Femme Open UK is to raise funds for girls’ padel sessions with a star-studded event on International Women’s Day (Friday 8 March) at The Hurlingham Club in London.
The event will be attended by TV presenter Gigi Salmon, TeamGB hockey international, Sophie Bray and British No.1 Tia Norton, and will involve a thought-provoking panel discussion about the barriers women face in sport.
The event is a precursor to the Femme Open event taking place at The Hurlingham Club in June, in partnership with The Hurlingham Foundation, which will also raise funds for extending padel provision for girls.
Femme Open UK plans to use funds from both events to offer primary school aged girls free padel lessons, starting this September. The company recently hosted its first ever junior event at The Padel Hub in Slough offering a free taster session for girls who wanted to try out this inclusive sport.
The Femme Open brand was initially formed in Sweden in 2018 to provide a way for women to play padel, stay healthy, have fun and make friends.
Head of Femme Open UK, Pep Stonor, commented: “Despite padel being incredibly inclusive and accessible as a sport, there are still fewer girls and young women taking it up than men and boys. Obviously, there are multiple reasons why this might be but providing free access to lessons is a great first step in encouraging girls to give padel a go.
“The Femme brand was set up to provide a place for women to feel comfortable in sport, providing networking opportunities and a place where healthy, friendly rivalry could take place on court, and friendships be built off court.
“We are aware of the power of sport to transform lives, and are committed to promoting the physical and mental benefits of being active. Femme Open has always welcomed women from all walks of life to join the community and so it’s important we engage girls too as the evidence is clear that active girls become active adults.”
