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Angling coach buoyed by rise in women fishing

A woman in a blue woolly hat, blue jumper and navy coat sits on a bright blue box holding a fishing rod by the canal.
When Sue Galloway moved to Northamptonshire, there "weren't many women" fishing - but that has now changed [James Grant/BBC]

An angling coach says she is encouraged by the amount of women taking up the sport.

Sue Galloway, a Level 2 development coach from the Northampton Nene Angling club, based in Northamptonshire, said she had "always tried [her] best" to advocate for more women in fishing.

According to figures from the Environment Agency, one in five customers acquiring fishing equipment since 2020 are women.

Ms Galloway said she had noticed at fishing matches that there were "more women entering [competitions]", proving "they're taking up the habit".

A woman in a navy coat and blue woolly hat sits under an umbrella on a blue box holding a 3 metre fishing rod into the canal
Sue Galloway's favourite area to fish in Northamptonshire is the canal by Furnace Lane in Nether Heyford [James Grant/BBC]

Ms Galloway made history in 2021 as the first female participant from an ethnic minority background to compete in the Ladies National Angling Championships.

She first learned to fish in Zimbabwe before moving to the UK in 2002, and has been teaching the sport across Northamptonshire since settling in the area in 2006.

When she began her career, she recalled "there weren’t that many women fishing".

But after years of championing greater female involvement in angling, she has seen more "young girls" and "mums" gradually taking up the sport.

Ms Galloway also believes the growing popularity of fishing is due in part to its "therapeutic" benefits, explaining that being by the water helps people "forget their worries".

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