Chamber and committees

I want to pick up on that. I am a Stranraer lass and I now live in Dumfries. ITV Border is our go-to channel for curling and for the Solway Sharks Ladies ice hockey team. I am interested in whether you track the data that Catherine Salmond talked about, regarding digital access online. You are right that the area is different; rugby is just massive in Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders, for women and men, and ice hockey and curling are also big. Do you monitor or track what people are watching on the telly?

Picking up on Tess White’s point, I see women pundits on the telly who were previously professional footballers or rugby players. Is there an opportunity for people who have played sport—professionally or otherwise—to enter a career in journalism? How would they go about doing so? Would they need to have a degree or qualification? If so, would that be at college, university or postgraduate stage? What opportunities do women who have retired from professional sport have to become journalists?

I am looking first at Margaret Mary Murray, because she is nodding.

Okay.

I propose Clare Haughey as convener.

Thank you and good morning. It is nice to be here. I have no interests to declare.

I was reading over the weekend that the Norwegian beach handball team was fined for not wearing the regulation bikini, because they came out to play in shorts. The bottom line was that they had campaigned for 15 years not to wear bikinis, because sometimes they fall down or slip up and are not comfortable.

There have been issues with regard to the uniforms that are supposed to be worn and what might be available. I have also been reading about sports hijabs for women and allowing women to choose what to wear so that they can be comfortable and participate in sport. That sort of thing seems to be growing among women who, for instance, want to align with the teachings of Islam.

Lee Craigie talked earlier about how clothing is only pink, purple or some colour in between. What are your thoughts on the availability, comfort and sizing of clothing, and what we need to support the participation of women and girls, especially adolescent girls, in sport?

I am interested in the use of social media in that regard. For instance, when the Dumfries Ice Bowl recently hosted an ice hockey world championship, I put stuff up on Facebook about the Solway Sharks Ladies ice hockey team. I am interested in Lee Craigie’s perspective on that, particularly in relation to the gravel championships, which are not as tough as mountain-biking events but are still pretty tough. What are your thoughts on the use of social media as a way to widen the visibility of women in sport?

I will go specifically to Connie Ramsay because she is fae Tain, which is pretty rural, and because Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders, which are in my region, are outside the central belt. My simple question is: what are the challenges in getting young women and girls to participate in sport in rural parts of Scotland?

I am not sure who will want to answer that. I will go to Eilidh Doyle first.

Sure. I want to ask about the clothing issue that Lee Craigie brought up, but I can come back to that.