This article was originally posted on KensingtonSoccer.org on February 9, 2023, and writen by Gabrielle Peterson.

National Girls and Women in Sports Day has been a celebration for 37 years according to the Women in Sports Foundation (WSF). Since 1987 when the first NGWSD was held, the goal has been to, “acknowledge the accomplishments of girls and women in sports, the positive influence of sports participation and the continuing struggle for equality for women in sports.”

On February 1st, Up2Us Coaches led by Alannah Scardino, joined the coaches and students at KSC Prep to celebrate NGWSD. They have been building upon this initiative for three years. KSC Prep is a new program created by Teen and Adult Program Director Jakeema Burton and Violence and Prevention Coordinator Brianna Banks. Coaches from Up2Us visited KSC Prep the week prior in January in order to plan the event.

Josh who started working with Up2Us in August, said, “I came here last week to observe before the event, and the community between the kids is incredible. It was pretty awesome.” He continued by sharing about a student who was upset that she didn’t get to play with her friends and, “the community just swarmed around her.” Josh’s observation exemplifies how KSC supports girls and women in sports on and off the field.

At the event, the Up2Us coaches demonstrated a variety of activities to KSC Prep coaches and facilitated a game of Jeopardy with trivia questions about women’s achievements in sports. The first series of games was called “Super-She”. There were five stations set up at the gym led by KSC and Up2Us coaches. Five teams - later named after famous women athletes - circulated through the stations to participate in different challenges. Twan from Up2Us dressed up as a Superhero and roved through the stations ready to ask the teams bonus trivia questions created by Alannah.

As they circled through the event, the Up2Us Coaches shared some of their impressions of KSC and the KSC Prep program. Alannah said, “Jakeema and Brianna were very helpful, we are happy they already have a program to host something like this.” As women in sports, Brianna and Jakeema created a program that can empower women to build skills in soccer as athletes and coaches. By hosting this event at KSC Prep - co-ed program for teens - they created a space where boys and girls could reflect on the different barriers women face in sports, while honoring the achievements of past and present athletes.

Beyond the day of the event, Up2Us is continuing to do more work to empower women in sports. Josh says, “We partnered with the flyers and are giving away free tickets to a game coming up in February for any one who recommends a female coach to our program. We are also talking about with sites about their pipelines and how they are retaining coaches.”

Everyone - including the coaches - had a great time, and they now have more physical and educational activities to add to their repertoires. We are excited that our partners like Up2Us can visit our programs to collaborate on raising awareness, and finding solutions to the different inequalities in sports.

Source: Women in Sports Foundation: “About NGWSD”. URL: https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/get-involved/ngwsd/about-ngwsd/