Celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day

Girls and women weren’t always able to participate in sports and to celebrate the progress we’ve made, February 3rd marks the 24th annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day. It’s a day when thousands of sports educators, coaches, athletic directors, students and parents across the country honor the achievements and encourage participation of girls and women in athletics.

This year’s theme is “Stay Strong, Play On.”

Since its inception in 1987, National Girls and Women in Sports Day has become the premier occasion to celebrate the success and accomplishments of girls and women athletes. What started in 1987 as a single event in Washington, D.C. to honor Olympic volleyball star Flo Hyman has grown into a nationwide celebration across all 50 states.

However, despite the stunning advances made in the 38 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.

Loads of special sports clinics, luncheons, games and park programs will take place. Whether you are a new participant or a veteran, your support of the Day will go a long way to increase visibility for female athletes and advance their struggle for equality in sports.

Visit the NGWSD web site for a complete listing of events going on February 3rd.

And take a look at this PSA from last year narrated by Women’s Sports Foundation President Jessica Mendoza.

Winter X Games 14 – Women’s Results

Over and out. Winter X Games 14 has wrapped. Four days in Aspen delivered five-peats, double three-peats, and back-to-back golds. Read on to find out how the women fared.

Friday, Jan. 29th – Women’s Skiing Superpipe

A deserving  Jen Hudak won Women’s SuperPipe Gold. In her sixth Winter X, the 23 year old Utah local spent the last three years pushing progressively harder toward the top of the podium. Last year she finished second by a microscopic margin and Winter X 14 turned out to be her year.

1. Jen Hudak
2. Megan Gunning
3. Roz Groenewoud
4. Mirjam Jaeger
5. Anais Caradeux
6. Sarah Burke

Saturday, Jan. 30 -  Women’s Snowboard X

In the Snowboard X Lindsey Jacobellis defended her title, but not without a lot of heat from Helene Olafsen. Watch for this rivalry to be another one that will  be continued in Vancouver.

1. Lindsey Jacobellis
2. Helene Olafsen
3.  Joanie Anderson
4. Maria Ramberger
5. Alexandra Jekova
6. Emilie Aubry

Saturday, Jan. 30 – Women’s Snowboard Superpipe

As expected, the Women’s Superpipe ended up being  a competition between Gretchen Bleiler and Kelly Clark .  In her final turn, Clark needed to best Bleiler’s 96.66; she dropped and stomped her entire run, but it was too close to call.  Gretchen probably had more technical tricks, but Kelly had a lot of amplitude and tricks, too.  In the end,  Bleiler took the top prize, becoming the only woman to win four times. Hannah Teter took third but her score was 26 points shy of Bleiler’s.

1. Gretchen Bleiler
2. Kelly Clark
3. Hannah Teter
4. Soko Yamaoka
5. Ellery Hollingsworth
6. Elena Hight

Sunday, Jan 31 – Women’s Slopestyle

Jenny Jones won the Women’s Slopestyle final for the second year in a row. She out-shredded Jamie Anderson and Janna Meyen-Weatherby, neither of whom were at Winter X last year.

It was a progressive day in the park. Janna Meyen-Weatherby was incredibly close to nailing a cab nine, which would’ve been a Winter X first for women. Unfortunately, the landing ended up earning her bronze behind Jamie Anderson’s silver but she certainly lit a fire during the comp.

1. Jenny Jones
2. Jamie Anderson
3. Janna Meyen-Weatherby
4. Kjersti Oestgaard Buass
5. Hana Beaman
6. Cheryl Maas

Women’s Skier X

History was made when France’s Ophelie David took home her fourth straight Women’s Skier X gold medal, making her the first skier — male or female — of any Winter X skiing discipline to four-peat. The 33-year-old mother of two passed two Canadian women — Kelsey Serwa, 20, and Ashleigh McIvor, 26 — wjp finished second and third respectively, halfway through the course and outlasted them to the finish to claim a record fourth gold medal.

1. Ophelie David
2. Kelsey Serwa
3. Ashleigh McIvor
4. Fanny Smith
5. Marte Gjefsen
6. Aleisha Cline

Oh, and if you hadn’t already guessed, Shaun White took home gold in the Men’s Superpipe final.

Join the Women’s Sports Foundation in Washington

February 3, 2010 marks the 24th annual celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, a day to celebrate and promote girls’ and womens’ participation and excellence in sports.

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.

