The Women Who Paved the Way
Although my mom and dad would not consider themselves athletes, my grandma was another story…
She was the best athlete of all the girls AND boys in Surrey, B.C., and her dad, my great grandfather Jeremiah, was so confident that she, the oldest girl of his 14 children, would win the annual Surrey City grade school fitness competition, that he had a big trophy made, and he donated it for the winner. 🏆
The day of the competition came, and my grandma won it out-right, only to have the trophy given the first place boy, who had come in second place to my grandma. 😲
My great-grandpa was furious, but the city people stayed firm on giving it to second place since they were more comfortable giving it to a boy, as they always had. 😡
Even my mom, a 1950’s stay-at-home mom of nine children, says it was “disgusting” that they didn’t reward my grandma for her athletic efforts, simply because she was a girl. 😫
Props to my great-grandpa for supporting his daughter’s athletic efforts, a hundred years ago. 👍
This story reminds me both of how grateful I am to have the opportunities I have as a woman athlete, and of how much more work there is still to be done to support girls and women in sports…
One way to help support women’s sports is to watch them, so the network knows they elicit viewers. Even my old-fashioned 96 year-old dad has come around, saying that “Sue Bird is the best basketball player ever,” male or female, that he has ever seen. This is the same guy who, when I was in junior high and loving soccer, came home one day saying he couldn’t believe how “rough some women were playing soccer at the park,” shaking his head in disapproval. (Good thing he had never seen me play soccer – I was pretty scrappy myself.) 😅
And one way to support girls’ sports is to donate sports bras (if you happen to have a surplus, like I sometimes do) to a local girl’s high school team in a relatively poor neighborhood, since lack of proper attire is a large reason girls stop playing sports, an activity that is likely to keep them on the right track, feeling empowered…
To all the coaches and people who supported this little girl with raw talent and a fiery spirit, thank you. 😊
I have no idea where I would be today without the positive influence of sport in my life. ❤️
Tags: InternationalWomensDay