National Girls and Women in Sports Week

This year, Gwynedd students celebrated National Women in Sports Day in the first week of February. The overarching theme of this week was celebrating the 50^th anniversary of Title IX, a civil rights law made in 1972 that prohibits sex-based exclusion from any school program or activity. Community and seminar periods were used to play movies and host a guest speaker to educate and inspire our student body about women in sports.

One of the movies played was Bethany Hamilton’s: Unstoppable, a documentary about well-known, professional surfer Bethany Hamilton who lost her arm in a shark attack. She continues to surf today and has won many titles, inspiring girls across the world to never give up on their ambitions.

Our guest speaker was Gwynedd alum Kelsey Fluehr Trainor ’08 who works in Business Affairs at the Gaming Society, a company that plays sports more inclusive for women. She spoke during the community period on February 2^nd and talked about Title IX and its effects on female athletes. She broke down the implications of Title IX and which schools, companies, and organizations are subject to it. She said it requires all schools to give females equal access to athletics, but it is rarely enforced, especially in the NCAA, and women are still heavily discriminated against. Kelsey stated, “While Title IX was a big step for women, we still have a long way to go.”

In remaining community periods, the volleyball, basketball, golf, and flag football teams sponsored volleyball games, knockout, and other activities for all students to get involved. In our beautiful glass corridor, posters were hung of the seniors that have committed to college for athletics. Sports are a key element of student life here at Gwynedd, which is why Women in Sports Week is a very important celebration. All in all, this week would be considered a huge success!