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

Sneak Peek: Reese Witherspoon plays ball

Softball fans have been hearing the buzz about a Hollywood movie starring Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon for months. While details are sparse, we do know shooting for the film wrapped in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago.

The still untitled romantic comedy, directed by James L. Brooks (Simpsons, Spanglish, As Good As It Gets), features Witherspoon as a Team USA Olympic Softball player torn between Owen Wilson as a MLB player and Paul Rudd.   Jack Nicholson joined the star-filled cast as Witherspoon’s dad after Bill Murray dropped out of the film.

Legendary former UCLA Head Softball Coach, Sue Enquist, has been involved from the beginning and was hired by the production company to serve as the softball consultant.  Part of Coach Enquist’s challenge has been to surround Reese Witherspoon’s character with legitimate teammates.  Enquist also helped with the choreography of the softball scenes and it’s encouraging to note that the producers have been concerned with authenticity in shooting the fim.

Players from the National Pro Fastpitch league, the PFX Tour, and local college softball graduates will be featured throughout the scenes.  Jess Mendoza and Taryn Mowatt are among those who have been seen on set.

This is sure to be a feel-good film and there is high excitement in the softball world about the  project which is due out late 2010.

Check out more images  of Witherspoon on set from Splash News.

(h/t to The Softball Network)

Call to Action: Jefferson Award nominees

The Jefferson Awards are a prestigious national recognition system honoring community and public service in America.  They began in 1972 to create a Nobel Prize for public service. Today, their primary purpose is to serve as a “Call to Action for Volunteers” in local communities.

Did you know that athletes give back to their communities more than most groups?  Well, it’s true. Check out some of their random acts of kindness.

This month, voting begins for the prestigious national Jefferson Award for Outstanding Public Service by an Athlete.   A list of highly impressive nominees includes the following women:

Cheri Balwut – Paralympic Gold Medalist

Brandi Chastain – Soccer player

Lauren Fleshman - Long distance runner

Sara Hall – Runner

Mia Hamm – Soccer player

Lindsey Harding – Basketball player

Ana Ivanovic – Tennis player

Jelena Jankovic – Tennis player

Jessica Mendoza – Softball player

Angela Ruggiero – Hockey player

Kerri Walsh – Volleyball player

If you’re not already familiar with these inspiring women, you need to be. Click here to read about the incredible things these athletes are doing and to vote (by November 15th) for your favorite nominee.

4th Annual Los Angeles WISE Panel and Networking Event

If you live in Los Angeles and are interested in pursuing a career in sports, are looking to make connections in the industry, or want to hear from a panel of successful athletes and businesswomen including Women’s Sports Foundation President Jessica Mendoza, surfer Lisa Anderson and USA Softball player Amanda Freed, then make sure you head down to the LA Athletic Club next Tuesday (Sept. 22nd) for what looks to be a great event.

Softball players aim to impress IOC leaders this week in Switzerland

The leaders of seven sports hoping to join the Olympic program are in Lausanne, Switzerland this week making key presentations to the IOC .

All seven candidates – baseball, golf, karate, roller sports, rugby sevens, softball and squash – are seeking a place at the games from 2016 onward after being rejected by International Olympic Committee members in 2005.

Olympic softball player (and current WSF president) Jessica Mendoza is joined in Switzerland by Michele Smith and other international softball athletes to make the case to reinstate the sport.

She’s confident the IOC will make the right decision but implores everyone to visit www.backsoftball.com to show their support.

For more background on the IOC decision to drop softball in the first place, Women Talk Sports has just posted a great podcast with sports journalist Christine Brennan discussing the Olympic Committee’s decisions to remove Softball from the Olympic Summer Program in the first place as well  as its refusal to add women’s Ski Jumping to the Winter program. In the interview, Brennan states, “Jacques Rogge, the IOC President, is in danger of having his legacy…be that he did more damage to women’s sports than any IOC President.”

There are a number of other sports hoping to make it into the games as well. Squash and karate were closest to Olympic status four years ago, after baseball and softball were voted out of the 2012 London Games.

Both advanced past golf, roller sports and rugby sevens in successive rounds of voting, but finally fell short of the required two-thirds tally of IOC members.

Hoping to bolster golf’s bid, Annika Sorenstam also arrived in Lausanne to plead the case for her sport.

World Karate Federation president Antonio Espinos said his federation had worked hard since Singapore to improve its marketing and appeal.

No votes will be cast Monday when each of the sports gets a 45-minute slot to impress the Executive Board. All 15 members, led by President Jacques Rogge, have received a report from the program commission which vetted the seven last November and attended major events.

The board meets again in August at Berlin to choose two from seven that will go before the full IOC membership for approval at their October session in Copenhagen. Voting rules have changed and a place on the program awaits either or both shortlisted sports which get a simple majority.

The IOC wants sports with universal appeal, which will not burden a host city with added costs and have a proven record fighting doping.

International Softball Federation president Don Porter said his sport would support the Olympic movement’s values.

“The ISF has made tremendous progress in the last few years, pushing forward our vision of a clean, inclusive, and accessible sport that enriches the lives of tens of millions of people around the world” Porter said.

Baseball suffered four years ago from a perception that the major leagues were slow to embrace drug testing and could not deliver top players to the games. Its presentation team Monday includes Donald Fehr, leader of the Major League Baseball players’ union, and Jean-Pierre Moser, anti-doping manager for the International Baseball Federation.

