Women In Adventure Network

16.45 - 19.30, Saturday 21 March - Invitation Only

In partnership with BMC TV, Women Climb, Sport Is Beautiful, Lowepro and My Outdoors

REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT HAS NOW CLOSED

If you'd like to go on a reserve waiting list for this event, email Cressida Allwood or be on our mailing list for future news, film submission calls and events, please email Lissa Cook

Join us to celebrate Women In Adventure at the 10th Sheffield Adventure Film Festival at the Showroom Cinema in Sheffield in partnership with BMC TV, Women Climb, Sport is Beautiful, Lowepro and MyOutdoors.

PANEL + Q&A 16.45 - 18.15

We’d like to invite you to join us for a video presentation of the highlights of #ShAFF2015 films featuring Women In Adventure (curated by ShAFF Judge and Kendal Mountain Festival Film Programmer Claire-Jane Carter) and Expert Panel chaired by Danielle Sellwood from Sport Is Beautiful and the Women's Sports Trust followed by a Q&A and mini-interviews with key audience members compered by Sports Liberated magazine's Jo Gunston on whether we're starting to see a shift towards seeing equal numbers of women in adventure sports on the big screen, behind the camera and in the audience.

Professional Stuntwoman Steph Carey Steph Carey is one of the leading Professional Stunt Women in the UK and a new mother to Isadora! 15 years of working on TV and Films has taken Steph to some amazing places; From driving stunts with A list Hollywood stars in Madrid to racing super cars around the North Cape in Norway, she’s done every stunt you can imagine. Along the way she has found time to ski mountaineer in Europe and climb in the UK as well as a Ski touring trip to Antarctica - she is a woman who loves Adventure. With an equally adventurous partner there are no plans to let Isadora stop them, in six months they’ve taken their baby to Chamonix Abu Dhabi and Australia, with more plans afoot to ski tour with her soon!
Adventurer, Mountaineer and Rab athlete Squash Falconer summited Mount Everest in 2011. She's also a keen skier, snowboarder, paraglider and motorbike rider and was the first British woman to climb Mt Blanc and fly from the summit. In 2013 she completed a 3,074 mile journey around Western Europe on an ElliptiGo to gain the world record for the longest distance travelled on Elliptical bicycle.
US Endurance Runner Nikki Kimball is one of the best technical trail runners in the world. Her career highlights include membership on 14 US National Teams across three running disciplines, three time winner of both North American and USA Track and Field Association’s Ultrarunner of the Year awards, several National Championship titles and a World Cup team gold medal in 100km road racing. You can also hear her talk at 20.15 on Saturday night at ShAFF and watch her film about running the 273 mile Long Trail in Finding Traction.
Professional Climber Mina Leslie-Wujastyk has been climbing since the age of 8. A member of the GB Bouldering Team, last year she decided to take the difficult decision to stop competing and focus on her outdoor climbing and focus on training to be a yoga teacher. She's the subject of Jen Randall's film Project Mina which we're screening at ShAFF. Read her blog on The Science of Achievement vs the Art of Fulfilment.
American Freelance Producer and Director Brenda Piekarski (Adventure Minnesota Films) is an avid rock climber and wilderness-seeker dedicated to combining her passion for outdoor adventure with her background and experience as a motion-driven storyteller. Among the Wild is Piekarski’s first independent film project and seeks to profile athletes in fierce pursuit of their chosen sport in her home state of Minnesota. The project aims to complete four short films intended to inspire, showcase Minnesota and unite the adventure community across all the various wilderness-based sports. By day, Piekarski is a producer, director, editor and partner of Twelve Plus Media, a creative cooperative of professional video and film freelancers based in St. Paul, Minnesota. She hopes to encourage audiences to try something new outside of their comfort zone and to always seek adventure, at home and everywhere.
Filmmaker and Photographer Director Jen Randall (Light Shed Pictures) is described by the BMC as a rising star of British outdoor filmmaking and a 'modern heroine, a creative, indomitable female filmmaker in a industry dominated by dragons'. We screened her debut Push It two years ago and we're proud to be showing two more of her films - Where Walking Took Me and Project Mina - this year.

