Journalists worldwide rely on the expertise of Women’s Sports Foundation spokespeople and research, seeking our insight daily. As the leading resource on female athletes and physical activity, the Women’s Sports Foundation is at the forefront of educating the public about equal play.
GoGirlGo! Boston Grant Award Winner, The Blackstone Community Center
Published: Thursday, August 14, 2008
GoGirlGo!, a nationwide initiative designed to motivate girls to be more physically active, recently awarded a grant to the Blackstone Community Center on West Brookline Street. The grant, part of a $2.6 million nationwide grant fund, will help create and sustain programs targeting local girls that will encourage them to become more physically active, to help them deal with issues of weight and body image, and to help them make better choices about their health. As part of the grant, GoGirlGo! will also provide Blackstone with education materials designed to help them create better curriculums for girls ages 8 to 18. For 8 to 12 year olds, the materials include a GoGirls! Guide to Life, featuring personal stories from female athletes who have made healthy choices, and accompanying GoGirl scrapbook; for the 13 to 18 year olds, the GoGirlGo! Ambassador Leadership Program provides them with college scholarship and team grant incentives to individuals and programs that advocate physical activity among their peers.
This grant is particularly valuable in Boston, where studies have shown that female high school students are more likely to be overweight than the national average.
GoGirlGo! Atlanta joins Georgia Tech Basketball for Golf Classic
Published: Wednesday, July 23, 2008
GoGirlGo!
Atlanta , founded by the Women's Sports Foundation, will partner up with the Georgia Tech Women’s Basketball team for the inaugural of the Machelle Joseph Golf Classic. The Yellow Jackets will continue to help with the ongoing initiative of helping young girls make healthier decisions. The Golf Classic proceeds will go to the GoGirlGo! Atlanta Program. This will help in the program’s mission to educate and encourage girls to play fun sports and games as a means to safeguard their health, boost their confidence, build character and teamwork.
Equal Access to Physical Education for the Disabled
Published: Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Maryland enacted the Fitness and Athletics Equity for Students with Disabilities Act, which requires schools to ensure that students with disabilities have equal access to physical education classes and athletics programs. This act is doing for the disabled what Title IX did for women, which is giving them their right for opportunities to participate in athletic programs. Terri Lakowski , public policy director of the Women’s Sports Foundation notes that “we are only at the starting point but we gained some traction today.”
Dara Torres Makes an Olympic Comeback at Age 41
Published: Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Nine-time Olympic medalist Dara Torres will become the oldest American to swim at the Olympics at the age of 41. History is in the making as the swimmer turns down half a million in endorsement deals to focus on her races. Torres broke the U.S. record in the 50 meter freestyle during a semi-final heat only to break it again in the final heat. Torres has won over 4 medals during 3 Olympic games.
CSU Illustrates a Genuine Commitment to Gender Equity in Athletics
Published: Tuesday, July 01, 2008
In 1992, the California State Fullerton women’s volleyball program was shut down causing them to file a lawsuit under federal Title IX, which requires equality between men and women sports. Since then, CSF female athletes now outnumber men athletes, three to two. Also, women athletics outspent the men programs in 2006-2007 by $1.1 million. The
California State University system has doubled in number of female athletes and scholarships are continually increasing.