Jan. 27, 2004
2004 National Girls and Women in Sports Day Patriot League Newsletter
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Lafayette College will be the second Patriot League institution to host a "Celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day" event when the Leopards host Delaware and Binghamton in a swim meet at Ruef Natatorium Wednesday at 4 p.m.
National Girls and Women's in Sports Day (NGWSD), an annual event first chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1986 to honor female athletic achievement and recognize the importance of sports and fitness participation for all girls and women, will officially be celebrated across the country on Feb. 4.
However, the Patriot League and its member institutions have scheduled special events throughout late January and February. The League has also published a special brochure, featuring the athletic, academic and leadership achievements of current and former Patriot League scholar-athletes, coaches and administrators.
American University was the first institution to schedule its NGWSD celebration in conjunction with its Jan. 17 basketball game vs. Lehigh University. Following Lafayette's event tomorrow, the remainder of the PL institutions have scheduled their special day during February.
The entire list of 2004 Patriot League NGWSD Events can be found at:
Celebrating Women In Sports
NGWSD began in 1987 as a day to remember Olympic volleyball player Flo Hyman for her athletic achievements and her work to assure equality for women's sports. Hyman died of Marfan's Syndrome in 1986 while competing in a volleyball tournament in Japan.
Since that time, NGWSD has evolved into a day to acknowledge the past and recognize the current sports achievements, the positive influence of sports participation and the continuing struggle for equality and access for women in sports.
NGWSD, jointly organized by the National Girls and Women in Sport Coalition. It will be celebrated in all 50 states, with community-based events, award ceremonies and activities honoring the achievements and encouraging participation of girls and women in sports. This year, thousands of sports educators, coaches, athletic directors, recreation directors, assocation members, sponsors, students and parents across the country will show their sport of NGWSD and this year's theme, "Play Fair."
In the Patriot League, more than 1,500 female scholar-athlettes compete in 11 NCAA Division I championship sports each year. Those teams and individuals that excel advance to NCAA championships and earn All-America recognition.
The Patriot League, an NCAA Division I athletics conference founded on the principle of admitting athletes who are academically representative of their class, is in its second decade of academic and athletic excellence. Participation in intercollegiate athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of the undergraduate experience. A successful Division I-AA football conference since 1986 and an all-sport conference since 1990, membership includes American, Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh and Navy, while six additional institutions hold associate membership. Patriot League member institutions are among the oldest and most prestigious in the nation, graduating alumni who are well prepared for life with the ability to make meaningful contributions to their community and society in general. In the most recent NCAA Graduation Rate Report of student-athletes, the Patriot League ranked FIRST among NCAA Division I conferences.