Look Who’s Playing! Celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day

February 4th, 2009 is National Girls and Women in Sports Day.  NGWSD was started in 1987 to celebrate the accomplishments and participation of women in sports. Thousands of coaches, phys ed instructors, teachers, parents, athletes will celebrate the day by participating in events across the country. For a complete listing, see the NGWSD event calendar.

The Women’s Sports Foundation has some very interesting facts on women’s sports participation in 1987 compared to now – the numbers are impressive, but we still have areas for improvement.

A look at how far we have come….

Then…..  One in 27 girls participated in high school varsity sports
Now…… 1 in 2.5 are playing

Then…. 300,000 young women participated in interscholastic athletics
Now….. There are presently more than 3 million female scholastic athletes

Then…. NGWSD was a single event in Washington, D.C.
Now….. NGWSD will be celebrated in many cities across all 50 states

Then… Women participated in only 13 of the 24 events of the 1984 Olympic Games
Now….  In Beijing in 2008, female athletes competed in 28 of the 32 Olympic events

Then…. The Women’s Sports Foundation was the sole organization promoting of NGWSD
Now…   NGWSD is supported by an entire coalition of organizations that combines the experience and resources of the five premiere girls- and women-serving organizations in the United States: Girl Scouts of the USA, Girls Incorporated, the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport, National Women’s Law Center, and the Women’s Sports Foundation.

Then…. Title IX was the only legislation pertaining to the involvement of girls in sports
Now….  As of October 2006, 34 states have additional legislation that involves minimum requirements for school physical education programs

Then…. Female professional athletes received far less prize money compared to their male counterparts
Now…   At Wimbledon in 2007 and the Winter X Games in 2009, identical purses were given to both men and women winners.

While these numbers and facts show great strides being made, there is still a huge gap to overcome. Do your part to spread the word by celebrating NGWSD on February 4, 2009.