By Gigi Picard ’22
Sports Editor
Photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke College Athletics
This year marked the 36th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day The United States holiday, which was celebrated on Feb. 2, recognizes the achievements of female athletes and the ongoing struggle for equality in women’s sports.
According to Sports Illustrated, Nicole Tepper, an employee of the National Football League team the California Panthers, wrote a letter to the female athletes of the future in honor of the day. “Be brave, be confident, challenge yourself, take constructive criticism to your advantage, be strong, be a team player, be loyal. Love what you do every day but most of all be happy,” the message said.
To add to the celebration, the Women’s Sports Foundation hosted a “Virtual 5K and 50 Mile Challenge” event, according to the organization’s website. The challenge invited participants to swim, bike, run or travel by some athletic means a distance of five kilometers or 50 miles, completed all at once or spread out over the course of the event. While both the 5K and 50 mile portions started on Feb. 1, the 5K segment will end on Feb. 28 and the 50 mile segment on June 23.
Mount Holyoke Basketball competed on NGWSD against the Coast Guard Academy, and was also among several of the College’s varsity teams to honor the holiday on its Instagram account. The team posted a collage of its players with a caption that read, “Massive shoutout to the student-athletes, coaches, officials and everyone supporting our awesome team. Thank you to those that have come before [us] and paved the way for more women in the sport industry.”
Basketball’s Head Coach Jackie Ward said, “It is great to see the rest of the world celebrate and fight for something that has been central to Mount Holyoke's ethos since it was founded.” Ward continued, “It is astounding how much inequality and stigma still surrounds gender in sport, and … celebrating this day … helps bring these issues to the forefront and acts as a reminder and a commitment to continue addressing them.”
The Soccer team posted an image of its players with a caption that stated, “MHC Soccer celebrates the accomplishments of the athletes that came before us, and will continue to fight for gender diversity in sport going forward.”
A post by the field hockey team also featured its athletes. Its caption said, “[Mount Holyoke College Field Hockey] wants to shout out all of our current and former student-athletes, coaches, officials, [athletic trainers] and support staff … Happy National Girls and Women in Sports Day.”
Next year, National Girls and Women in Sports Day will fall on Feb. 1, 2023.