Sportscotland has launched a new three-year pilot initiative designed to increase the number of women coaches in Scottish sport, as well as supporting the progression of new and existing coaches.

The Women in Coaching scheme hopes to address figures, which currently show that females only hold a quarter of coaching roles in the UK, while only 8 per cent of national and Olympic level coaches are women. Female coaches living or working within the Borders region, Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Tayside and Fife area are being targeted by the initiative, which will involve swimming, netball, gymnastics, tennis and hockey coaches.

It is hoped that up to 70 female coaches will be targeted, with the opportunity to gain Level 2 and 3 qualifications depending on the length of time spent on the programme. There are also future plans to extend it to other sports if the scheme is successful. Led by sportscotland, the programme will be delivered in partnership with Scottish Swimming, Netball Scotland, Scottish Hockey, Scottish Gymnastics, and Tennis Scotland, as well as Glasgow City Council, Edinburgh City Council, Scottish Borders Council and the Tayside and Fife Sports Partnership.

Over the course of the three-year period, £135,000 will be invested into the scheme between the partners. Louise Martin, chair of sportscotland, said: "Sportscotland recognises that inspirational and well-trained coaches can make all the difference to a person's sporting experience and that they play an important role in Scotland's future sporting success.

"However, it is important that women are well represented in the workforce and have the opportunity to progress along the coaching pathway. There are many varied reasons why women do not progress and hopefully the Women in Coaching Programme will go some way to address these issues."