Newspaper Article

National: 'Uncool' gym kit puts girls off school sport: Olympic star Kelly Holmes wants better clothing to keep teenagers on track

Asthana, Anushka

2008

Overview

What girls wear 'is the main area that needs to be tackled and may help lower teenage dropout rates from physical activities', she said. 'Modern teenagers need to feel comfortable, so they are less conscious of their body image. Primarily they want tracksuits for outside activities and to cover their legs, hoodies for team sports and colour-coded T-shirts. The colours that have come out on top have been black with pink writing or logos.' 'It was really revealing and see-through,' said Rebecca O'Rourke, a 14-year-old pupil who led the campaign. 'A lot of the girls did not feel confident in front of the boys, they were down about their body image. It was not something we would ever wear outside school, so why in it?' Instead the girls can now wear black three-quarter-length tracksuit bottoms or shorts with thick blue T-shirts and hoodies with pink writing. 'There has been a massive change,' Rebecca said. 'The girls who are overweight or underweight have taken to the new uniform because it hides their body and they feel more confident.'

• Publisher: Guardian News & Media Limited
• Subject: Holmes, Dame Kelly