By by Christine Szudzik
The members of the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame have done it all. They've broken barriers, changed perceptions and fought for women's rights. They've set world records, won Olympic medals and earned world championship titles. But unlike many other sports halls of fame, the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame never had a place to call home. Until now.
The Women's Sports Foundation announced at a star-studded press conference Tuesday that it will partner with the National Sports Museum to create the world's first physical location solely dedicated to the history of women's sports: the Billie Jean King International Women's Sports Center.
Located within the planned National Sports Museum in Lower Manhattan, the International Women's Sports Center will pay tribute to the accomplishments of female athletes as well as provide an interactive experience that will help visitors appreciate the beauty of sport and the benefits of sport participation. The International Women's Sports Center is scheduled to open with the National Sports Museum in 2008.
National Sports Museum CEO Philip Schwalb said that giving female athletes a major presence in the museum was necessary in order for the venue to be a platform to foster the ideals and causes in which he and the National Sports Museum's founders believed in.
"Certainly the eradication of gender discrimination in sport and the motivation of young girls and women to achieve through sport is exactly such a cause," he said.
The Women's Sports Foundation and founder Billie Jean King gladly stepped forward to help the National Sports Museum fulfill its mission.
In her remarks, King paid tribute to the woman who first approached her with the idea. The late Dorothy G. Blaney, Ph.D., met King in 1999 and told her the Women's Sports Foundation must have a museum. Blaney later became chair of the Foundation's Board of Trustees and worked directly with King to make her idea become reality. Blaney's daughter, Hope M. Harrison, attended the press conference and said she knew her mother would have been thrilled to see her idea come to fruition.
"She absolutely loved Billie Jean King and thought it was so important to have a permanent home," she said. "To see her dream come true, I just wish she was here to see it. But she trusted that Billie would make it happen."
King said that the International Women's Sports Center will aim to both educate and encourage its visitors.
"The message of this gallery is that sports can truly improve and advance the lives of women and girls. Along with showcasing women's sports history, we seek to inspire girls to get active and to start playing sports," King said.
Visitors will discover the major themes of the Center – Inspiration, Breaking Barriers and Expanding Horizons – as they follow the developmental journey of an athlete. Planned exhibits include interactive "What's Your Sport?" activities and stories of the family members and coaches who inspired female athletes to greatness.
But the International Women's Sports Center will also be the home of historic sports memorabilia. Numerous athletes, including Julie Foudy and Joe Frazier, were on hand at the press announcement for a sneak peek at some of the featured objects. Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen unveiled the figure skates she wore while competing in the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. Athletes from New York's Hempstead High School soccer team were on hand to reveal Brandi Chastain's game-worn jersey from the 2000 Olympic Games. Jackie Joyner-Kersee presented the late track and field pioneer Wilma Rudolph's 1961 Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year trophy. And, for the big finish, tennis champion Martina Navratilova showed off the racquet King used to win her 20th Wimbledon title.
Champion open water swimmer and 2006 International Women's Sports Hall of Fame inductee Diana Nyad said that the Center will be a vital, tangible experience.
"I can go online and research Billie Jean King's career," she said. "There's plenty of photos on there. But to come here and see life-size, her photographs, her trophies and touch Sasha Cohen's ice skates and be able to really look at how beat-up Janet Guthrie's helmet was from her first Indianapolis 500, I think it's going to be very, very valuable."
King summed up the celebratory mood of the press conference with excitement for the Center's opening in 2008.
"Finally, female sports legends and champion athletes will have a home," she said. "And the people who support, love and are inspired by these superwomen will be welcomed and treasured guests."