|
Written by: Radhika Goyal
Have you heard about the United States women’s national soccer team? Well, this team represents the United States for women’s soccer. The USWNT, also known as, The Stars and Stripes team, is the most triumphant and strong, leading team. They have won 4 Women’s World Cup titles over numerous years and four Olympic gold medals. However, not only did they manage to achieve these accomplishments, but they also have won eight CONCACAF Gold Cups. The remarkable team’s captain is unsure, as proved by the official USWNT website. The team’s top scorer, Abby Wambach, retired in 2015. Not only is she an icon for girls who play soccer, but she is also an icon for those who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. Many young people part of that unique community look up to her because Abby is not ashamed of being part of it. Recently, as of February of 2022, the USWNT participated in the SHEBELIEVES Cup. The two players, Catarina Macario and Mallory Pugh led the team to victory. Both players helped the team win with two goals each. After the successful game, Catarina Macario was named the 2022 Visa SheBelieves Cup MVP. Believe it or not, Catarina is the youngest player to ever accept this recognition. In this game, USWNT played against several teams such as Iceland, the Czech Republic, New Zealand, and South Korea. In 2018, the USWNT proved their greatness when they were undefeated. After this victory, the team gained much popularity. That was the start of their success. Today, many young soccer players look up to the USWNT because they have such a powerful, inspiring team that motivates them to continue playing soccer. However, after they started to gain many fans, multiple individuals started to accept that women are also capable enough to play sports. https://www.ussoccer.com/teams/uswnt
0 Comments
Written by: Ahana Goel
You’ve probably played basketball, football, and maybe even lacrosse. But, have you ever played table tennis? Let me tell you a little bit about it! Table tennis is a great sport! I bet you will enjoy it as much as I do! Table tennis is where players stand on one end of a very long “table” which can be folded for easy storage. Players are given a table tennis racket, or a paddle, to hit a small ball. A paddle is a small racket, but instead of the net as the middle where you hit the ball, it is made out of rubber. You can have one player on each side of the table (singles) or you can have two players on each side (doubles). You can even play by yourself by folding up one side of the table. It’s better when other people are playing with you. But where did this amazing sport even come from? Well, in the 20th century, a man named David Foster had the idea to bring tennis onto a table. However, the game was not called table tennis. Rather, it was called Ping-Pong and many still use the name today. Did you know that table-tennis is the third largest participation sport in the world? That’s amazing! The objective, or goal, of the game is to hit the ball so that the opponent cannot hit it back, while the ball hitting the other side of the table. The game is only won when the player reaches 11 points. A match is played best 3 of 5 games. There are two types of games in table tennis. There can be singles or doubles. Unlike singles, where the ball can bounce anywhere on the table, the ball can only hit the right side of the table for both the server and receiver. The top 5 countries in table tennis are China, Japan, Germany, Korea, and Sweden. But, why are they the best in this sport? These countries are dynasties in this sport not only for their coaches, but also for their players. The coaches not only have great table tennis techniques, but they also have great tactics, strength, playing style, and team managers. The players have a great sense of determination and have many people who play this sport. However, the best player of them all is Fan Zhendong from China with over 12,000 points! Currently, he is ranked number 1 in men’s singles. Overall, table tennis is an amazing sport! Written by: Kate Pietruszkiewicz
Simone Biles, the Williams sisters, Candice Parker…. You’ve probably heard of these female sports stars, right? But that list of sensational athletes goes on so much longer. The historic women of our past articles have opened up so many opportunities by showing and proving to the world what girls can do. Now the problem that stands in our way is recognition. If we can do it just as well as men, then why aren’t we getting treated like it? Well, back in 1972, The U.S. Department of Education did make a move for change. At that time, girls were still thought to be unfit for sports and were therefore denied the recruitment, admissions, counseling, financial assistance, and athletics that were offered to men at the same schools. Imagine having to practice your sport late, after dinner, on a weeknight, because that’s the only time that the boys team wasn’t practicing. That’s what the Brown University women’s swimming team endured to get their training in, and most other women athletes at the time could relate; practicing with no equipment, no locker rooms, and no gyms. Once Title IX came about, all educational programs and activities receiving federal funding were required to abide by the statement that “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”. This now applies to approximately 17,600 local school districts and over 5,000 postsecondary