News & Views

October 2009 - 49 Year Old WinS Member Hikes The Appalachian Trail!

My name is Marit Gay and I am a member of the WinS Organization. I wanted to include my story for women continuing to inspire their life through sport. I am a local 49 year old female and I recently accomplished a life long dream - to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. My two daughters were off to college, so I took a break from work and my personal life of mother and wife to backpack the 2,178 miles from Georgia to Maine from March 14 - August 26, 2009.

I was lucky enough to find two other women my age from other localities to join me. We averaged 15 miles per day and carried 30 pound backpacks with all of our necessities to live. It was often difficult with over 1/3 of our days in rain, but the scenery, friendships we made and the physical shape we achieved made it worth it. It was an amazing experience!

I challenge all girls and women to try to accomplish their dreams. Hard work, preparation, and a positive attitude will help you to achieve almost anything!

October 2009 - WinS Holds First Tennis Event!

WinS hosted it's first Tennis Event on Sunday, October 18th at Glenmore Country Club. The chilly afternoon saw 18 women's doubles teams from five area clubs for four rounds of tennis in a compass draw. Awards were given for the top four teams and everyone received a raffle prize along with a gift bag! Thanks to donations from local pros, Tennis.com, WinS members and various others, this event was able to support the WinS mission with a sum of over $1000!!

Everyone seemed to enjoy the day despite the chilly temps and wind!! We hope to make this an annual event. Check the website next summer for our 2010 Tennis Event date and join us!!

June 2009 - WinS Initiates Dads For Daughters!

WinS is proud to announce the creation of their ‘Dads for Daughters’ initiative, under the leadership of Tom Eklund (dad of golfer Lauren from Albemarle High School). WinS hopes that the ‘Dads for Daughters’ program will provide opportunities for fathers of female high school athletes in the Charlottesville/Albemarle area to come together in support of their daughter’s athletic pursuits. The basic premise is that these Dads will create unique activities to promote and support their daughters as high school athletes and will participate in WinS' annual awards program each June.

Tom Eklund is looking for fellow fathers who are interested in joining him on this WinS committee which will continue to raise community awareness of the contributions made by our female athletes. Any dads who are interested in finding out more about this new WinS initiative are asked to contact Tom Eklund via -mail at tomeklund@msn.com.

October 2008

Announcing two important resources for parents, coaches, and others who care about girls’ physical activity!

Written by Diane Whaley, PhD, University of Virginia

Recently, two reports have been issued that everyone with an interest in girls and women in sport should put on their “must read” list. The first is an update of a 1997 publication and is called, “Developing Physically Active Girls: An Evidence-based Multidisciplinary Approach”. Don’t be turned off by the official-sounding name; this is an easy-to-read report that backs up their findings and recommendations with research. Issued by the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport (University of Minnesota), it covers the psychological, sociological, and physiological dimensions of sport, and concludes with a chapter on “best practices” for programs and research. I know many of the folks involved with this report, and this is something they should be very proud of. The information is thorough, usable, and current. It is available for download at: http://cehd.umn.edu/tuckercenter/projects/TCRR/default.html, but go to their main page to see lots of other wonderful information! www.tuckercenter.org.

Just last week, the Women’s Sports Foundation released their report entitled, “Who’s Playing College Sports: Money, Race, and Gender.” It is the most up-to-the-minute information on the state of young women’s and men’s opportunities at the college level. It puts to rest some long-held beliefs that Title IX has “hurt” men’s sport, and is a must-read for any parent with an aspiring athletic daughter. Download this report HERE. The Women’s Sports Foundation, founded by Billie Jean King over 30 years ago, has been championing the cause of girl’s participation in sport for a long time. This website has tons of information, from grant programs, to current news about top female athletes, and a number of research reports. Don’t miss the GoGirlGo! Program information – maybe one of you will just want to start a local chapter!

September 2008

The date has been determined for the 2009 Banquet. Mark you calendar for Monday June 1, 2009 at the STAB Convocation Center.

February 2008 - UVA honors Women in Sports

The University of Virginia Women’s Center and the UVA Athletic Department commemorated National Girls and Women in Sports Day with a memorable celebration on Sunday, Feb. 10. This annual event began in 1986 to honor the talents and accomplishments of the late Flo Hyman, who was a leading activist for equality in women’s sports. The Women’s Center and the UVA Athletic Department have been recognizing women in sports on this occasion for more than ten years. The Women in Sports organization (WinS) in Albemarle/Charlottesville was honored to be the recipient of such special recognition this year. Prior to the Virginia women’s basketball game against Florida State, the current Women in Sports members and the organization’s founding women were invited to a reception at the Colonnade Club. The founding members, who were also recognized at halftime of the game, included: Becky Anderson, Kerri Borchardt-Taylor, Claudia Dodson, Kathy Gay Groves, Regina Kirk, Brenda Langdon, Hannah Catherine Munro, Linda Perriello and Kathy Sudduth. Each founder in attendance was escorted by a UVa student, who previously attended a Central Virginia high school, where they were involved as a student-athlete. Those student-athletes included: Callie Hlavin, Charlottesville High School; Rashawnda James, Charlottesville High School; Whitney Neuhauser, Monticello High School; Rachel Rose, Albemarle High School; Smantha Stafford, Western Albemarle High School; Augusta Stratos, Charlottesville High School.

WinSPARK!

A WinSpark is a rising female athlete (JV level in high school). Select the link at the right to view WinSPARKS!

Star Search

Star Search features articles about someone who used to be a high school athlete and is working now, is in college, or has graduated and working in a new career. You can learn about our past and present Stars by clicking the link at the right.

January 2008

WinS introduced it's website, winscville.org. Launched in January 2008, the website is a testament to the dedication of the founders and board members who strive to promote sports activity among young female athletes in the Albemarle/Charlottesville, Virginia area. Winscville.org will be a starting point for those interested in learning more about the scholarships, awards and fundraising activities, and a resource for those seeking to encourage female participation in sports.