The Charter aims to inspire an industry-wide commitment to developing a more inclusive culture within golf around the world and enable more women and girls to flourish and maximise their potential at all levels of the sport.
Adoption of the Charter requires signatories to build on and develop initiatives which will focus on encouraging more women and girls to play golf and stay within the sport as members of clubs, while also empowering women to enjoy successful careers working within the golf industry.
As The 148th Open takes place in Royal Portrush this week, Ulster University is celebrating its position as Northern Ireland’s go-to university for golf. The Coleraine campus is the official host of The Open Camping Village and the campus is abuzz with all things golf-related.
Ulster University has a well-established and successful Performance Golf programme in place and is one of only 17 Institutions in the UK to have its golf activities funded by The R&A. The programme supports high level student golfers with individual performance plans to fulfil their sporting and academic potential. The university also plays a key role in golf sector through its innovative teaching and cutting-edge research in the fields of sport science and sports psychology, life and health sciences and tourism and marketing.
In signing the Charter, Ulster University is committed to:
- Working with The R&A and key stakeholders to develop and deliver innovative programmes to increase awareness, participation and performance levels of women and girls in golf within and beyond the University.
- Creating Women in Golf Ambassadors within the University to help encourage and inspire women and girls to engage in a range of golf focused development initiatives.
- Promoting the health benefits of participation in golf for women and girls through the development of resources and activity programmes on and off campus.
- Increasing the number of female students supported annually through our Performance Golf Programme with enhanced opportunities to access appropriate coaching and competition.
Niamh Lamond, Chief Operating Officer at Ulster University said:
“It is an honour to be the first university to sign the Women in Golf Charter. We are proud of our long-standing relationship with The R&A through our cutting edge research in equipment development and performance measurement, as well our Performance Golf Scholarship.
“Diversity and inclusion are placed at the heart of the culture at Ulster University and as a signatory of this Charter we are committed to supporting and inspiring women in golf.“The eyes of the world are watching The Open held at Royal Portrush Golf Club and as a civic university we are focused on ensuring the lasting legacy of this opportunity is realised and the impact will be recognised for women in golf and golf in Northern Ireland for years to come.”
Jackie Davidson, Assistant Director - Golf Development at The R&A commented:
“We are delighted that Ulster University has committed to the Women in Golf Charter and become the first university to do so.
“It is so important for the Charter to reach higher education institutions as we aim to increase the number of women and girls participating in golf and to encourage more opportunities for women to work and volunteer within the sport overall.”Ulster University’s commitment to a range of initiatives is a great example to other institutions in the education sector.”
Ulster University has been working closely with The R&A in the build-up to The 148th Open to promote the sport and in particular to encourage young women and girls to get involved with golf.
The University partnered with MasterCard to deliver their signature STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) education programme “Girls4Tech” in conjunction with the R&A on the Coleraine campus. As well as encouraging girls to consider STEM careers the participants were also given the opportunity to experience golf related coaching and activities with the aim of encouraging and enabling more girls to get involved in the sport.