Promoting the positive role of women in sport is seen as the key objective in boosting participation and success of the fairer sex.

Sports Minister Dale Butler announced last week that the Women in Sport committee report had been accepted by Cabinet and was now being circulated, with the Ministry charged with implementing the eight recommendation areas.

And for chairperson of the Women in Sport committee Brenda Dale, promotion is the key to success.

?If you look at the newspapers and on TV, the number of pictures and stories about women is far less than those about men,? said Dale, whose committee of 11 members were put together in 2002 and completed the report in January.

?We have to work on promoting females in sport. If young girls see that girls and women are participating in sport, then they will be encouraged to do so themselves.

?Promotion is what we see as our biggest challenge.?

Recommendations from the 39-page report, also cover leadership development, participation development, elite level participation, education, research, sports facilities and funding.

?Many women participate in sport in many different ways in Bermuda ? from recreational activity, to coaching, to playing a key role in sports administration,? reads the report.

?However, the accomplishments of these women are rarely known. Promotion of these activities in Bermuda will provide encouragement and role models for the many girls who want to participate in sport but are prevented from doing so by fear, embarrassment, low self-esteem, lack of funds and other reasons.?

Dale cited the recent Virtual Spectator Bermuda Masters squash tournament as the ?perfect example? of a sporting body taking the role of women in sport seriously.

?They put on a ladies exhibition game on finals day and gave away complimentary tickets to young girls, like gymnastic and brownies groups, which shows how seriously they take the role of women.

?I hope to see other sports take a similar approach.?

Dale also called for better research into the state of women?s sport in Bermuda, including better statistical records of female involvement by sport?s governing bodies.

?Having established a set of recommendations, it is important to ensure that progress is measured, reported and celebrated,? the report concluded.

?An annual report should be compiled to highlight the progress that has been made. Good practice amongst schools, clubs, sports governing bodies and Government should be identified and the most innovative and creative initiatives to address the issue should be disseminated and promoted across Bermuda.

?It is recommended that Government establish a permanent women?s sport committee or appoint an advisor to assist the Minister of Youth, Sport & Recreation to make decisions which affect women involved in sport.

?And it is recommended that all levels of Government and sporting umbrella groups need to be encouraged to take into account women?s needs and commend such action when it occurs.?

Director of Youth and Sport Tony Roberts said he ?fully supported the recommendations? and would be looking to oversee their implementation in both the short and long terms.

?Encouraging female participation in sport has to begin at the grassroots at to that end we will be meeting with the various entities involved like the schools to try and see this facilitated,? continued Roberts, who pointed out that even before the report was commissioned, Bermuda was found to have females account for more than 25 percent of those who played sport, compared to ten to 12 percent for the UK and Canada.

?We have sent this report out to national sporting governing bodies and we are talking to the National Sport Centre Trustees about trying to implement some of the report?s recommendations when it comes to the final phase at the NSC, the centre core.

?I think there is a lot of good substance in this report and we will work to see the recommendations are put into practice for the good of women in sport and Bermuda sport in general.?