While we have made significant strides towards equity in athletics, we have a long way to go to realize the law’s promise. High school girls still receive 1.3 million fewer opportunities to play sports than high school boys. Federal law requires colleges to make gender equity in sports information publicly available each year, but high schools are not required to disclose these data, making it difficult to ensure fairness at the secondary school level.

If you’re in the Washington, D.C. area, come learn how bills requiring high school athletics data collection would help close this gap and why this legislation is needed.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Russell Senate Office Building, Room 485

Washington, D.C.

Agenda

Welcome and Overview: Details of the High School Data Collection Bills – Neena Chaudhry, Senior Counsel, National Women’s Law Center

Background on NGWSD and the Importance and benefits of Sports – Jessica Mendoza, Women’s Sports Foundation President, Two-Time Olympic Softball Medalist

On the Ground Need for Legislation – Peg Pennepacker, Assistant Principal & Athletic Director, Susquehanna Township School District (PA)

Q & A

*Please RSVP to Karen Kranitz at KKranitz@WomensSportsFoundation.org or 516-307-3930 by Friday, 1/29/10

Preparing for X Games. A journey through the mind of an athlete.

Preparation for X Games is always a little bit intimidating because the expectations are typically so much higher than at any other contest. The jumps are bigger, the crowds are bigger, all the sponsors are there and to top it off it’s a world wide televised event. This year I am switching things up and am going to do my best to maintain a clear, confident, and determined mind, while also remembering that I snowboard because I love it and not because of what others think about me.

My preparation has begun with the 2nd stop of the Dew Tour, which is taking place as I write this at Snowbasin in Utah. I had a few hours of practice on the course yesterday and this morning and we competed in qualifiers this afternoon. Today proved to be a day of transition, in which my mind remembered how park felt in comparison to powder. Considering I was up in Canada for the last two weeks shredding bottomless powder I am feeling rather comfortable back on the slopestyle course. I qualified 3rd and will compete in the Finals on Sunday.

Bouncing from powder back to park can be a hard transition because each task takes different mental planning. Though I have to be really focused for both, the backcountry is really quiet and feels like a giant soft playground with endless options and limited high impact consequences. In contrast, contests are on hard pack snow and the jumps are fairly big and potentially intimidating. Contests also have a lot more distractions, i.e., friends, crowds, judges, event coordinators. These distractions can add to an athlete’s riding or possible take away from their riding. I am in the process of learning how to be in control of my mind during these transitions. With X Games only a couple weeks away I am trying to find a balance between a focused and controlled mind while still being able to push myself to learn new tricks. I want to be having fun while I’m competing and training but I also have to stay motivated to reach new limits.

My current focus is to be calm, collected, and patient with my riding. My goal for this weekend is to turn off my mind and let my body do the work it has been programmed to do.

(Ed. Note:  The Winter X Games 14 will take place January 28-31, 2010 in Apsen Colorado.  Join us as we cheer Kimmy on and be sure to catch the Snowboard Slopestyle Women’s Final on ESPN on Sunday, Jan. 31)

2010 Empire State Building Run-Up

The 33rd annual NYRR Empire State Building Run-Up is set to take place on Tuesday, 2 February 2010. Who knew there was such a thing as a tower climbing competition? Apparently quite a few people.

The most famous stair race and, according to the organizers, the oldest of its kind, the Empire State Building Run Up will test the limits of some 315 competitors from 19 states and 17 countries. The race is up 86 flights—1,576 steps—to the outdoor observation deck of the landmark Art Deco skyscraper and the tallest building in New York City.

If the thought of a broken escalator or elevator fills you with dread, then stay away from this competition. Only the  fit and fearless need apply.

In 2009, Thomas Dold of Germany crossed the finish line in 10 minutes, 7 seconds, and three-time winner Suzy Walsham of Sydney, Australia, finished in 13:27.

Dold, who graduated in 2009 from his college in Stuttgart, Germany, is a standout in the sport of professional tower climbing, with a lengthy list of victories around the globe, his own website, and several sponsors. Since December, he has commuted to Frankfurt twice weekly to train at the Main Tower, a skyscraper that is 200 metres tall (52 floors and nearly 1,000 stairs).

Cindy Moll-Harris, 41, of Indianapolis, will once again aim for her fifth title. Moll-Harris is the only woman to have won the race four times (1998, 2000, 2001, and 2003).

Ginette Bedard, 76, of Howard Beach, NY, and Piero Dettin, 72, of Venice, Italy, are the oldest female and male participants entered in the race. On the other end of the age spectrum, 24-year-old Kacie Lauren Fischer of Shell Beach, CA, and 18-year-old Anthony John Scimone of Lakeland, FL, are the youngest competitors.

