International Women’s Day!
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by user ActiveSports
Today is International Women’s Day! Annually on March 8th, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate their achievements as makers of history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men.
International Women's Day is also commemorated at the United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday. When women on all continents, often divided by national boundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, come together to celebrate their Day, they can look back to a tradition that represents at least nine decades of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development.
Despite these struggles for equality, the world of sports has the power to unite and transcend boundaries that once divided this community. Women's effort to redefine sport and achieve equality is something I am passionate about and has drastically impacted my life. The changes that have occurred so far are promising; women have experienced joy, camaraderie, pride, strength, increased educational opportunities and leadership as a result of their involvement and progression in sports.
In light of recognizing this important day, I’d like to pay homage to some of the greatest moments in women’s sports:
1973 | Battle of the Sexes. In the most watched tennis match in history, Billie Jean King routed Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes. For many, this was the event that defined the women's movement of the 1970s and changed the social landscape for females forever. Thirty-three years later, the USTA renamed the National Tennis Center the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the first time in U.S. history that a major sports arena bore the name of a woman.
1972 | Title IX Passed. President Nixon signed Title IX into law, prohibiting federal funding to schools and colleges that exclude women from participating in programs or activities. Title IX enables school girls and collegiate women to compete with the same support that men enjoy. The result has been nothing short of a revolution: since 1971, participation by girls in high school sports has increased from 300,000 to nearly 3 million today.
1996 | New Women's Olympic Sports. Women's softball and soccer made their Olympic debut at the Summer Games in Atlanta, and the U.S. dominated, winning the gold in both sports, as well as in basketball, gymnastics and synchronized swimming. The Atlanta Games made stars of Lisa Leslie, Mia Hamm and Lisa Fernandez, giving rise to professional softball and soccer leagues for women in the U.S.
1943 | A League of Their Own. With America at war and Major League Baseball depleted of players, women stepped into the batter's box. For 11 years, the All American Girls Professional Baseball League kept the national pastime alive for fans all over the country. At its peak, in 1948, the league drew nearly a million fans.
1999 | Women's World Cup. A billion TV viewers and a stadium crowd of 90,000 witness the celebration as the U.S. wins the Women's World Cup in a overtime shoot-out against China. Brandi Chastain ripped off her jersey after scoring the winning goal, giving little girls someone besides a model to look at for a strong, beautiful body. And for the first time, a women's soccer team got as much attention a men's squad usually does.
2007 | Equal Pay at Wimbledon. After 123 years of awarding more prize money to men than women, Wimbledon yielded to public pressure and announced on Feb. 22, that it will offer equal pay through all rounds at this year's tournament.
1926 | Swimming the English Channel. American champion Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim the English Channel -- a distance of more than 21 miles. Ederle not only completed the arduous crossing, she broke the men's record by almost two hours.
2006 | Winningest Coach in NCAA History. Pat Summitt, the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history -- male or female -- earned her 900th career win as the Tennessee Lady Vols beat Vanderbilt, 80-68. That year, Summitt signed a $1.125 million deal for the 2006-07 season, making her the first women's basketball coach in history to be paid a million dollars or more.
1977 | First woman in the Indy 500. Janet Guthrie became the first woman to qualify for and race in the Indianapolis 500. In 2005, Danica Patrick became the first woman to lead a lap at Indy.20ce4805
2003 | Annika Plays a PGA Tour Event. Annika Sorenstam became the first woman since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945 to compete in a PGA Tour event. Sorenstam missed the cut at the Colonial -- in Fort Worth, Texas -- by four strokes, but walked off the course to a standing ovation.
1997 | The WNBA is Born. The WNBA kicked off its inaugural season with eight teams, but unlike the other women's pro basketball leagues before it, this one has enjoyed longevity, this year celebrating its 10th year of existence.
1978 | Women reporters in the locker room. A federal judge ruled that male and female reporters should have equal access to locker rooms. The ruling came as a result of a suit by Time Inc. after Major League Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn prohibited Sports Illustrated reporter Melissa Ludtke from interviewing players in the locker room during the 1977 World Series.
1958 | Althea Gibson wins Wimbledon. Althea Gibson won Wimbledon and became the first African-American crowned champion at the All-England Club. After her victory in England, Gibson returned stateside to win the U.S. Championships at Forest Hills. New York honored her with a ticker-tape parade down its Canyon of Heroes.
2001 | Increased Exposure for the Women's Tournament. The NCAA and ESPN announced an 11-year agreement for the cable outlet to televise every game of the women's national championship basketball tournament.
2006 | National Baseball Hall of Fame. Effa Manley became the first woman elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Her greatest success as owner of the Newark Eagles was when they defeated the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro World Series in 1946.
Which historical event do you think had the most impact on women in sports?
