A fire service is set to hold a football tournament to show women and girls they can become firefighters.
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service’s free Positive Action Event for women and girls will be held on June 8, at the Calverton Miner’s Welfare Sports Ground (Kinton Fields).
The focus of the event is to promote the fire service as an employer of choice, showcasing firefighting as a viable career for women.
Places will be on a first come, first served basis.
To take part teams need to complete and submit one entry form per team, which can be requested by emailing footballtournament@notts-fire.gov.uk.
The morning fixtures will begin at 9am for registration, with a managers meeting at 9.30am kick off at 10am.
Afternoon fixtures will begin registration at 12.30pm, with a managers meeting at 1pm and kick off at 1.30pm.
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service has seen a gradual increase in female applicants over recent years, but said it wants to see this further increase going forwards.
As well as working with women and girls, the service also aims to attract other underrepresented groups, including people who identify as BAME, neurodiverse, and LGBTQ+.
Information about other roles within the fire service, aside from firefighting, will also be provided at the event — including ICT, finance, performance, communications, and occupational health, among others.
The main event for the day will be the football tournament, split into age groups — U15’s (Year 10), U16’s (Year 11), U18’s and an Open Category — and will be based on the 24/25 season ages.
There will be eight teams per age group, split into two leagues of four. Although there is the opportunity to win a trophy, the main emphasis of the day is to have fun, and encourage women and girls to consider firefighting as a viable career option.
The tournament will be five-aside, with a maximum of eight players per team.
As well as taking part in the tournament, attendees will also be able to take part in some practical activities and find out more about the different roles available within Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, should they wish to do so.
The service explained it chose football because, in recent years, it has had a lot of successful applications from women with sporting backgrounds, especially football.
The practical activities available will consist of several entry-level fitness tests, an opportunity to have a look around the fire engine and to try some fire kit on, and a mini firefighter challenge.
There will also be representatives from the service's employee networks, to share their experiences of being part of Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service.
