How The Women’s Sports Foundation Has Been Working To Build Up Women’s Sports for Years
Founded by the legendary Billie Jean King in the 1970s, the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) is still going strong with its base mission in mind — advancing the lives of women and girls through sports and physical activities.
"There is no place in any sport for discrimination of any kind,” King said in 2020. “The global athletic community grows stronger when we welcome and champion all athletes.”
WSF works in multiple ways to support women and girls, including conducting research, which has found that as of 2018, 40 percent of girls are not participating in any form of sports, that boys have 1.13 million more opportunities in sports over girls, and one in every three girls age six to 12 participate in sports at some level. WSF advocates for athletes on numerous levels and topics, such as Title IX and Title IX compliance, LGBTQ+ rights, health, and participation. The foundation also hosts programs to get children involved in sports, honor stellar athletes, and give out resources to athletes and parents.
Since its creation, the Women’s Sports Foundation has raised more than eight million dollars in grants and scholarships, and $42 million in educational materials. Not only is supporting the growth of sports important, but education and foundations within the education system are just as important.
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The foundation’s current president is Meghan Duggan, a former ice hockey athlete, and current director of player development for the New Jersey Devils of the NHL. Among Duggan, there are countless other athletes who represent the WSF — Scout Bassett, Laila Ali, Aja Evans, and former president of WSF Phaidra Knight, to name a few.
To learn more about the Women’s Sports Foundation, you can check out the website here.
Photo credits: Wikipedia Commons, Flickr
