Annual Day pushes women to excel in sports
University Recreation and the Athletics Department hosted the sixth annual Girls and Women in Sports Day Saturday at the Student Activity Center.
The event was designed to celebrate females in sports and to educate and expose young girls to a variety of athletic activities. Girls ages eight to 13 and their mothers or female mentors took part in a variety of sports skill clinics taught by CMU coaches and athletes.
“It gives girls and their mothers or mentors the opportunity to try different sports and emphasizes the importance of sports and fitness,” said Laurie Braden, URec’s director of programs. “It’s an opportunity for CMU to give back to the community and also for University Recreation to give back as well.”
Sports clinics included soccer, volleyball and field hockey and were explored on a rotation basis.
Beth Grawburg, Mount Pleasant resident, has attended with her daughters for the past six years.
“We first came because it gave me opportunity to spend one-on-one time with my daughter, but we had so much fun that we just kept coming back,” she said.
Grawburg’s 11-year-old daughter Lauren Grawburg also has enjoyed the sports clinic.
“The best part is hanging out with and meeting college students and coaches,” Lauren Grawburg said.
The clinics gave girls the opportunity to participate in a physical activity, something that is extremely important in regards to their well being, Braden said.
“Research shows that if not involved in a sport or physical activity by the sixth grade, girls have a 1 in 25 chance in picking up one later on in life,” Braden said. “It’s important to expose girls to sports early on in order to be active later.”
Besides the benefit of physical activity, the young girls were given the chance to interact with female athletes, who served as examples of what women in sports can achieve.
“Young kids always look up to people. By seeing other female athletes they can see what someone else has achieved and work toward their own goals,” said Cortney Blanchard, a South Africa sophomore and field hockey team member who volunteered at the event.
Blanchard said it is important to devote special focus on women athletes.
“Women are often overlooked, and our society is male dominated. So it’s important to start the girls young, educate them about different sports and show them that they can achieve anything they want,” Blanchard said.
Earl Marais, assistant coach of CMU’s field hockey team, lent his expertise on the sport during one of the clinics.
“Not many people know a lot about field hockey. It is actually the second largest sport played globally behind soccer,” he said. “We are enthusiastic to demonstrate what the sport is all about.”