institutions, where girls and boys don’t have to participate in the same sports, but they must have the same number of teams offered. The participation of girls in sports has increased from 1 in 27 to 1 in 3 in the 50 years since Title IX was enforced, but they still only get 5.4% of the televised coverage on sports channels. Girls all over are putting in the work and accomplishing the unheard of, but very few have the honor of seeing them. In 2019, the Women’s World Cup made up 1.9% of that small amount, meaning that since the World Cup only comes around once every four years, the media coverage in the off years is 3.5%. With the US Women’s National Soccer Team generating so much TV attention, it’s only fair and expected that they, as well as the teams from other countries, get rewarded, right? Because sadly, while the dream as a child may just be to play in front of a sold out stadium, ultimately a career in sports is still a career. The average American woman earns only 81% of what a man would in the same role. In basketball for example, an NBA player will make 8,321,937 dollars a year and a WNBA player will make 75,181 dollars. That stat is alarming on its own, but the biggest discrepancy comes between the highest paid men and women sports stars. In 2019, the soccer star Lionel Messi made 125% more than Serena Williams. Think about that: Tennis is the highest paying women’s sport, and Serena has been the most talented and accomplished athlete in that field for the past 27 years. She is arguably the greatest woman athlete across the globe. If the greatest of all time, with 23 Grand Slam titles and 4 Olympic gold medals to prove it, can’t get equal treatment, then how can the rising stars survive in the competition? By continuing to play and continuing to impress, we prove that we are worthy of a spot and worthy of acknowledgment. So, with so much going on in the world right now, let’s try to take a break, play sports, and celebrate the Women’s History month that is earned every day. Sports connect athletes, fans, and viewers from all over and whether you are playing or watching, you’ve always got a team. Getting absorbed in a game provides the inspiration and support to face whatever your challenge may be. Watching these women do their thing and dominate across the fields and courts, connects us to a cause. What they are doing is pushing us forward, into a future of equal playing opportunities and recognition! https://online.adelphi.edu/articles/male-female-sports-salary/ https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/tix_dis.html Written by : Kate Pietruszkiewicz
Following an exciting We Play Too soccer clinic at Moody Middle school, let’s kick over to what the professional women in that sport are getting some positive attention for now! A few US Women’s National Soccer Team athletes have made an especially awesome accomplishment last Tuesday, 2/22. Alex Morgan is a three-time Olympian (including a gold medal in 2012), a back-to-back winner of the FIFA World Cup, and now a member of the San Diego Wave FC, an NWSL soccer team. She has lived up to her honor in the Time Magazine in 2019 as one of the 100 Most Influential People of the Year; having written a children’s book series - The Kicks, starred in a movie - Alex & Me, and accompanied by a Canadian and an Australian woman, she became one of the first girls ever on the cover of the FIFA video game. Along with her co-captain from 2018-2020, Megan Rapinoe, she has led the fight for equal pay in the sport of soccer. On Tuesday, after 3 years of ups and downs since they filed their gender discrimination lawsuit campaigning for equal pay, the group of 28 women’s soccer players came to a 24 million dollar settlement with the US soccer federation. This is a big move for recognition in women’s sports, something that, if you are interested in learning more about, will be the focus of our next article! Written by: Kate Pietruszkiewicz As we near the end of this years’ Winter Olympics, let’s look at all of the record-breaking and incredible feats we’ve seen… We started off with three-time Olympic speed skater Brittany Blowe as the country’s flag bearer. Soon after, Julia Marino won the first Team USA medal of the 2022 Olympics, silver in slopestyle snowboarding. Chloe Kim, another American snowboarder, won the half-pipe event, which made her the first woman to win back-to-back gold medals in the event’s history. From 21-year-old Kim, to 36-year-old snowboard-cross winner Lindsey Jacobellis, Team USA dominated the medal count (3rd currently) and the history book. Among our competing athletes was the first Indigenous woman for US hockey and the first Black Olympic athletes in skeleton and speed skating. It’s so cool to watch these women excel in their sports, but guess what? None of these accomplishments would be possible without the trailblazing people that paved the way. The first woman to ever play in a PGA golf event, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, and Toni Stone, the girl referred to as “the female Jackie Robinson” were both unheard of in their eras. That didn’t stop them though; Babe was selected as best female athlete of the early 20th century and Toni earned a second-base(wo)man role in the place of a male hall-of-famer. To add to that list, we couldn’t forget to mention the famed Billie Jean King who was the oldest tennis Grand Slam semi-finalist and is the famed winner of the “Battle of the Sexes'' in which she beat a male