networking + drinks 18.30-19.30

After the Panel + Q&A there will be a more chance to swap experiences and make contacts over drinks. We also hope this event will form the basis of a lasting network of both women and men to continue to promote this issue. Leadership Coach, motivational speaker and round-the-world cyclist Cressida Allwood will be coordinating invites and building a Women In Adventure Sports and Outdoor Leadership network database. If you can't make it to ShAFF, but would still like to be involved in the network, please do get in touch. Email Cressida.

Women in adventure sports are taking centre stage at this year's Sheffield Adventure Film Festival. Having been criticised in the past couple of years about the lack of women on the big screen, we've made a real effort to encourage more women filmmakers and athletes to submit films to this year's festival.

We're proud to have double the number of films featuring female athletes and/or made by female directors and producers. Click here to view the list.
We have created a new Best Women In Adventure Film prize.
We have a new Women in Adventure Film Judge.
We'll be screening the winner of the BMC TV Women in Mountain Adventure Film competition with Women Climb.
Lowepro and MyOutdoors are running a special Women in Adventure Photography Exhibition and competition.
Read our press release and Lissa's blog.

Our aims

Celebration – highlighting achievements of all athletes, filmmakers & partners & showcasing success stories. (Present Best Women In Adventure Film Prize).
Inspiration – inspiring the next generation and encouraging more women to get involved at all levels of outdoors sports, extreme sports, adventure and travel both in front of and behind the camera and in wider partnerships.
Sourcing – building network of filmmakers, photographers & athletes for next 10 years of ShAFF.
Conversation – identifying the issues that we need to overcome as an industry to keep making progress.
Networking – building a long-term network of women in adventure/outdoors sport to keep the conversation going.

GUest List

(Alphabetical, updated as guests are confirmed).

