The 5th World Conference on Women and Sport took place in Los Angeles over the past few days. Dignitaries from the International Olympic Committee, the London Olympic Games, and sports organizing bodies from all over the world were here, with the focus on women athletes and their issues on today’s world stage. I was asked to give the final keynote of the conference, in conjunction with actress Geena Davis, who has not only been an advocate for women athletes for many years now but who impressively made it all the way to the semi-finals of the Olympic Trials in archery just a few years ago.
Geena Davis - photo via ATR
I used my 20 or so minutes to recount the personal drama of what sports have done for my entire person, my entire life. Confidence, long-term belief, discipline, grace in defeat…..all qualities that help us make a good life….were constructed as my personal foundation directly through my participation in sports. Yet, as much as the Title IX law and the evolution of acceptance of women playing sports in this country has seen huge growth in girls’ athletic scholarships, more professional prize money, more sponsorship dollars for women athletes, women in all sports will tell you the battle for coaching, financial support, media coverage and all other measures of respect still rages on.
yours truly - photo via ATR
Then when we hear from the women of many African and Middle-Eastern countries, where playing sports is a luxury far beyond simple rights such as voting and basic education, the conference turns to programs and ideas that include a vision of one day allowing all women to garner the wealth of joy and character that come with pursuing our athlete selves….a pursuit that our brothers seem to earn as a birth right.
~Diana
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- @teresafritschi Thanks for sharing! I'll be sure to download. But I will be honest, I won't have time to read until after the swim.
- @starducks24 I'm feeling great and training is really going well. Still need more training but I'm definitely ready.
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- Unfortunately not every battle we fight is won. May the tunes of Donna Summer live on past her too short life. http://t.co/3xDyTxFg
I am old enough to remember watching my “boy” friends sign up for Little League while I had to sign up for Sugar ‘N Spice softball. I was better than the boys and it just fried me. Heck I was shortstop for the 14 year old city league allstars when I was 9. Think of Tanner in the Bad News Bears… Then a miracle happened and I moved overseas and discovered a land where girls were required to participate in a sport after school. Oh how I loved playing cricket, field hockey, netball and running track. Then my family moved back home and I attended a private girls’ school for the next 4 years. More sports. Soccer, softball, volleyball, basketball and tennis. If they had it I played it. The facilities were great. Our coaches were great. We didn’t know that it wasn’t like that everywhere. I had forgotten about Little League and how it felt to be excluded. I didn’t realize until I was much older how much of an impact sports has had on my life. I like to say that I can tell you when I meet people who played sports as a child. I deal with the pubic everyday and sports make a difference. People who have worked toward a goal, sacrificed and planned, organized and failed. They have a better chance at living full and successful lives and at having good and meaningful relationships. It is hard to think that Title ix enforcement is still required. I am glad to see that it was recently enforced on the high school level in California. Thank you for speaking out about the importance of sport to girls. Run Like A Girl has always been one of my favorites.
what’s with the bugle?