Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week - Student Feature!

To celebrate Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week, we hear from one of our dancers!

• What sports and physical activity do you currently participate in?

I've been coming to RMB Dance since I was 4 years old and I now take 3 classes a week: ballet, street dance and acro. I also play basketball 3 times a week and do drama at school.

• What is your favourite thing about dance?

My favourite thing about dancing... in street steppers, is that it's energetic and high tempo; for ballet, I like the movement; in acrodance, I like how flexible you can get - it keeps me flexible but you have to keep trying or you can lose flexibility.

• Why do you like being active?

I like being active because it's good for my body, it's fun and I like using energy.

• Why do you think it's good to be involved in sports and physical activity?

It's good for your health, you meet other friends that you don't get to meet in school and it becomes your community. You get to learn something while making friends. It's something you can stick with for life.

• If someone was nervous about starting a new sport or physical activity, what would be your advice?

My advice would be that you just try and if it doesn't go well, take a break and try again another time. Maybe that day something wasn't going right, so maybe try again another day. Maybe try an activity you know someone else in, or haven't tried yet.

• Why have you stayed in dance and basketball?

I really like the sport basketball and the community, I like who teaches it - they're not too strict - they try to help me so that I can do cool stuff.

I've stayed in dance because it's a fun activity and I've learned a lot of moves that I now like and are really cool. I like constantly learning new moves and learning more about dance. I like Rachel because she's really supportive and we can earn medals. She makes sure we really have the skills before we get the medal; she helps us get it just right.

• Do you think you'll still participate in sports and physical activity when you're older?

I could see myself still playing basketball and dancing when I'm an adult, like my dad and mum. My parents are into dance and basketball and when I was younger, I wanted to be like them and try it. They inspired me.

• Do you think everyone should try to be active?

I think everyone should try to be active. Not everybody has to be in the same activity - it's good to be different. Some kids in school have great potential for basketball but they don't want to be in it and that's cool.

• What opportunities do you get in school?

In school we all learn basketball and Scottish Country Dancing; I think everyone should learn physical activities in school. I think PE should help them figure out what they're best at and what they like best.

• Does dancing help you in basketball and does basketball help you in dance?

Yes, I learned to side-step in dance and can also use it in basketball. I think playing basketball is also good for my dancing because of the movement. The way you move in basketball relates to Street Steppers.

• What do you think about women and girls being involved in sports and physical activity?

I feel like there are not many girls and women in sport. In my school, most girls are into drama and choir and a few are into dance. I feel like if there were more girls in sports, more would join. When I started on my basketball team, I was the only girl in the group, but now there are more. It's easier to join when you see other girls around. So I think we should get more girls involved in sports and dancing through primary schools and maybe that will make more girls come, which builds an even bigger community. And maybe that means someday more women in sports.

• Are there any extra benefits to the activities you participate in?

Some other things that are good about dance and basketball is that it's not just practice - you get to have extra experiences. For dance, we get to have performances and it's just amazing! In basketball, you get to go on a coach to another bit of Scotland and play games with your team and hang out on the coach.

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Thank you to our dancer for the amazing interview! There are so many sports and physical activities on offer in Scotland, so why not give one a go and you may find a new passion!