A National Library of Wales ceremony has been held to celebrate the Women’s Archive of Wales’ project, Women and Sport: Wales.

The archive has worked on the project for three years, recording the history of the role of women in sport.

Films and photographs from the project were transferred to the care of the library and placed on the People’s Collection Wales website, preserving them for future generations and accessible for all to see.

Over 500 photographs of community achievements by girls and women have been collected as part of the project, and digitised and added to the People’s Collection Wales website.

Stories and memories recorded include those of Lynne Thomas, Llanelli, the first person to score 100 runs in the Cricket World Cup, Nicole Cooke, Olympic cyclist, jockey Joanna Morgan who beat Lester Piggot, and Gwynedd Lingard, who competed in gymnastics at the 1960 Rome Olympics, and danced the jive with Mohammed Ali.

Many accounts depict how women struggled with poor facilities, lack of financial support and misogyny.

Project Manager Catrin Stevens said: “We at the Women's Archive of Wales were acutely aware that women's sport had been undervalued and neglected by historians and in general. We wanted to make up for that and contribute to trying to achieve a better balance between women's and men's sport.

“Thanks to this project resources relating to women's sporting history in Wales have been recorded and preserved for future generations. I hope that by raising awareness of women's achievements in sport in Wales we will inspire other women to take pride in the history and emulate their successes.”

Iola Baines, National Library of Wales Curator of Moving Images said: “It is a pleasure to be able to add the outcome of this important project to the collection of the Screen and Sound Archive. Too often, we see significant gaps in film archives in terms of recording the successes and achievements of women in sport, as cameras over the decades have not given them half the attention as men's sports. This fantastic collection helps to fill those gaps, as well as being a glorious celebration of the contribution of Welsh women to sports, which will be available for everyone in the future to enjoy and draw inspiration from.”

Berian Elias, Peoples Collection Field Officer said: “It is a privilege to be able to add material from this project to the Welsh People's Collection archive, ensuring open access for all who wish to learn about the rich history and heritage of women's sport in Wales. These contributions fill an important gap in the archive and offer valuable resources to celebrate the role of Welsh women in the sporting world. They will also be a source of inspiration for future generations and encourage others to share their own stories.”

The project also investigated stories of deceased pioneering sportswomen.

In collaboration with the Purple Plaques Committee, three plaques have been installed for Cardiff swimmer Irene Steer, and the first Welsh woman to win an Olympic Gold Medal, Ammanford British snooker champion Agnes Davies and Llanybydder Mollie Phillips skater and Olympic judge.