Title IX: Game Changer, Life Changer

Last June's Title IX Celebration at Nike.

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  Before I was even born, lawmakers were looking out for me, ensuring that my tall self would be able to play sports. I've previously written about the impact sports, namely basketball, has had on my life (Following Your Passion).

  Not many days pass where I don't remind myself how lucky I've been to be able to pursue the career I have, and be able to do what I love for a living.

  Participating in basketball helped give me an identity, a platform, a passion, it improved my self-confidence, and provided me with countless incredible experiences -- that continue to this day.

  So you'll have to understand, I firmly believe that every boy and girl should be allowed those same experiences growing up. 

The Law
  In 1972, a piece of legislation was passed in the US that changed the entire landscape for girls and women in sport. Title IX, ironically enough, was not written with athletics in mind. 

"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

  Simply stated, Title IX requires gender equity for boys and girls in every educational program that receives federal funding.

  When it was first written, Title IX was meant to address equal funding and access in 10 different areas: Access to Higher Education, Career Education, Education for Pregnant and Parenting Students, Employment, Learning Environment, Math and Science, Sexual Harassment, Standardized Testing and Technology.

  But where girls and women really took advantage of the new law, was in the realm of athletics: Title IX has become synonymous with girls' participation in sports.

She climbed Mt. St. Helens. I think my mom would have liked sports too.

Evolution of Girls' Sports
  Prior to Title IX's passage, the accessibility to sports by females, many times, was dependent on what part of the country they lived.

  For example, my mom, who grew up in Portland, didn't have access to team sports in high school. She could swim, play tennis, run track, or play golf.

  In the Midwest and East, girls were able to play team sports, like basketball (correct me if I'm wrong), but it was the half court, six-on-six variety.

  Across the board however, once girls graduated high school, their chances to continue playing dwindled.

  My mom grew up in a family of athletes (my uncle Mike played football at UW, and my uncle Rob played professional baseball). But because she grew up in a pre-Title IX era, my mom wasn't afforded those same opportunities.

Not an easy hike, as you can see!

  I know she would have loved participating in sports (for many reasons), if only to have been able to answer 'yes' to the countless people who have asked her 'you're tall, do you play sports?'. (Not to say that if you're tall you HAVE to be an athlete, or that athletes can ONLY be tall. But you know how many times people are asked 'do you play basketball?' even if you are just a little bit taller than average!)

  Fast forward to today's America, there are over 3 million girls participating in high school athletics (versus 294,015 one year prior to Title IX becoming law), and nearly 170,000 female varsity collegiate athletes (compared to just 29,972 in 1971).

  For those who argue that Title IX takes away from boys/men's sports, both statistics have risen on the male side too.

  While the arms of Title IX don't touch professional sports in the US, you can't help but think that the law has also had an impact on professional women's sports as well. Now, we have collegiate and professional female athletes in the public eye, setting examples for the next generation of athletes.

  Girls' athletics have progressed exponentially in the 40 years since Title IX's passage. And if we keep playing, and keep encouraging young girls to play, women's sports will continue to boom. 

Benefit of Sport
  Participating in athletics has far greater impact than solely what happens on the court or the field. Sure, playing the game is great, but there are aspects to sports that go far deeper than just playing a game. The benefits of girls' participation in sports is immeasurable, but here are a few of proven benefits:

• higher than average levels of self-esteem and lower levels of depression.
• reduced rates of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders.
• learn valuable life skills that will be useful later in life. Women will learn to collaborate with others, dedication, and perseverance.
• female athletes have better grades and higher graduation rates than non-athlete females.
• teenage female athletes are less likely to illicit drugs, less likely to be suicidal, less likely to smoke and more likely to have positive body images than female non-athletes.
• young women who participated in sports were more likely to be engaged in volunteering, be registered to vote, feel comfortable making a public statement, follow the news, and boycott than young women who had not participated in sports.

  The world of athletics is far-reaching, and can impact girls' lives every way imaginable.

Shy, first grade me.

Title IX's Impact on Me
  I grew up watching and admiring the local high school athletes in the Portland area. As I grew older, my eye turned to the collegiate and Olympic ranks for role models: the Oregon State women's basketball team, the 1996 US Women's National team with Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, and Katy Steding (who hailed from my hometown of Lake Oswego).

