The LESS4MORE project: Scope and Objectives

The goal of the project is to improve women participation in sport and thus, gaining gender equality through sport, trying to reduce all kind of gender discrimination and to empower women through practicing physical activities to a better and ambitious social integration.

The focus of the project will be divided in two areas:

• first to attract more women to sport, by offering adequate opportunities and games and
• second to form women coaches and sport instructors committed to support the principle of equal opportunities and equal representation in sport.

That means the project will target women in search of new possibilities to express themselves, to boldly engage for an active life. The project also addresses the social inclusion of women from disadvantaged groups as ethnical minorities, migrants, trans and gender-diverse people as well as physically challenged women. In order to achieve this objective, the project is seeking to:

a) engage women in regular physical activity through an innovative multidisciplinary indoor/outdoor sport program that encourage participants to have fun and feel challenged
b) train women coaches in in a modular cascade training, with the goals that coaches will become experts in the 3 different disciplines and acquire the natural ability to build relationships to support women groups, in this sporting context.

Target groups and project final beneficiaries:

- women, aged 20-45 interested in sport for an active living and socializing, but with fewer opportunities;
- women from disadvantaged groups (minorities, migrants, physically challenged), with the intention of social integration and/or rehabilitation;
- women sport instructors, coaches and social workers lacking awareness, information and coherent education regarding gender issues;
- sports clubs and associations involved in feminine sports;
- local authorities: to adopt special plans on women participation in sport;
- governing bodies: to adopt a coherent policy for encouraging women participation in sport and physical activities, fighting all types of gender discrimination.

The 4 assets and differentiators of LESS4MORE

1. First one is the experience of two partners, VIDC and Pythia, in working with migrants and refugees in social integration through sport, most of their participants being women.
2. The second one is ASCG partner expertise in organizing sport events for corporations, as project is also going to implicate women professionals in companies and corporations to focus on sport for women, starting from the selection of activities and finishing with better communication channels that are working efficiently for women. We are not just going to offer sport to women, but we will make it attractive and addictive.
3. The third differentiator is the introduction of catchball, a new sport that is dedicated for women, which will create a sport community that can expand very quickly, the main reasons being: easy to play, no need for special skills, no contact with the opposite team, so it is a much safer sport then others, it creates team spirit and bonding.
4. Finally, the project will implement a pilot action for affiliation and advocacy programs for sport clubs, federations and associat ions, on women inclusion through sport, developing an online community of women, sport fans, sport professionals, able to tackle any kind of gender discrimination in sport.