By Kiara Catanzaro
News Editor
St. Bonaventure’s female student-athletes and staff are set to host local high school female athletes and their coaches to participate in 28th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day on Tuesday, April 29 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The event, sponsored by the school of education, the physical education department, the athletics department, the military science department and the visiting scholar program, will host 400 women student athletes in addition to their coaches and teachers from 15 school districts.
Students from the following schools are set to participate in the event: Allegany-Limestone, Archbishop Walsh, Austin Area Schools, Bath, Bolivar-Richburg, Bradford, Cuba-Rushford, Fillmore, Franklinville, Jamestown-Lutheran, Portville, Randolph, Seneca Nation, South Park and Southwestern.
Amy Moritz, sports journalist for The Buffalo News and former St. Bonaventure women’s basketball manager, is scheduled to give the keynote address after morning registration. Moritz will discuss the importance will be talking about career role of women in sports journalism.
After the keynote speech, students can participate in two 45-minute clinics for students with the following St. Bonaventure women’s sports teams: softball, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, rugby, tennis, swimming and cross-country.
Army ROTC, physical education and sports studies majors will present a fitness challenge and strength and conditioning option for participating students. Other options for students include a health and wellness promotion offered by Claire Watson, department chair of physical education, and an exhibition with Enchanted Mountain Roller Derby hosted by Becky Misenheimer, assistant professor of visual and performing arts.
After both clinics, students will receive lunches donated by St. Bonaventure students.
Mariela Ferrer, a sophomore journalism and mass communication major, said the lunches are available for visiting students and their coaches because other St. Bonaventure students on campus donated their meal swipes.
“There is a sign-up sheet Dr. Paula (Scraba) gives to her students to ask other St. Bonaventure students to donate swipes and there’s also a sheet in the Hickey,” Ferrer said. “If other students didn’t donate, we could not host the event because there wouldn’t be lunch for the students.”
At 3 p.m., students and their coaches will have an opportunity to attend an optional St. Bonaventure women’s softball practice.
Ferrer, a member of the softball team, said visiting students will have an opportunity to participate in the practice.
“Last year, the students got to attend a softball game, but this year they will be attending a softball practice and participating with the members of the team practice,” Ferrer said.
Ferrer said National Girls and Women in Sports Day is an important event because she hopes to encourage other women to be involved in sports.
“Woman playing in sports is something we want to influence to the next generation of future female athletes,” Ferrer said. “(We want to be) just like other female athletes of the past that influenced our generation to be better women and helped us pursue our dreams in athletics.”
