Home > Programs

PWSA Programs

Helping Girls and Women Find Their Power through Sports!

Research has documented the positive effects of girls and women’s participation in sports at all ages:

“Teenage female athletes are less likely to use marijuana, cocaine or ‘other’ illicit drugs (such as LSD, PCP, speed or heroin), less likely to be suicidal, less likely to smoke and more likely to have positive body images than female non-athletes.”  (The Women’s Sports Foundation Report:  Health Risks and the Team Athlete, March 2001.)

“Teenage female athletes are less than half as likely to get pregnant as female non-athletes (5% and 11%, respectively), more likely to report that they never had sexual intercourse than female non-athletes (54% and 41% respectively), and more likely to experience their first sexual intercourse later in adolescence than female non-athletes.”  (The Women’s Sports Foundation Report:  Sport and Teen Pregnancy, May 1998.)

“Research suggests that girls who participate in sports are more likely to experience academic success and graduate from high school than those who do not play sports.”  (Women’s Sports Foundation Report:  Minorities in Sports, 1989.)

“Women who are active in sports and recreational activities as girls feel greater confidence, self-esteem and pride in their physical and social selves than those who were sedentary as kids.”  (Miller Lite Report, 1985; Melpomene Institute, 1995.)

“Between 1971-2000, female college athletes of color have seen a dramatic increase (955%) in NCAA sports participation opportunities.  Women athletes of color received approximately $82 million in college scholarship assistance in 1989, compared to less than $100,000 in 1971.”  (Women’s Sports Foundation:  Report on Title IX and Race in Intercollegiate Sport, 2003.)

“More than four out of five executive businesswomen (82%) played sports growing up – and the vast majority say lessons learned on the playing field have contributed to their success in business, according to the results of a national survey.”  (Game Face, From the Locker Room to the Boardroom:  A Survey on Sports in the Lives of Women Business Executives, Feb. 2002.)

“According to a study of 2,993 women, older women who exercise tend to be motivated toward physical activity by expectations of benefit to their health and longevity.  Inactive women tend not to have the self-confidence, skill and experience with physical activity that active women do.”  (Melpomene Journal, Fall 1997, Vo. 16, 3, pp.23-28)                   

Each year, PWSA partners with women collegiate and basketball players to provide a free Annual Basketball Clinic in celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day.  Working with collegiate and professional athletes gives approximately 125 nine to fourteen year old girls who attend the event the opportunity to witness first-hand the benefits of participation, discipline, consistency, and dedication.  This annual event is so successful that PWSA is forced to turn girls away.  PWSA hopes to someday be able to hold this event more frequently in order to accommodate as many eager young female athletes as possible.

PWSA believes that every girl should be able to pursue her athletic dreams, and that economics should not be an obstacle to participation.  Through its continuing fundraising efforts, PWSA hopes to implement ongoing grant and scholarship programs to help the girls and women of Arizona pursue their dreams through sports.

PWSA mission is to provide information and opportunities to help girls and women find their power through sports.  PWSA fulfills its mission by:

1. Providing a centralized resource (web site) for what’s happening in girls and women’s sports;
2. Collaborating with community, business and professional organizations in furtherance of girls and women’s sports;
3. Outreach to underserved individuals (girls and women of all ages and abilities) and communities;
4. Providing a speaker service on topics relevant to women’s health, sports and fitness;
5. Providing and promoting sports and fitness clinics and events;
6. Development of scholarship and grant programs, with special focus on underserved individuals and communities; and
7. Fundraising to support our mission and goals.

To learn more about Phoenix Women’s Sports Association, leave a message at PWSA’s voicemail box at 602-297-5108.

ARIZONA GIRLS’ LACROSSE IN 2007
Lacrosse in Arizona is growing in leaps and bounds. It’s a game of finesse and skill. You play with a small, yellow, rubber ball and it is passed from stick to stick to get up and down the field and into the goal. It’s called the “fastest game on two feet.” Lacrosse uses a combination of skills that are similar to other sports like soccer and basketball, just to name a few. There are several different positions depending on how much you want to run or don’t want to run-ha ha!! If you’d like to learn more about the rules and what exactly this game is all about please go to my website at www.AZGL.com under the tab Lacrosse FAQ and Rules.

PWSA Past Programs