From fun and recreation to highly competitive offerings, opportunities abound today for women in sports.
Some of the best athletes I have ever coached have been women. And that is a historical fact. Women were involved in sports in the time of Homer, 800 B.C. Princess Nausicaa played ball with her handmaidens on the island of Scheria. But back then and also into modern times, women participated for recreation, not for competition.
That changed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when women began participating in athletic clubs. Sports of high interest included tennis, croquet, bowling, and archery.
Smith College women, 1893: Frosh v. Sophomores (photo courtesy History.com)
Still, competitive scholastic and college sports were reserved for men. Women participated via club, intramural, and sorority channels, often during “play days.”
Then, what began in basketball at Smith College as intracollegiate play in 1893 spread to other colleges, and women began participating in intercollegiate athletics. The West Coast led the way as UC Berkeley women competed against women from nearby Stanford. And the interesting thing is that Stanford didn’t yet have a men’s team! Other schools, like the University of Washington, soon joined in.
That was then. Today, women are participating across sports and at various levels, from youth to pro. Opportunities abound. The quality is terrific. Fan bases are growing.
Hurray for women’s sports!
