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Over 250 people danced their way to a world record attempt the largest Zumba class at
the University of Canberra last week. The event was part of Sport for Women Day and
held conjunction with International Women's Day. It's not just a stunt, its an idea Zumba
is a great way to stay fit and healthy and that ties in with the goals that we have.
Some of Australia's leading female sport stars attended the world record attempt, including
University of Canberra arts student and Matilda's star Sally Shipard. It's all about like crumping
the chest and like moving the hips, not so good. I think the message will be that there
are some great female athletes. Now there's some great names here in terms of Jess Bibby
from the Capitals and Kristy Giteau and Sharni Williams from rugby, Anna Flannigan from hockey.
Sport for Women Day is part of an initiative to inspire women to improve their health,
increase their participation in sport and draw attention to issues in women's sport.
Our initiative is to really raise the profile of women in sport in Australia. For so long
I suppose men have been far superior in terms of awareness, coverage and sponsorship, women's
not so much. So we're out there trying to bridge that gap. We're really trying to promote
a healthy and active lifestyle though as well. Sports for Women Day you can't really go
wrong with an initiative like it. They're encouraging women to get out here and be physically
active and to be honest with you I couldn't imagine a better message. The event aimed
to show that you don't have to be an elite athlete to participate in sport. You know
I think it's really important just to try everything and be active. It's really about
that, be active and girls can be anything. And that means they can be a professional
athlete or they can do recreational sport. Honestly it is just about participation. And
it doesn't have to be an elite athlete, you can be grass routs level or just someone willing
to have a go. The event finished with a tug-of-war competition between the Canberra Capitals
and rugby players. It was a close match, but the Capitals managed to secure victory.
Sandy Rose, University of Canberra.