STARKVILLE, Miss. - You can celebrate in your own community or join with thousands in Washington, D.C., to celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day on February 1. The theme of this year’s event is “Title IX at 40: In it for the Long Run.”

Started in 1987 to honor Olympic volleyball star Flo Hyman, National Girls and Women in Sports Day has grown into a nationwide celebration to honor the participation, success and accomplishments of girls and women athletes. The Washington D.C. celebration is organized by five national organizations for girls and women — Girls’ Incorporated, Girl Scouts of the USA, National Association for Girls and Women in Sport, National Women’s Law Center and the Women’s Sports Foundation. 

This year’s event will include athlete representatives Benita Fitzgerald-Mosley, Donna de Varona, Nancy Hogshead-Makar, Lillian Greene-Chamberlain and Grete Eliassen who will lobby leaders into supporting important legislation regarding girls and women in sports. 

Despite the remarkable strides made in the 39 years since Title IX was enacted, high school girls still receive 1.3 million fewer participation opportunities than do boys, and evidence suggests that the money spent on girls' sports programs lags significantly behind the money spent on boys' programs.