We want YOU: To Celebrate the 26th Annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day!

What are YOU doing next Wednesday? No plans?

Well, we’re about to change that. February 1^st is National Girls and Women in Sports Day, a day to celebrate and promote girls’ and women’s participation and excellence in sports. NGWSD is marked annually with events around the country and on Capitol Hill to commemorate the achievements of girls and women in athletics, and we’ve got some big things in the works that you can participate in!

In DC? We are hosting a panel discussion on Capitol Hill on Wednesday from 12:00-1:00 pm, in Rayburn B-338. The panel will feature, among others: Cornell McClellan, Personal Trainer to the First Family and member of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition; Grete Eliassen, Winter X Games Freeskiing Champion and Women’s Sports Foundation member; and Betsey Stevenson, Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics at Princeton University.

Not in DC? Take action to ask your Members of Congress to support bills requiring high schools to make transparent how they are distributing valuable sports opportunities among their students. Bipartisan bills in the House and Senate would require high schools to report information, broken down by gender, on sports participation and expenditures. Schools already collect this information, but since it is not public, parents and students cannot evaluate their athletics programs to make sure that girls are being treated fairly.

Also, keep an eye on our blog and Twitter feed! On Wednesday, we’ll be hosting a blog carnival to honor the impact that sports and Title IX have had on the lives of women and girls. Interested in participating in the blog carnival yourself? Email Danielle Jackson at djackson(at)nwlc(dot)org for more details!

Finally – know of any teachers or other folks that would like some Title IX goodies for their classroom? We’re running a Title IX swag giveaway on our Facebook page with everything from posters to bracelets, temporary tattoos to t-shirts! Help us spread the word, check out the list of giveaways, and get more information here.