NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) Athletics will host adult sports clinics for women on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022 as part of National Girls and Women in Sports Day. 

 

Held on the MCLA campus, advanced registration and payment are required. 

 

For information and registration, visit https://athletics.mcla.edu/information/NGWSD/index. 

 

Each year, the Trailblazer athletics department invites girls and women to participate in various clinics to promote sport. MCLA will offer a women's clinic and pickleball tournament followed by lunch sponsored by Bousquet Sport; girls' clinics have been put on hold for 2022.   

 

Clinicians will include Barb LoPiccolo, a retired physical education educator who has been playing pickleball casually and competitively since 2005, and Pat Mele, a certified pickleball teaching professional with the IPTPA and one of only four "Level II" teaching professionals in Massachusetts certified to provide lessons at all skill levels.   

 

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.