Things are very different for girls 和 women in sports today thanks to the impact of “第九条.” The 1972 l和mark gender equity law was the first based on discrimination on the basis of sex.

“If there is a dream that you have, work toward it.”

Poly students heard just how much things have changed or not during a celebration of National 女孩 和 Women in Sports Day (NGWSD). 体育指导员 Kym卡特 shared her own story from 中学 athlete to Olympic heptathlete, noting all the opportunities that were open to her including scholarships, 友谊, 和 world travel as a result of 第九条. She advised, “If there is a dream that you have, work toward it.”

中学论坛

The day began with a forum for Grades 7 & 8 students, hosted by 中学 体育指导员 比尔·麦克纳利, about the history of women in sports including a video, which described 第九条 as redefining “gender roles to create an equal playing field.” Videos were interspersed with presentations by Poly coaches 和 student-athletes who shared stories about their athletic careers.

麦迪·鲁吉24岁

麦迪·鲁吉24岁 plays 女孩’ Varsity Lacrosse 和 Varsity Squash for Poly. She asked the students if any are interested in playing squash 和 was happy to see h和s raised. “Maybe we’ll get some new recruits,” she laughed. She explained that because she is the only girl currently playing squash for Poly, 她和男孩们一起玩. She said that can be challenging at times, but she is determined to play squash in college. Ruggie explained that she is an advocate for a program 体育之声, a helpful online support system for women in sports that offers articles, 播客, 建议, 和更多的.

“Maddie is one example of the phenomenal female athletes here at Poly,” Carter said afterward.

Varsity 垒球 教练 雷纳·Beauchman

校垒球教练 雷纳·Beauchman, 他在加州长大 told students she started her athletic career as a lefty pitcher playing baseball with the boys until age 12. She transitioned to softball 和 achieved success as a college athlete, earning a scholarship to LIU Brooklyn. Not only was she a great athlete, but Beauchman was an Academic All-American.  Beauchman pointed out the discrepancy between how much professional baseball players earn compared to professional softball players. 垒球运动员, 她说, 可能赚5美元,000 a season necessitating having a full-time job to survive. “A lot of struggles come with being a female athlete,”  Beauchman said. “When you play sports, make sure you love it.”

Assistant Director of Sports Performance 吉莉安Wojcik

Assistant Director of Sports Performance 吉莉安Wojcik, told students she had been a dancer who practiced seven hours a day late into the night. She hoped one day to dance with the Rockettes. 而不是, she taught dance to the Rockettes 和 found that she enjoyed the strength 和 conditioning aspects of training. She noted that the number of females in strength 和 conditioning is increasing.

伊丽莎·施瓦茨，23岁

伊丽莎·施瓦茨，23岁 began her athletic career as a figure skater. At Poly, Schwarz joined the lacrosse team. The goalie was recognized as a U.S. 曲棍球学术全美. “教练 Mello [Lisa Beltramello] was a great help,施瓦茨说, adding that Poly is “a very supportive environment. 大胆尝试吧!” She added that she also took part in a “showcase” at which she had the opportunity to work with coaches.

大学女子篮球赛

After enjoying a special cake at lunchtime to celebrate NGWSD, students were ready to cheer on the 女孩’ Varsity Basketball team against Fieldston that afternoon.

The game festivities featured music by female artists, the National Anthem sung beautifully by 27年茶节 和 Soleil Pena ' 27, 和 教练 Beltramello a triumph as a roving play-by-play announcer. She admitted that she had “always wanted to do this in college.”

中场休息时, when the score was Poly leading 32-15, 麦克纳利, 谁又是首席娱乐官, refereed a competition between the Varsity 女子曲棍球 team 和 Varsity 女孩’ 垒球 team. Each team formed a circle 和 麦克纳利 gave each team a gym bag full of clothes. 随着音乐响起, the girls passed the bag around until the music stopped 和 the person holding the bag had to put on an item of clothing. Who can empty the bag the fastest? Not sure of the rules, but it was hilarious. 女子曲棍球 was deemed the winners 和 celebrated as if they had won the Super Bowl. All the competitors were rewarded with pizza.

Meanwhile the Blue Devil mascot joined the cheering fans in the bleachers. There was much to cheer about as the Varsity 女子篮球 team led by 教练 迈克Junsch ‘71, P’94, ’95 defeated Fieldston 64-31.