From the Hill to the streets, yesterday’s National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) was one that celebrated all the opportunities women and girls have had because of Title IX’s landmark legislation. While NGWSD started in 1987 as a single event in our nation’s capital to honor Olympic volleyball star Flo Hyman, the day has since grown into a nationwide celebration spanning all 50 states.

WSF honored the day by lobbying on Capitol Hill with six champion athletes whose own personal success stories have been shaped by the chances afforded them by Title IX. Chair of the Board Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, first Foundation President Donna de Varona, Foundation Senior Director of Advocacy Nancy Hogshead-Makar, former Board member Lillian Greene-Chamberlain, Athlete Advisory Panel member Grete Eliassen and Foundation friend Sarah Hughes began their day asking members of Congress to support the High School Data Bill. The High School Data Bill requires high schools to report and publicize basic information on the number of male and female participants in their athletics programs and the money spent on their sports teams – data crucial to the review and enforcement of Title IX.

To further highlight the importance of increasing opportunities for girls and women to participate in sports, WSF joined NGWSD Coalition members Girls Inc., Girl Scouts, the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport and the National Women's Law Center for a panel discussion on the important role physical activity and access to sports plays in girls' and women's lives. After appropriately kicking off the briefing with audience participation in stretching and calisthenics, Cornell McClellan, the personal trainer to the First Family of United States and a member of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, spoke about his experience with the First Family as well as with his own daughters and grandchildren. Grete Eliassen shared her story, emphasizing that her mom was given an opportunity to play sports because of Title IX and that her Mom was key in getting Grete involved in sports. And before sending the delegation back into Congressional offices for the remainder of the afternoon, Neena Chaudhry from the NWLC explained the High School Data Bill to Congressional staffers and other attendees and discussed why such a level of transparency is important for high school athletics. High schools are not currently required to disclose participation statistics even though they collect it and have it readily available, making it difficult to ensure gender fairness in high school athletics programs. 

Despite the stunning advances made in the 39 years since Title IX was enacted, high school girls still receive 1.3 million fewer participation opportunities than do boys, and evidence suggests that the money spent on girls' sports programs lags significantly behind the money spent on boys' programs.

NGWSD is marked annually with events around the country and on Capitol Hill to commemorate the achievements of girls and women in athletics. It is also an important day to promote the continued expansion of opportunities for girls and women to play sports and live physically active lives.

View our photo gallery for an in-depth look at our time on the Hill.

Want to know more about the athletes who lobbied on our behalf? Learn more here.

Title IX might seem complex and intimidating , but we have the resources to make the legislation easily digestible. Learn more about Title IX and how it applies to you here.