball because we are ready for it".
– Anna Montañana, former player and former assistant coach of Montakit Fuenlabrada.