  Those athletes looked like me, they were women I could identify with, and strive to be like.

  Watching them helped me realize there was a lot that could be done on the basketball court. And if I wanted, the game could take me many, many places. It seemed the more I watched them, the more I wanted to play. And in turn, the more I played, the better I became.

2006-07: Playing in Poland.

  Sports opened up a whole new world to me. Who knew that years later, I'd still be playing, and doors would still be opening. Without Title IX, none of that would have been possible. Maybe there would have been sports to play, but certainly not to degree that they are played today.

Title IX Celebration
  Last summer, I was invited to participate in a Nike event celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Title IX. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity. Help promote athletics to youth, while at the same time celebrating all
the female athletes that came before me? I was thrilled to be included!

With Stella at Nike event.

  I took my then-eight year-old niece Stella with me. We had a fun day at the Nike World Headquarters playing basketball, celebrating Title IX and all the athletes who have benefited from its passage. I tried explaining the importance of Title IX to Stella, but I'm sure she'll need a few reminders at some point.

    She met Lisa Leslie and played basketball with her daughter, saw giant posters of Maria Sharapova, Abby Wambach, Allyson Felix, and Hope Solo throughout the WHQ campus. Now, maybe a new world has opened to Stella, and the other girls (and boys!) who participated in the event that day too.

Opportunity

Stella under Lisa Leslie's banner.

  To be honest, I don't know how you can argue against Title IX (but I guess I might be biased). Why
shouldn't every child, boy or girl, have the same opportunities? If institutions weren't forced to fund girls/women's sports in 1972, why should we believe that they would have eventually done it out of the goodness of their hearts?

  Politics aside, girls participating in athletics results in great things for everyone.

  While there are still disparities in funding and other areas (coaching, for example: The Glass Wall), women's athletics has come a long way in 40 years. I think it's important to keep Title IX in the forefront, and not let the law that has impacted so many lives in such a profound way fall by the wayside.

  I grew up playing basketball in the front yard with my dad and brother, and soccer, baseball, and basketball with the boys (and a few other girls) on the playground at recess. I don't know how we develop an interest in one thing over another. But just having the opportunity to play, and being allowed to make the decision for myself, was a life changer for me.

  I'm grateful for the world of athletics being opened to me. So here's a big thanks to the proponents of Title IX, and the athletes who paved the way for me!

LINKS:
History of Title IX
Title IX: Get the Facts
Athletic Statistics

Nike released a new film entitled “Voices” to celebrate women in sport on the 40th anniversary of Title IX:

Granny's Got Game: The Fabulous Seventies

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  I am constantly amazed at how efficient the Twitter medium has become at relaying information across the globe to educate, and/or 'do good' -- for lack of a better phrase.

  Several weeks ago I was passed along a link to a trailer of a documentary about a senior women's basketball team in North Carolina. Senior as in, all the team members are in their seventies. Not something you see every day -- but I thought to myself, great for them!

  It sparked my interest. And I was curious to find out a little bit more about the film project starring these ladies. I found their story to be inspirational, and one worth passing along! The film is called 'Granny's Got Game'.

Their Story

  'Granny's Got Game' is a documentary film about a senior women's basketball team based in North Carolina. The film follows them through their 2011 season, and culminates with a trip to the National Senior Games Championship in Houston. Just like any basketball season, these ladies' season was filled with countless ups and downs, and obstacles to overcome.

  The team is comprised of seven fiercely competitive women, all in their seventies. They started playing 6-on-6 basketball (where you couldn't cross the half court line -- so you were either strictly an offensive player, or a defensive player) in the 1950s but stopped after high school. In pre-Title IX America, there were no opportunities for women to keep playing after high school.

  After a long break from the game, the ladies are back playing the game they love so dearly, with teammates who have become like family. For 17 years the Fabulous Seventies, have been competing together in Senior Games Tournaments throughout the country. They've had to adjust to and learn a new, physical style of basketball (where they now play both offense and defense) while overcoming the skepticism of their peers.

  The Fabulous Seventies has had great success in their time together, winning numerous medals in tournaments across the country. And as teammates and friends, they support each other off the court through the difficulties that accompany aging, such as breast cancer, injury, and widowhood. These women are more than a team...they are a family.