player head-to-head. These laudable ladies and so many less-recognized ones have all led the charge of girls into sports, not just in the winter, but all seasons of the year. These women fought through so much just to play themselves, but they opened the door for our generation to do so without judgment. So next time you are lacking the self-confidence for a tryout, a practice, or a game, try looking up Nadia Comaneci - gymnastics, Victoria Roche - Little League, Nancy Liberman - basketball, Florence Griffith-Joyner - track and field, Mia Hamm - soccer, or Manon Rheaume - hockey. If they can do it, so can you! Check in next week for an update on the current leading ladies of the sports world! “Our Favorite Team USA Moments from the 2022 Winter Olympics Thus Far.” Team USA, 2022, www.teamusa.org/News/2022/February/13/Our-Favorite-Team-USA-Moments-From-The-2022-Winter-Olympics-Thus-Far. Accessed 16 Feb. 2022. ESPN.com. “Notable Female Trailblazers through Sports History.” ESPN.com, ESPN, 6 Mar. 2020, www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/28839500/notable-female-trailblazers-sports-history. Accessed 16 Feb. 2022. Written by: Kate Pietruszkiewicz
Today marks the opening of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the 23rd one in history. The Olympic games are like a huge festival of sports, uniting athletes around the world to compete. In Beijing this year, there will be 91 countries represented by 2,871 eager men and women. The athletes come to participate in a variety of events; 109 exactly, that are divided into 15 disciplines, or groups. All of them - Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross-Country Skiing, Curling, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing, Ice-Hockey, Luge, Nordic Combined, Short Track Speed Skating, Skeleton, Ski Jumping, Snowboarding, and general Speed Skating - will be available to watch on the NBC channels from the opening ceremonies today, February 4th, until the closing ceremonies on the 20th. While close to half of the athletes participating in the games this year are women, it wasn’t always that way. The first official Olympics were held in 1896 and when women got to compete at the next go around in Paris 1900, they only made up 2% of the 997 total athletes. Not only have they made a large leap just to participate, the girls have also proved themselves to be avid athletes in all of the sports offered, not just the 5 that were initially offered to their gender. As of the 1991 International Olympic Committee's statement, any sport added to the Games is added for both men and women. There are many women to look out for in this year’s winter edition, so make sure to watch the sure-to-be exciting performances of Chloe Kim (Snowboarding), Maame Biney (Short Course Speed Skating), Alysa Liu (Figure Skating), Mikaela Shiffrin (Alpine Skiing), and Elana Meyers Taylor (Bobsledding). Look out for next Friday's update where we’ll go into some more important women in sports; the ones making their mark now as well as the trailblazers throughout history. “Winter Olympic Sports List | Olympics.com.” Olympics.com, 2022, olympics.com/en/sports/winter-olympics. Accessed 4 Feb. 2022. “When Did Women First Compete in the Olympic Games.” International Olympic Committee, 23 Nov. 2021, olympics.com/ioc/faq/history-and-origin-of-the-games/when-did-women-first-compe te-in-the-olympic-games#:~:text=Go-,When%20did%20women%20first%20compete% 20in%20the%20Olympic%20Games%3F,to%20gender%20equality%20in%20sport.. Accessed 4 Feb. 2022. We Play Too is an organization founded by Anushri Ramesh, who aims “to give kids that have an interest in sports, but no opportunities, a place to try”. She herself is an athlete, who has played a wide range of sports. As somebody who has first hand experience with sports shaping her life, she understands the impact it has on young children's lives through the values that are engraved in them.
The idea all began when she wanted to just hang out with her friends and play basketball. However, it was not that simple, because not a lot of her female friends played sports, or even had interest. When she discovered that female players were not equally valued in a lot of the well-known sports, she decided to begin her movement. With the intent of developing more female athletes, she started We Play Too. Meaning, women play too. First on the agenda was to create simple sports clinics that kids could attend to try out each of the many options; a different sport each week, essentially allowing the kids to find their best fit. Sports don’t seem amusing to all kids, but still, athletics bring a balance to their lives with fitness, values, coordination, consciousness, and morals. Simply having fun with friends and playing a game can change kids' lives for the better. They learn to have control; there are rules in sports. They gain confidence; they need it to play well. They need coordination; their bodies need to move fluidly. They need to be conscious; their actions have reactions. Lastly, they need to have morals; a good athlete is also a good person. That is what sports have given our founder Anushri Ramesh and members of the growing We Play Too club, and that is what we are trying to spread to young kids. We are kicking, shooting, and hitting away the inequalities, to bring females an equal spot in athletics. |
WP2Be ready for sports-related content through YouTube videos, and articles. Archives
June 2025
Categories |
RSS Feed