By Beatriz Trevisan de Jesus, Contributing Writer
On Feb. 7, we celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD), an important date that represents all the efforts made by women to not only overcome the paradigm that women could not play sports but also show the world that they were good at it.
It is not a secret that, in the past, women were set aside from sports because they were not considered “ladylike” activities. Since women were associated with chores like taking care of the house and the children, they were marginalized from any kind of sport.
With that, men’s sports ended up receiving much more attention, incentive, and recognition than women’s.
“They [women]were not taken seriously and always came second to men’s sports,” Emelia Lowe, a freshman majoring in computer science who plays for the women’s lacrosse, said.
After many strong women fought for their rights to play sports, they eventually became part of the athletic community. Even with many people trying to sabotage women’s sports, they kept fighting to receive the adequate recognition they deserved.
This way in 1978, the current president of the United States, Ronald Reagan, nationally acknowledged all the efforts that women made to achieve gender equality in sports by establishing the NGWSD. This day also honors all female athletes’ contributions to the sports community.
Nowadays, girls and women can freely play any sport they want, and according to the Women’s Sports Foundation, this helps them to become great leaders since sports provide them with strength, character, and confidence.
“Sports have played such an important role in my life,” Ana Guarderas, a sophomore majoring in cybersecurity and playing in the Saint Leo Women’s Golf Team, said. “It has helped me to learn many life lessons, grow as a person, and make long-lasting friendships.”
On Jan. 30, Saint Leo University celebrated this important day with the special event called “Inaugural Mary Cabot Fun Run Celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day,” which consisted of a free fun walk/run to honor both Mary Cabot and her husband – Saint Leo alumni, who were always extremely supportive of Saint Leo Athletes.
The event was organized by Dawn Boltin, senior woman administrator for Saint Leo Athletes, and according to her, its main goal was to bond women and girls together while celebrating one another.
Boltin is a strong advocate for supporting other women, and the NGWSP is an opportunity for others to do the same.
“It is important to remember to celebrate how far we have come,” Boltin said.
Celebrating NGWSD allows us to honor all the effort and process that females had to go through to break stereotypes about women in sports; for that, it should always be celebrated!
