AMHERST, Mass. - The Amherst College Athletic Department in partnership with the Town of Amherst and the Amherst Recreation Department hosted their third annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) on Saturday, February 7 in Alumni Gymnasium at Amherst College.

The event was dedicated to supporting girls and non-binary youth in grades 4-8 with unique opportunities to learn about a wide variety of the different sports that Amherst College athletics has to offer. The participants were able to learn from our women's sports teams throughout the clinic on Saturday morning.

 "Learning how to play tennis and squash today was cool," a participant in the clinic said. 

Junior Jessica Lomo of women's soccer reflected on what it was like learning about more sports and seeing more girls being involved in the sport. "I grew up with a very narrow mindset of playing soccer all the time," Lomo stated. "I went to a boarding school that gave me seasonal athletic events where I tried basketball, lacrosse, and track and field. Having all the resources available for you to try it and find one that's suitable for you, it's a great resource to have."

Executive Assistant to the Town Manager and Community Participation Officer, Angela Mills worked with Amherst College Associate Director of Athletics Jennifer Chuks-Crabill to make this event possible for girls in the town of Amherst to learn more about different sports that Amherst College has student-athletes involved in.

 "What we are seeing at the middle school and high school level is a huge decline in participation from girls in sports in our town," Mills stated. "An event like this gets kids excited about sports again and gives them the opportunity to be in a space where there is a high comfort level, because everyone is learning all these new skills at the same time."

The NGWSD clinic had student-athletes from women's golf, soccer, squash, tennis, softball, volleyball, and field hockey, and the club crew team in attendance to help the girls learn more about each of the sports. 

"I think the biggest thing here is being able to create space in the community just for young girls; helps with confidence so much," Chuks stated on the purpose of the athletic department hosting the clinic. "They are able to make mistakes or try new things and not feel embarrassed or shy about doing it. Hopefully they are able to be excited and confident about taking up new things and sticking with it."