An initiative to provide free annual sports bras and fittings to 16-18 year old girls could go on trial in six Sheffield secondary schools.
Rosie Halsall, 18, from Upperthorpe, Sheffield has been campaigning for this scheme to boost female participation in sports and protect their long-term health.
Miss Halsall, who competed for Team GB at the 2023 Junior Roller Derby World Cup, met with Abtisam Mohamed, Labour MP for Sheffield Central earlier this month to discuss her idea.
Miss Halsall said: “Our main goal is to prove that on a small level, [the scheme] works because obviously there’s a cost we wouldn’t want to have if it didn’t work out.
“We’re really lucky to have people who are willing to financially fund it and we’re currently trying to get that kind of contract and partnership to work.”
In the long-term, the scheme could relieve costs for the NHS by acting as a preventative measure against health conditions like osteoporosis – a health condition which weakens the bones and is highly prevalent in women. The disease costs the NHS £4.6 billion annually (UK Parliament, 2022).
Miss Halsall said: “If [the scheme] was to go national, hopefully the short-term cost would be outweighed by the cost that it saves on the NHS. If you get more people active, hopefully less people are going to have to put strain on the NHS because of things like osteoporosis.”
In October, Miss Halsall won a policy competition run by the youth-orientated think tank Politika, which helped propel her campaign.
Miss Halsall, who currently competes for Sheffield Steel Roller Derby, grew up in a low-income family with three other siblings who played in the sport. She always bought her kit second-hand.
She hopes that making sports bras more accessible for young girls will help alleviate financial pressures that families experience.
Miss Halsall said: “It was definitely community which meant that I could continue playing in the derby.
“When it comes to this campaign, it is about making sure no matter who you are, no matter how big your community is, you will always have the support to be able to have a sports bra and play sport.”
The pilot scheme is hoped to begin from September 2026.