Digital learning platform for female athletes: New project started!

Digital learning platform for female athletes: New project started!

The EU project “HerForm” aims to support female athletes in high-performance sports through an innovative digital learning platform. The initiative, which is funded by the Erasmus+ program, runs for three years and is led by the German Sport University Cologne. Six international institutions are working together to create a digital offering specifically aimed at female athletes at the start of their careers. A ten-hour video-based online course will be available from December 2025, covering key topics such as health, work-life balance, self-marketing and finances. The course is moderated by Claire Small, a former Irish rugby international who also works as a doctor and TV expert. The course will be barrier-free, multilingual and fully digitally accessible, which represents an important advance for the target group.

The development of the course content is based on the results of an international online survey in which 132 athletes from 17 countries took part. This survey identified 18 key career aspects and revealed a high need for information, particularly on topics such as contract negotiations, family planning and returning to work after pregnancy. The athletes reported that they felt well prepared for trips abroad, while the transition to professional sport was perceived as less well structured. The findings from the survey were directly incorporated into the design of the course content.

Milestones and tests

A crucial milestone in the project was the meeting of the partner institutions at the German Sport University Cologne in October 2023. There the first survey results were presented and central topic areas were defined. Lisa Koop, professional basketball player and DSHS graduate student, attended the meeting as a representative of the athletes. In addition, the first prototype of the “HerForm Training Hub” is already being tested by sports organizations in Europe and Africa, highlighting the commitment to creating concrete support for female athletes.

HerForm is a collaboration that is not only limited to Europe, but also includes African institutions, including Rugby Players Ireland and TWIN. The aim is to develop gender-specific training centers that address the special challenges of female athletes. These challenges are diverse and require specific support offers in order to meet the high demands and transitions at a young age. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation, making the need for specific support skills for female athletes even more urgent.

Additional training offers

In parallel to HerForm's efforts, other initiatives also offer training opportunities to promote gender equality in sport. The State Sports Association of North Rhine-Westphalia, in collaboration with the FUMA Gender & Diversity Center of North Rhine-Westphalia, is launching the free digital self-learning course “Role(s) forward: Gender equality in sport”. This course consists of 16 learning units and covers topics such as gender stereotypes and gender diverse perspectives in sport. Participation in this course can also be used to extend licenses for trainers and club managers, which underlines the practical benefits of the training.

Overall, the HerForm project highlights how important targeted training opportunities are for female athletes. They face challenges that differ from those of male athletes and require customized support. The development of such programs is essential to promote equality in high-performance sport and to improve the long-term career paths of female athletes.