We all know stair-climbing is great exercise, and a quick way to get your heart pumping. Now you can get fit and win some accolades at the same time.

NYRR Empire State Building Run-Up FAST FACTS:

• The race climbs 1,050 feet, or approximately 1/5 mile.
• The 86 flights have a total of 1,576 steps (18-19 steps per flight).
• Soaring 102 stories and 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan, the Empire State Building is the world’s most famous office building, and the tallest building in New York City.
• The Empire State Building opened to the public on May 1, 1931.
• Visitors reach the Observatory, on the 86th floor, by elevator in less than a minute.
• Gary Muhrcke (12:33) and Marcy Schwamm (16:04) were the winners of the inaugural Run-Up, in 1978. Muhrcke also won the inaugural New York City Marathon, in 1970.
• The fastest-ever NYRR Empire State Building Run-Up finisher, Paul Crake of Australia, reached the Observation Deck in 9 minutes, 33 seconds, in 2003. The women’s record of 11:23 was set in 2006 by Andrea Mayr of Austria.
• Paul Crake and Al Waquie are tied for the most Empire State Building Run-Up wins (five).
• In 2009, Thomas Dold of Germany and Suzy Walsham of Australia both successfully defended their titles, finishing the race in 10:07 and 13:27, respectively. It was Dold’s fourth title, and Walsham’s third.
• Cindy Moll (now Moll-Harris) is the only woman to have won the race four times (1998, 2000, 2001, and 2003).
• More than 300 people participated in the 2009 race, representing 25 states and 17 countries.
• Since the inception of the race in 1978, there have been 3,662 finishers

This is an invitation-only race so if you think you have what it takes,  contact the New York Road Runners Club for further details. For an application form, write to: Empire State Building Run-up Application Request, New York Road Runners Club, 9, E 89th St, New York 10128.

2010 Women’s Professional Soccer Draft

The Women’s Professional Soccer draft takes place next week, on January 15th in Philadelphia at the NSCAA National Convention.

The folks at WPS have done a great job keeping fans in the loop and as we countdown to the big day, they’ve polled a number of media experts to rank the top college seniors. It’s a great class providing all the teams with lots of terrific choices to balance their squads.

Top Rated Forwards
Almost all the experts believe that Lauren Cheney (UCLA) will be the top pick followed by Kelley O’Hara (Stanford) and Casey Nogueira (North Carolina). Other players who are expected to go in early rounds include Michelle Enyeart, (Portland), Jill Hutchinson (Wake Forest), Katie Schoepfer (Penn State) and Gina DiMartino (Boston College).

Top Rated Midfielders
It’s no surprise that Tobin Heath (North Carolina) is the top prospect for a midfielder. Heath, part of the Tar Heel team that won this year’s College Cup, is a 2008 Olympic gold medalist and was named 2009 Young Female Athlete of the Year  by U.S. Soccer.  Other top picks include teammate Nikki Washington (North Carolina), Kara Lang (UCLA) and Becky Edwards (Florida State).

Top Rated Defenders
Whitney Engen (North Carolina) is the almost unanimous choice as the top defender. Among other defenders, Connecticut’s Brittany Taylor was a top prospect along with Stanford’s Ali Riley (an LA player we’ve been following for a while) and Santa Clara’s Jordan Angeli.

Top Rated Goalkeepers
USC goalkeeper, Kristin Olsen, made each of the experts’ Top 5 Prospects lists.  Other top picks include Ashlyn Harris (North Carolina)  and Alyssa Naeher (Penn State).

The  Draft begins at 10am on Friday, January 15 and is scheduled for seven rounds for each team with the two expansion teams receiving an additional pick each at the end of Round One. For more information, go to: http://www.womensprosoccer.com/Home/schedule/2010-wps-draft.aspx

Here’s how the draft picks will go:

FIRST ROUND
1. Atlanta Beat
2. Boston Breakers
3. FC Gold Pride
4. Chicago Red Stars
5. Los Angeles Sol
6. Sky Blue FC
7. Washington Freedom
8. Los Angeles Sol
9. Los Angeles Sol
10. Atlanta Beat
11. Boston Breakers

SECOND ROUND
12. Atlanta Beat
13. Philadelphia Independence
14. FC Gold Pride
15. Chicago Red Stars
16. Boston Breakers
17. Saint Louis Athletica
18. Washington Freedom
19. Saint Louis Athletica
20. Los Angeles Sol

THIRD ROUND
21. Atlanta Beat
22. Los Angeles Sol
23. FC Gold Pride
24. Chicago Red Stars
25. Boston Breakers
26. Sky Blue FC
27. Washington Freedom
28. Saint Louis Athletica
29. Sky Blue FC

FOURTH – SEVENTH ROUNDS
Atlanta Beat
Philadelphia Independence
FC Gold Pride
Chicago Red Stars
Boston Breakers
Sky Blue FC
Washington Freedom
Saint Louis Athletica
Los Angeles Sol

Stay tuned for complete coverage and exclusive interviews relating to the draft.

