National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) is an annual event on the first Wednesday of February.

The celebration started on Feb. 3, 1987, as a remembrance of Olympic volleyball player Flo Hyman, who promoted equality for women’s sports. The day evolved into promoting girls’ and women’s sports participation and the continuing struggle for women’s equality in sports.

The Women’s Sports Foundation continues to highlight this day in many ways and supports female leaders in sports.

To celebrate the day at Simpson College, the Women and Gender Resource Center (WGRC) and the Sports Administration Club joined together to put on events for women athletes and future athletics workers.

“I think the day is a great time to recognize and reflect on my experiences as a female athlete and imagine what the future of female athletics can be,” senior cross country and track athlete Teghan Booth said.

Matt Garrett, professor of sports administration was happy to facilitate an interview with a sports industry professional for students to hear from.

“I think it is important for girls today to know that they can have a career in sports, not just as a reporter, but they can be in executive-level positions,” Garrett said. “If you want, whatever you want to do, those opportunities exist.”

Erin Mykleby, associate athletics director at Bemidji State University, was virtually interviewed via Zoom by Booth on Jan. 29, with the interview releasing Feb. 5. During the interview, Mykleby discussed her career path and the differences she faced in a male-dominated field.

The WGRC will hold a tabling event to educate students about the history of female athletics, offering goodie bag prizes. The club wants to highlight female athletics on the day and provide education and a treat for students who choose to participate.

The WGRC reached out to brands for this event in hopes of finding companies that want to support the female athletes of Simpson and give back.

“Our main sponsor for the event this year is Chobani,” Booth said. “We also have Clean Simple Eat Protein Powder providing samples. The giveaways will also include candies and chapsticks.”

The WGRC had other partners reach out wanting to donate, but with Simpson’s current sponsorship agreements, they cannot.
Booth helped initiate and plan last year’s recognition of female athletes on campus by giving out goodie bags to female teams. She wants to continue supporting female athletes after college.

The female-led clubs at Simpson work hard throughout the school year with events and enjoy being able to highlight female athletes and athletics.

“I would like to inspire girls to continue in sports throughout their junior high, high school and even college careers,” Booth said when describing her future in sports. “Well, also bring light on women in athletics and make it a bigger subject, especially with wrestling becoming a NCAA sanctioned sport.”

Virtual Interview between Teghan Booth and Erin Mykleby can be found at: https://simpson.zoom.us/rec/share/6SmigE4YeSV3aYv47IY2E_GeOt-bUJl8okNfx6poo_BnZVEiHlUntmNGPYCaqiBX.eB5xkhknk5D9rhl-?startTime=1738179071000

The password to view the interview is: 01j?@QW2