MCLA Athletics to Celebrate 2023 National Girls and Women in Sports Day Feb. 4

January 10, 2023

MCLA Athletics will host two events on Feb. 4 to celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day – an initiative that dates back to 1987 to encourage the participation of girls and women in sports. Clinic registration is open until Jan. 29.  

Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023 
Pickleball Clinic & Tournament for Women 
8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the James T. Amsler Campus Center Gym 

Sports Clinic for girls in grades 3-8 
Softball, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, and volleyball 
12-4 p.m. in the James T. Amsler Campus Center Gym 

Advanced registration and payment are required online at athletics.mcla.edu. The pickleball clinic is currently full and taking a waiting list.  

Women will have the opportunity to learn from clinicians Barb LoPiccolo, who has been playing pickleball casually and competitively since 2005, and Pat Mele, a certified pickleball teaching professional and one of only four “Level II” teaching professionals in Massachusetts providing lessons at all skill levels.  

The pickleball clinic & tournament is followed by lunch sponsored by Bousquet Sport and Berkshire Money Management.  

About National Girls and Women in Sports Day  
NGWSD is celebrated in all 50 states with community-based events, award ceremonies, and activities honoring the achievements and encouraging participation of girls and women in sports.  

NGWSD began in 1987 as a day to remember Olympic volleyball player Flo Hyman for her athletic achievements and her work to assure equality for women's sports. Hyman died of Marfan's Syndrome in 1986 while competing in a volleyball tournament in Japan. Since that time, NGWSD has evolved into a day to acknowledge the past and recognize current sports achievements, the positive influence of sports participation, and the continuing struggle for equality and access for women in sports.  

NGWSD is jointly organized by the National Girls and Women in Sport Coalition. The Coalition combines the experience and resources of four premiere girls- and women-serving organizations in the United States: Girls Incorporated, the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport, National Women's Law Center, and the Women's Sports Foundation.  

Collectively, these organizations have been in existence for over 432 years and have a membership reach of 5.5 million girls and women.   

About MCLA
At MCLA, we’re here for all — and focused on each — of our students. Classes are taught by educators who care deeply about teaching, and about seeing their students thrive on every level of their lives. In nearly every way possible, the experience at MCLA is designed to elevate our students as individuals, leaders, and communicators, fully empowered to make their impressions on the world. In addition to our 128-year commitment to public education, we have fortified our commitment to equitable academic excellence. For 10 of the last 12 years, MCLA has been named a Top Ten College by U.S. News and World Report. MCLA also appears on the organization’s list of top National Public Liberal Arts Colleges. Since the list was created, MCLA has risen to #33 as a Top Performer on Social Mobility and ranks first among all Massachusetts liberal arts schools, which measures how well schools graduate students who receive Federal Pell Grants. Learn more at www.mcla.edu.