The future is under pressure. In particular, the transition from youth to senior is a critical point where far too many talents – especially girls – drop out, long before their potential is fulfilled.
Precisely this void is the focal point of the international development project What about the girls? Here, 14-year-old Katrine Schiermacher Sørensen from Skibby now steps forward as a living example of how new frameworks can make a real difference to the development of future girls’ and women’s sports. She has followed Karoline Klaaby over the past few years. Now it is possible for Katrine to participate. As the first girl in the development project What about the girls? she has chosen to complete the recommended five-month stay in Vietnam, which starts at the end of June – despite the fact that the project also offers a two-month course.
A brave and ambitious choice that both marks her personal drive and the project’s vision in practice.
What about the girls? is an international development project that works purposefully to close the gender gap in talent and elite development. The project is based on research and experience from both Europe and Asia and is based on a fundamental realization: Girls and women need more development environments that are created for them.
To meet different needs, the project offers both a two-month and a five-month development stay, both of which will travel to Vietnam at the end of June. The longest course has been developed as the recommended solution to ensure immersion, continuity and real long-term development – and it is precisely this course that Katrine has chosen.
A conscious choice about development, as an athlete and as a person
Katrine is one of Denmark’s badminton talents in her age group. She trains daily at KMB in Amager, is in the Team Denmark Talent class and is ranked in the highest elite rank for U15.
She has taken part in the DM for youth three years in a row, is national champion, has previously won both the SM and DM for teams and has distinguished herself internationally with victories and podium positions in, among other things. Helsingborg and Berlin.
In addition, she has been selected by Badminton Denmark for training camps in Thailand in both 2024 and 2025 – experiences that have opened her eyes to how much culture, intensity and different training environments mean to development.
By choosing the five-month stay, Katrine does not choose the easiest path, but the most developing one. She chooses a course where sport, culture, identity and personal development merge. That’s exactly what What about the girls? works for. It is not only the sporting achievements that make her choice interesting in a larger context. With her stay in Vietnam, Katrine chooses a course where sport, culture and personal development are closely linked. Where there is room to build mental strength, independence and responsibility – skills that are essential if talents are to last all the way to senior level.
When the frame makes the difference
The transition from youth to senior sports has been documented as a particularly vulnerable phase for girls. Many drop out, not because the talent is lacking, but because the framework does not support their needs – physically, mentally and socially.
Here creates What about the girls? a safe and ambitious development space, where the girls have the opportunity to strengthen their identity and build a healthy and strong self-confidence, both as athletes and as people. Through targeted courses, they develop leadership, resilience and the ability to solve complex challenges, which is crucial in the transition from youth to elite sport. The girls are equipped to compete at an international level, where the demands are high and the difference between cultures is clear. By actively involving different cultures as part of development, the girls learn to navigate new environments, broaden their perspective and translate international experiences into personal and sporting strength.
With her stay, Katrine becomes a living example of how overall development is not a supplement to sporting development, but a prerequisite for it.
A role model for the next generation
Katrine’s choice and the project’s approach do not point to a quick solution, but to a necessary shift in thinking: From short-term results to long-term development. This is about a sustainable development path. Here it is about a different approach to talent development rather than hanging on to the past.
As the first girl to choose the full five-month stay, Katrine is not only developed as an athlete. She will also be a role model for the next generation – and a concrete one
example of how you can work purposefully with precisely the void that is challenging Danish badminton today.
Her journey underlines why What about the girls? is necessary:
When girls get the right framework, the right role models and the opportunity to develop the whole person, they push boundaries – both for themselves and for the sport.
Katrine Schiermacher Sørensen is not just part of the project. She helps shape it.
Karoline Klaaby
karolineklaaby@gmail.com
