On Feb. 7, Sidwell Friends held an event commemorating National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Middle and Upper School students gathered together on the South Court of the Pearson Athletic Center to promote female participation in sports.
While middle school boys in seventh and eighth grade attended their athletic practices as usual, the middle school girls spent their time interacting with Sidwell’s varsity and junior varsity athletes.
Upper School students volunteered and ran stations, and some of the teams that held sport-specific activities we re women’s crew, lacrosse, field hockey, soccer and basketball.
The Girls Crew Team has no middle school offering and relies heavily on student-to-student promotion. Its station gave students a chance to try the ergometer, or rowing machine, and get a glimpse of what being on the team is like.
One popular event was a game of knockout, a basketball shooting competition, which was run by the Girls Varsity Basketball Team. The team has a significant presence in the DMV area and nationally, so it is important for students to get to know the team and have an introduction to the program.
Girls Varsity Soccer held scrimmages and pickup games, where middle schoolers were split into two teams and played on a makeshift field. “Soccer tennis” also proved a popular game where players juggle the ball using their feet and kick it over the line towards the opposing team.
Girls Lacrosse brought their lacrosse sticks and balls and set up a station to teach middle schoolers the basics of passing.
There was also a volleyball circle set up in the middle of the gym, and middle schoolers and upper schoolers alike practiced their bumps, sets and spikes.
In addition to the sport specific stations, there were fun spaces to make vision boards and posters, write positive affirmations, film TikToks, take photos in varsity jerseys and learn about healthy nutrition.
The event ended with a Q&A session led by Girls Basketball Coach Tamika Dudley, where Middle Schoolers asked the Upper School student-athletes about topics ranging from balancing schoolwork to their favorite part of Sidwell athletics.
Altogether, the event was an opportunity for younger students to connect with current Upper School students and learn about athletic programs. Through these activities, the event seeked to encourage Middle School students to continue or begin playing sports in Upper School.
Eighth grader Angie Spadafora said she learned that Sidwell sports are “more than just a credit.” Originally, Spadafora was only interested in playing soccer in the fall season and had “never thought about rowing, but when [she] visited the station, it seemed like a lot of fun and now inspired [her] to sign up for it next spring.”
Many felt the event provided girls an incentive to explore all of their athletic interests at Sidwell, fulfilling another primary objective of the event: to raise confidence for all girls participating in sports.
The event was “so much fun,” Spadaford added, saying that it was great to have a set time for all sports on campus to initiate connections between each other.
Freshman Suomo Quarshie agreed with Spadaford, commenting that “people at the event were very energetic.”
“It was really fun to see all of the excitement people had for the event,” she added.
National Girls and Women in Sports Day is an annual event that takes place across the globe, with both teams and individuals around the world holding events designed to empower women to play sports and provide equitable access to athletic opportunities.
Nationally, the Women’s Sports Foundation, the organization that began the tradition of National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD), encourages athletes to find events nearby to celebrate NGWSD. The event gave Sidwell students an important opportunity to engage with and support female athletes.