Farah Ahmed, Fraktiv.com
Cressida Allwood, Leadership Coach, Motivational Speaker & Round The World Cyclist
Mandy Ayres, Trustee, Women Win - Internationally recognised centre of excellent on gender and sport; & Senior Director Access to Sport - Europe at Nike
Fiona Bateson, Sheffield Students Union (Outdoors Activities)
Jen and Sim Benson, ultra runners and authors of Wild Running.
Gillian Brown, Course Leader, Sport and Exercise Sciences, The Sheffield College
Professional Stuntwoman Steph Carey (Panellist)
Claire Jane-Carter, ShAFF Judge
Rebecca Cassidy, Journalist & PR
Anna Clark, Graphic Designer, Rab / Equip
Tony Collins, Director of Come On, Eileen
Lissa Cook, former BBC Radio 4 news producer turned (cautious) adventure sports PR for Heason Events.
Joe Cox, Rapha.cc
Jen Crook, Filmmaker & Photographer, Jen Crook Films. Jen's submitted her film Fran to the BMC Women in Mountain Adventure competition and is one of the finalists in the Lowepro ShAFF Single Shot competition.
Oli Da Costa, Fraktiv.com
Adrian Danciu, Adventure Minnesota Films
Andrew Denton, Chief Executive, Outdoor Industries Association
Sarah-Jane Dobner, Freelance writer, musician and climbing instructor
Adele Doran, Lecturer in Tourism, Sheffield Hallam University, Business School,
Katy Dartford, star of Wild Running, adventure travel and action sports journalist and writer.
Heather Dawe, ultra-runner, climber, cyclist, artist and author of Adventures in Mind.
Lulu Elliot, founder of Reel Angels, the first agency specializing in representing female film and TV technical crews.
Claire Ewings
Adventurer, Mountaineer and Rab athlete Squash Falconer (Panellist)
Sally Fawcett, hockey player turned ultra runner and ShAFF Ambassador.
Ellie Ford, Anthony Gell School.
Giulia Forlati
Tina Gardner, Press, British Mountaineering Council
Suzanne Glavin, Strategic Lead Youth, Sport England.
Jo Gunston, Sports Liberated.
Thomas Holliman, Filmmaker
Olivia Holmes, Anthony Gell School, competes in Taekwondo and holds the English, Irish, Scottish and World title for sparring.
Suzanne Jones, Events, British Mountaineering Council
Shaymaa Kennedy
US Endurance Runner Nikki Kimball (Panellist)
Cat Lawson, on behalf of The Barkley Marathons film team.
Nicola Lazenby, PhD Student
Rosemary Leach, Principal Lecturer / Professional Lead Sport, Communities and Enterprise, Sheffield Hallam University
Professional Climber Mina Leslie-Wujastyk (Panellist)
Hayley Lever, Co-Director Derbyshire Sport & ShAFF Women in Adventure Film Judge
Corinna Lincoln, Challenge Cancer Through Adventure
Megan Loats, Amateur blogger and filmmaker, her film 14 UK Summits in 2014 is entered into the BMC Women in Mountain Adventure competition.
Nicole MacGregor, Storyboard Media
Hannah Maia, filmmaker and Director of this years film entry Megamoon
Helen Mann, Senior Lecturer, Academy of Sport and Physical Activity, Sheffield Hallam University.
Chantelle Matthews, Designer, Polaris Bikewear
Debbie McCart, Podiatrist and Photographer
Tim Meek, DoTryThisAtHome.com
Kerry Meek, DoTryThisAtHome.com
Ella Meek, DoTryThisAtHome.com
Amy Meek, DoTryThisAtHome.com
Nicola Moody, Fresh Egg
Janine Morrall, Breeze Champion, South Yorkshire.
Michelle O'Neill
Anna Paxton, outdoor blogger, AlpsOutdoor.
Freelance Producer and Director Brenda Piekarski (Panellist)
Emily Pitts, Women Climb
Filmmaker and Photographer Director Jen Randall (Panellist)
Zofia Reych, See&Do (Parkour) on behalf of Movement of Three director Julie Angel.
Dr Kay Richards, Liverpool John Moores University
Charlotte Rowen, filming her own cycling challenge later this year.
Katherine Schirrmacher, rock climber and coach who has competed for GB numerous times.
Danielle Sellwood, Sport Is Beautiful / Women's Sport Trust
Yael Shafritz, President, Sheffield Students Union
Sarah Sharps, Photographer & Calderdale Search & Rescue Team.
Jean Sinclair, volunteer with Ourea Events, Just Racing UK, Steve Birkinshaw's Wainwrights, London 2012 Olympics & Paralympics.
Nikki Skinner, Trek & Mountain Magazine
Phoebe Smith, Editor of Wanderlust Travel Magazine.
Nikki Spinks, multi-record-breaking fell runner & ShAFF Ambassador.
Zena Toscani, ShAFF Judge & Deputy Editor of Pro MovieMaker Magazine.
Nicola Underwood, BMC Equity Committee.
Milly Voice, star of film Running Wild
Sarah Wenham, Senior Lecturer Sport Development with Coaching and Sport Coaching, Sheffield Hallam
Ellie West, Summit Fever Media.
Emma Whitaker (Silver Sloth Productions) and guest - Emma's film 365 - A Story To Be Told is entered into the BMC Women in Mountain Adventure competition.
Clare Waring, Graphic Designer

Register Now

Invites are free but you do need to request an invitation as space is limited with priority for filmmakers, athletes, sponsors and industry professional. If you're a member of the public and would like to attend, please still do register and we'll let you know nearer the time if there is space available. Please use the form below. Tickets can be collected from the Box Office during the weekend.

Note, the Outdoor Industries Association ‘Industry Hangout’ starts at 8pm for filmmakers, photographers, musicians, sponsors and athletes. This is also an invitation only event. Click here to register for Industry Hangout.