Squash proposes to play in mobile glass courts it will donate to the host, and has secured pledges from top-ranked men and women players that an Olympic medal would be the sport’s highest honor.

“We feel that we fit the bill for the IOC’s requirements” said World Squash Federation president N. Ramachandran.

Karate and squash will point to having world champions from all continents.

“We estimate to have 100 million supporters and we always have full venues at our events” World Karate Federation president Antonio Espinos said. “Karate can be organized in any venue of the sports already on the program.”

The IOC is said to prefer adding one individual and one team sport, which could favor rugby sevens after it scored well with program commission observers at its World Cup event in March.

Fastpitch 411

1. The College World Series is amazing and full of nonstop action live on ESPN. Follow the games here.

2. The National Collegiate Softball Player of the Year was announced. Check out full coverage of this prestigious award.

3. Follow and Tweet with ESPN commentator, Jessica Mendoza and go behind the scenes of the broadcast.

4. Take a virtual tour of the WCWS.

5. Snag some Huskies and/or Gator college softball gear.

Have a fabulous week, everyone!

Keri :)

(Update: Washington won the 2009 NCAA Softball Championship in two games (8-0, 3-2)  Congratulations Huskies!)

Are you the one? Sister One giveaway

To celebrate the amazing achievements in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Nike has created a series of one-of-a- kind training shoes inspired by the successes of their female athletes. This fresh campaign is for a line of trainers called Sister One +. Pledge to one of the Nike Olympians to train your best and you could win her shoe!

• Jessica Mendoza (Softball)
• Hope Solo (Soccer)
• Sanya Richardson (Track)
• Diana Taurasi (Basketball)

The truly unique shoes each feature a piece of fabric from the athlete’s authentic Olympic uniform stitched onto the shoe’s tongue. 

Girls (13 and older) can log-onto nike.com  and enter to win their own pair of these inspirational shoes by pledging to train as hard as the featured Olympians. 

A panel of judges will review each pledge and the most inspirational will win the beautiful shoes and have them presented in person by the athlete.  The contest ends March 31, 2009.

Cool, huh?

Happy National Girls & Women in Sports Day

February 4th marks the 23rd 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 “Look Who’s Playing” which shows how female athletes who played or are still playing make a difference.

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.

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.    

Dream Day
The Atlanta Dream will celebrate the 23rd annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day on February 4, 2009 with a series of community events planned for the entire week.

Visit the NGWSD web site for a more complete listing of events going on February 4.

USA Softball Mendoza and Smith named Athlete Ambassadors

November 26, 2008 – In a continued effort to reinstate softball into the Olympic Games, a group of 12 players from around the world have been chosen to represent the Athlete Ambassadors program. The announcement was made by International Softball Federation President Don Porter this past Friday.

The Athlete Ambassadors will represent softball at different international events and be utilized to garner more support from other softball players as well as influential people in various international audiences. They represent all five regions including Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.

Two-time Olympian Michele Smith (USA Softball, 1996 & 2000) will serve in a chairperson role for the group, which consists of the following:

Lynn Alexander (OF) South Africa Played in 2007 Africa/Europe Olympic qualifier
Alison Bradley (OF) Canada Two-time Olympian (2004 & 2008)
Daniela Castellani (P/1B) Italy Two-time Olympian (2000 & 2004)
Luciola Figueroa (C) Puerto Rico Played in 2007 Americas Olympic qualifier
Gergana Handjiyska (IF) Bulgaria Played in 2007 Africa/Europe Olympic qualifier
Saskia Kosterink (OF) Netherlands 2008 Olympian
Jessica Mendoza (OF) USA Two-time Olympian (‘04 – gold medal, ‘08 – silver)
Chueh Ming Hui (P) Chinese Taipei 2008 Olympian
Rubilena Rojas (OF) Venezuela 2008 Olympian
Danielle Stewart (IF) Australia 2008 Olympian (bronze medalist)
Zhou Yi (OF) China Two-time Olympian (2004 & 2008)
Sibylle Züercher (P) Switzerland Played in ‘07 European Women’s Championship B

Visit the official Back Softball campaign website for more info.

Annual Salute to Women in Sports Awards honors year’s best

October 15, 2008 – Nastia Liukin won the Women’s Sports Foundation’s 2008 Sportswoman of the Year Award on Tuesday. Liukin won five Olympic gymnastics medals in Beijing including the most important — the all-around gold medal.

This year’s event delivered a dose of inspiration and awe when more than 70 of the planet’s top female athletes gathered at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City to celebrate the achievements of girls and women in sports. The event raised more than $1 million that will be turned into grants and educational and advocacy-related programming.

Jessica Mendoza, who was a part of the silver-medal U.S. Olympic softball team, was named Sportswoman of the Year for team athletes at the celebratory awards dinner.

Other honorees included Patience Knight, who won the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award for exhibiting extraordinary courage in her athletic performance and demonstrating the ability to overcome adversity.

The Billie Jean King Contribution Award was presented the Women’s Tennis Association for it’s significant contributions to the development and advancement of women’s sports in general and to the Women’s Sports Foundation specifically.

An tribute was also made to the All-American Girls’ Professional Baseball League players for their pioneering athleticism in the 1940s and 1950s. Five players from the league were given a standing ovation as they took the stage.

Kudos to the organizers, participants, and honorees!

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