HMS Temeraire hosts health and fitness event for Royal Navy women

‘Let’s Get Active’, the inaugural Royal Navy wellness event for women was hosted by NAVYfit at HMS Temeraire on Wednesday 10 January.

Over 100 Royal Navy service women attended the event that was endorsed by Rear Admiral Jude Terry OBE, Director People and Training. 

Following on from the initiative of the 2023 Women in Service Sport Symposium, the event was a new venture that focussed on providing women in the Royal Navy with a safe and comfortable environment to engage in health, wellness, and sport at all levels. 

Leading on the organisation of the event, Sport Development Assistant Jen Wells said, “The idea was to create a safe, welcoming, and fun environment for women in the Navy to get active and learn about a healthy lifestyle.”

A health fayre including stands from the Royal Navy’s health and wellbeing team, the Naval Service Women’s Network and dstl were on hand to educate personnel on their offering. 

Women in the Royal Navy are entitled to a £50 contribution towards 2 sports bras per year and a fitting service was provided by PeBe on the day to encourage women to take up this offer.

Commando Chef and Surg Lt Cdr Ruth Guest presented talks on healthy eating, perimenopause, periods, and reproductive health. Introductory fitness classes were available in Zumba Football, yoga, spin, and indoor climbing.

Newly qualified Physical Trainers LPT Hannibal and LPT Marsh provided functional fitness sessions while Lt Cdr Rebecca French offered Baby Swim classes for mother and baby. 

Sport England documents that “more men do sport and physical activity than women at almost every age group” and in a predominantly male environment such as the Navy, engaging in health and wellness activities can be daunting for women.

Cdre Susie Nielson, Deputy Director People and Training gave the closing speech, saying “The energy in here today has been very powerful. It is so important to champion women in sport and champion women full stop. 

‘It has provided a safe space for our women to ask and have those conversations with each other about periods, perimenopause, and everything in between.” 

Recognising the challenges women face in the Royal Navy is fundamental to the excellent contribution they make to a professional and adaptable fighting force, which is Global, Modern, and Ready.

Jen commented, “On the day we had over 100 women taking part which was extremely empowering for everyone attending. 

‘The combination of activities, talks, workshops, and health fayre throughout the day gave an opportunity for everyone to take something away from the event. 

‘Barriers for women in sport were broken and there were smiles all round, which in my eyes makes it a huge success!”