The Provost Dr Linda Doyle with Lisa Cafferky, Student Sport Pathway Manager at Trinity Sport.
Trinity College Dublin marked a proud milestone on Tuesday 18 November when staff, students and invited guests gathered at the Provost’s House to celebrate Trinity Sport’s prestigious 2025 FISU Gender Equality Project Award, presented earlier this year for the pioneering university-wide 'Women in Sport' campaign, which aims to promote gender equality across all levels of sport at Trinity. Trinity’s 'Women in Sport' campaign stood out for its strategic depth, measurable outcomes and strong alignment with both national and international policy.
Hosted and welcomed by Provost Linda Doyle, the reception brought together senior College leadership, members of the Trinity Sport strategy steering group, student services, Trinity Sport staff, the Trinity Sport Union (TSU), student activators and coaches, sport scholars and external partners to honour the achievement, reflect on its impact and the announce new initiatives in the final year of the campaign cycle.
The evening was MC-ed by Michelle Tanner, Director of Sport & Physical Activity at Trinity, who has just been recognised in the 2025 list of 50 Women of Influence in Irish sport by Sport for Business. Michelle celebrated that the award represents the collective effort of “students, staff, coaches, alumni, allies and every single person who believed in this project from day one.” She emphasised that the campaign is helping shift the landscape so that “the successes of our female athletes used to be despite the system, but ... we want its legacy to be that our female athletes succeed because of the system.”
Tanner also acknowledged the support of College leadership including the Provost and colleagues across Student Services as well as national partners including Sport Ireland, Student Sport Ireland and more than ten national governing bodies who contributed to the project. She concluded her opening remarks by encouraging all present to reflect on their role in continuing this progress: “Real change only happens when we walk forward together. Together, we are greater than the sum of our parts.”
Student Sport Pathway Manager Lisa Cafferky gave a superb speech on the 'Women in Sport' campaign highlighting the campaign’s achievements since its launch in February 2024 under the four pillars of Sport Ireland’s ‘Women in Sport’ policy: leadership and governance; active participation; coaching and officiating; visibility and media coverage.
- Leadership & Governance: Female representation on the Trinity Sport Union (TSU) Executive has risen from 38% to 52%, and this year saw a historic milestone as Jane Prendergast became the first women chairperson in the organisation’s history as DUCAC and now TSU
- Active Participation: Female membership across sports clubs now stands at 55%; social sport participation by women has increased by 71%; and the Trinity Sport Centre now supports 8,000+ women members
- Coaching & Officiating: The number of female activators has increased by 450% from 2 to 11 and eight students have earned accreditation through the Student Sport Ireland Women’s Student Coaching Academy
- Visibility & Media Coverage: Women’s sport coverage on the Trinity Sport website has risen by 12%, and social media content featuring women athletes has increased by 27%
“These are more than just statistics,” Cafferky said. “Behind each number is a powerful human story and a thriving, engaged and growing community of women participating and leading in sport.”
She also announced two major new initiatives for 2025-26, the final year of the campaign's cycle:
- A Women in Sport Leadership Programme delivered in collaboration with Trinity Sport Ambassador and Irish rugby international Linda Djougang, designed to equip female students to lead and influence within sport
- Twenty new coaching bursaries to support female students pursuing Level 1 or Level 2 coaching qualifications
“These flagship initiatives are designed to support women in sport today and to transform the structures that will support them long into the future,” she said.
Katie Lynch, Women’s Captain of Trinity Fencing, provided a powerful personal reflection on the campaign’s impact where she spoke about the importance of visibility, recalling the “if she can’t see it, she can’t be it” message of the 20x20 movement and how Trinity’s increased celebration of women’s sport has inspired athletes like herself.
“Feeling seen and supported has definitely given me the confidence to take on a leadership role within our club,” she said, describing her journey from fencer to Club Captain to Women’s Captain.
Katie highlighted the benefits of 'Women in Sport' funding for her club including support for female referee development and women-only coaching sessions: “It provides an environment where some participants might feel more comfortable taking up a new sport, and it helps develop female coaching within the club.”
“I am proud to be involved with sport in Trinity in so many ways,” she concluded, “and this is undoubtedly heightened by the Women in Sport campaign.”
As the evening drew to a close, Michelle Tanner echoed the words of the late Professor Trevor West, one of Trinity’s great champions of university sport: “Sport throws the best parties.” With that, guests raised a glass to the athletes, leaders, volunteers, and supporters who have driven the campaign and to the growing momentum for gender equality across Trinity sport.