IGSA/All Girl Skate Jam Skateboarding Clinic

International Girls Skateboarding Association is holding a girls skateboard clinic this weekend at YMCA Encinitas 11:45 – 3:00. All ages, all girls, all abilities. Special guests include pro skateboards Cara Beth Burnside and Mimi Knoop.

Shania Twain carries Olympic torch

Country singer Shania Twain carried the Olympic torch in arctic conditions in her childhood hometown on New Year’s Day, as the torch relay continued ahead of the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Twain carried the torch for 400 meters and lit a cauldron in the town of Timmins, in the eastern Canadian province of Ontario.

“I feel proud, very proud,” Twain said. “It’s a highlight of my life to be able to carry the flame, to light the cauldron.”

At 26 degrees below zero (-16 F) and windy, it was so cold that when a dozen red beach balls were tossed into the crowd, the balls came apart within seconds.

“I know that sounds crazy, but it wouldn’t be Timmins if it wasn’t 40 below with the wind chill factor!” Twain said.

The torch was lit in Olympia, Greece, in October 2009 and will travel around Canada before lighting the cauldron at the opening ceremony of the games on Feb. 12.

After the relay, the singer donated her Olympic torch and clothing to the Shania Twain Centre in Timmins.

Twain says one addition makes her torch unique – she put hockey tape on the base of her torch so she wouldn’t drop it.

She said every time she visits the centre she’s moved by the fact she’s able to do a small part to try to represent what it is for a small town girl to come from Timmins and live out her dreams.

It seems dreams, whether Olympic or the Grand Ol Opry,  can be achieved by anyone.

Charlize Theron leading lady in World Cup draw

South African actress Charlize Theron has landed a leading  role in Friday’s draw for next year’s soccer World Cup finals in her home country, the international soccer body FIFA announced .

Theron, a Hollywood icon, will be joint host of the 90-minute show to be televised live to an estimated global audience of more than two hundred million people in 200 countries.

She is well-known as a celeb who gives back and has been involved in efforts to give kids living in underserved communities more opportunities to play competitive soccer.

Theron will join FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke to host the procedure of placing the 32 national finalists into eight groups of four teams for the 2010 tournament which runs from June 11 to July 11.

A host of sporting celebrities will also take part in the draw including Ethiopia’s Olympic champion runner Haile Gebrselassie, South African soccer player Matthew Booth and cricketer Makhaya Ntini and the host country’s rugby World Cup captain John Smit. Also attending will be David Beckham, who scored in three consecutive World Cups and still hopes to make it on the England squad by June.

South African president Jacob Zuma will be in the audience along with Nobel Peace prize winners Frederik de Klerk and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Theron is definitely one of those actresses we love to watch and support in all her endeavors.

Get on Board in San Diego

Since the spring, Girls Riders Organization has been on a nation-wide tour sponsoring a series of female-only  instructional programs and gatherings of female skaters committed to inspiring girls to participate in action sports.

And this weekend, GRO is hitting San Diego.

“This year is about cooperation and bringing together women and organizations from across the different sports.  This series of events in the San Diego area brings together skateboarding, downhill and surfing to provide ladies a variety of activities to experience.  We hope these partnerships will help the girls opportunities grow,” says founder Courtney Payne Taylor.

The San Diego stop features Girls Riders Organization, Skateboard Divas and Betty’s On Boards who are teaming up for  three ladies workshops and sessions in two days. Check ‘em out:

Downhill Workshop & Session
Poway Pump Station, Cara Way, San Diego, CA on Saturday, October, 24th 10am-12pm.
Skateboard Workshop & Session
Chula Vista Skate Park, Chula Vista, CA on Saturday, October, 24th 2pm-5pm.
Surf Workshop & Session
Pacific Beach Surf Shop, Pacific Beach, CA on Sunday, October, 25th 10am-1pm.

Note: Girls under the age of 18 years, must have a parent or guardian present to sign you up onsite during registration.

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