Behind the Scenes
 
  Film maker, Angela Gorsica Alford, a former player herself, followed the Fabulous Seventies (their team name) for over a year. Here are her goals for her first film:

• honor and celebrate these amazing women. 
• inspire people of all ages to stay active. 
• change perceptions of the capabilities of the elderly and contest negative stereotypes. 
• highlight the support and encouragement the women get from being part of a team. 
• give younger viewers a sense of perspective so they can appreciate today’s sports opportunities.
• illustrate the competitive and ambitious nature of female athletes of all ages. 

  Gorsica Alford intends on showing the movie in film festivals across the country, and pursuing television broadcast opportunities. She also plans to screen the film for senior centers and youth basketball camps.

Angela with the team.

  The film is in post-production now, but is low on funds. There is a fundraising effort currently taking place in order to reach these goals. The more money that is raised, the more people will get to see the film and be inspired by The Fabulous Seventies! All funds raised will be used to finish and market the film. Go here for all information about the film, and fundraising efforts.

  It's a story of inspiration. They enjoy playing the game of basketball. But they play to win, not just to play! It's a story of camaraderie. They overcome a great deal to go out on the court with their best friends. And it's a story that should be passed along!

  Aren't these ladies awesome?!? It's never too late to keep playing! Vote for the film this week in the Indie Wire Project of the Week! Watch the short trailer, and follow the links below for more information to cheer The Fabulous Seventies on!

LINKS:
Granny's Got Game -- Fundraising Information
Granny's Got Game
Vote for 'Granny's Got Game' for Project of the Week (Ends April 16th)
 

"If you let me play..."

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  I don't know what made me think about this ad from Nike released back in 1995. The voice of that little girl popped into my head the other day, and I couldn't shake it. Maybe it was in the back of my mind after I blogged about The Girl Effect, or maybe I just have too much time to think on my hands?

  Whatever the reason, 15+ years later, that ad still makes a huge impact on me.

  I was 14 when that Nike commercial was released. I was who they were talking about. Heck, I could have been one of the girls in the ad.

  'Let me play sports, and I will have more self-confidence...I will learn what it means to be strong.'

  I needed that. Without sports, I honestly don't know the direction my life would have gone. I can't even imagine it. And I'm thankful I didn't grow up in a world where girls couldn't play.

  Seeing that ad again makes me think about how different my life would have been if I had never had any sports to play, or never been allowed to play.

1 of my favorite pictures ever. 2002 - CU Elite 8!

  Every amazing opportunity I have been blessed with in the past 15 years has been due to my participation in sports, and more specifically, basketball.

  I've met some awesome friends. I traveled the country, and now the world. I can appreciate different cultures and ways of living.

  I've learned self-confidence. I've learned to value health. I've learned self-discipline and hard work. I've learned the value of teamwork. I've grown to be independent.

  So when I think about the opportunities I've had, all because of sports, I can't help but want the same for every little girl (and boy, for that matter).

   This isn't meant to be just about sports. Sports are just what I can identify with most.

  For a young kid to have something to commit to, to focus on, and to learn from when they are young and growing up, is what's important. It might be singing or band, or acting, or drawing. There are endless things that kids can get involved with that might lead to future opportunities.

  For me it was basketball. It gave me a purpose, and it gave me something to focus on when there wasn't much else going on for me.

  I can't write about girls in sports, and not at least mention Title IX (an act passed in 1972, it said that no one in the US, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in any educational program that receives Federal funding). My mom grew up pre-Title IX. In an era where girls weren't allowed to play many sports. For her, there was no basketball, no soccer, etc. She could swim, or do gymnastics. But there were far fewer options when she was growing up.

  She has said to me on many occasions how she wishes she had a team to play on when she was a kid. Title IX gave me, and the girls of my generation (and after), that opportunity.

  Title IX was the start. It forced 'them' (whoever 'they' are!) to open up the door to girls. But ever since, it's been us girls holding that door open and taking advantage of every opportunity to progress.

CU Alumni weekend a few years back.

  Some people might roll their eyes at this entry or Title IX, and take these basic opportunities for granted.

  But think about it: How many women or girls do you know whose lives have been positively influenced because of sports? Now take away those opportunities, and what have they/we missed out on?

  Getting girls active and playing sports is one of the best things you can do for them. Sports teaches life lessons, and helps girls develop into strong, confident, and independent women!

  Here's to the next generation of female athletes!