200 Female CMS Athletes Celebrate National Girls & Women In Sports Day
On Tuesday, I had the honor of serving as the emcee for the first National Girls & Women in Sports Day celebration for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools on the campus of University…
On Tuesday, I had the honor of serving as the emcee for the first National Girls & Women in Sports Day celebration for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools on the campus of University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
About 200 female student-athletes from CMS high schools gathered under one roof. Basketball players. Track stars. Volleyball standouts. Softball sluggers. Soccer captains. Cheerleaders. Wrestlers. Leaders. Future college athletes. Maybe even a few future Olympians.
Scholar Bates, North Meck Senior
The theme was simple but powerful: Women deserve to be in the room and use your voice.
National Girls & Women in Sports Day was created in 1987 to honor the legacy of women in athletics and to recognize the impact of Title IX, the landmark legislation that opened doors for girls and women to compete at higher levels in school sports. Before Title IX in 1972, opportunities for girls in athletics were extremely limited. Today, millions of girls participate in high school sports nationwide and that didn’t happen by accident. It happened because women fought to be in the room.
And now? These young ladies are carrying that legacy forward.
The CMS Executive Director of Athletics, Dr. Erica Turner, opened the ceremony with powerful remarks. She also read “Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou. As I stood there listening, I looked out at those young faces and reminded them, “You are not just athletes. You are Phenomenal Women.”
My favorite part of the program was when we had to fill a few extra minutes. On a whim, I asked the girls to stand up and celebrate any accomplishment they achieved this season.
I thought maybe a few would stand. Instead? Teammates stood up and pointed to one another. Girls congratulated their captains. They shouted out personal records. Championship wins. Academic honors. Comebacks from injuries. Leadership moments.
It turned into this beautiful, organic celebration of sisterhood. No competition. No comparison. Just collective pride. And that is what women in sports is about.
When girls play sports, they learn how to advocate for themselves. They learn how to command space. They learn how to speak up in locker rooms, in classrooms, and eventually in boardrooms.
I genuinely love watching these female high school athletes compete. There is something so pure and powerful about watching them leave everything on the court, field, track, or mat. The intensity. The teamwork. The emotion. The hunger.
Tuesday wasn’t just an event. It was a reminder. A reminder that the legacy of women in sports is alive and well. A reminder that young girls in Charlotte are not waiting for permission. A reminder that when one woman stands, others rise with her.
