Day: 15 June 2017

Mixed-gender events in athletics, swimming, table tennis and triathlon have been approved for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the IOC has announced.

The Games will include a 4x400m mixed relay in athletics and a 4x100m medley mixed relay in swimming.

IOC president Thomas Bach said the Games will be “more youthful, more urban and include more women”.  More

Moves from Angry Birds and Minecraft as well as footballers’ goal celebrations are being used to encourage more boys to take up ballet.

Just 1.8% of ballet exam candidates are boys, says the Royal Academy of Dance.

Now the RAD has enlisted help from Marylebone Cricket Club to challenge gender stereotypes in dance and sport.

Royal Ballet principal dancer and cricket enthusiast Alexander Campbell said he was delighted to be an ambassador for the project.  More

Boys don’t like reading books that have girls as the main characters – and that “makes it harder for girls to be equal”, says the new Children’s Laureate Lauren Child.

Child, who wrote the Charlie and Lola and Clarice Bean series, was speaking after her appointment was announced in Hull.

She is the 10th person to be the official champion of children’s books.

Child will hold the title for two years and takes over from Chris Riddell.  More

Parents and teachers should not “wrap girls in cotton wool”, an independent schools’ leader has said.

Girls were not victims and were stronger and more feisty than they were often given credit for, said Cheryl Giovannoni, chief executive of the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST).

Ms Giovannoni said girls should be encouraged to take the sorts of risks boys were more likely to take.

They should also be taught to say no and not always be willing to please.  More