By Lian Bunny
News Editor
St. Bonaventure will participate in a 28-year-old national celebration of girls and women in sports on April 21.
National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) began in 1987 in honor of Flo Hyman, an Olympic volleyball player, and her athleticism and promotion of equality for women’s sports. Hyman died in 1986 of Marfan’s Syndrome while competing in Japan. The syndrome is a hereditary connective tissue disorder that frequently leads to optical and cardiovascular defects.
The university will provide free lunches to the high school students due to donations from the Bonaventure community. Scraba said students, staff and faculty could donate a lunch from their meal plan, including Flex Dollars, Bona Bucks or meals from the block meal plan.
According to Paula Scraba, associate professor of physical education, sign-up sheets are located at the cashier area in the Hickey Dining Hall, RC Café, Café La Verna, Francis Café, the ticket office in the Reilly Center, the Bonaventure bookstore, Heavenly Grounds, the Richter Center and the library reference desk. Students in physical education and sports studies courses should also have sheets available. Scraba said students can donate lunches up until April 20.
Scraba said she encourages students to sign up online or students can email their donation to pscraba@sbu.edu.
Local high school girls and their coaches will join Bonaventure female student-athletes and staff in two 45-minute sports sessions.
According to Scraba, the sports day is often students’ only opportunity to experience being on a college campus or to participate in sports in an environment that is more fun than competitive. Scraba organizes the annual event.
The high school students can choose to participate in a softball, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, tennis, rugby, cross country or swimming (dry land drills) clinics; or they can join a fitness challenge presented by the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) and physical education and sport studies majors or a roller derby exhibition.
Adelyn Graf, a junior sports studies major on the swim team, said the sessions allowed Bonaventure students to get to know the high school students.
“I helped out with the event last year. I had a group of girls who were interested in swimming,” Graf said. “We met in the pool area, and we showed them exercises we do outside of the pool, such as abs, stretches and med ball exercises. I really enjoyed talking to them, finding out if they are planning on playing a sport in college, talking about their other interests and answering any questions they had about being a student athlete.”
The following schools will participate: Allegany-Limestone, Archbishop Walsh, Austin, Bath, Bradford, Bolivar-Richburg, Ellicottville, Fillmore, Franklinville, Gustavus Adolphus Learning Center, Genesee Valley, Hindsdale, Olean, Portville, Randolph, Salamanca, South Park and Southwestern.
A Visiting Scholar Grant of $500 funded this year’s keynote speaker, Sr. Maria Pares, O.S.F. St. Bonaventure’s Office of Alumni Services planned to help with publicity, such as road signs. ROTC planned to provide folders, pens, water bottles and packets on ROTC education and scholarships for the high school students. In addition, St. Bonaventure’s University Relations planned to pay for sling bags.
At 9:45 a.m., they will listen to Sister Maria deliver her keynote address. A New York State Hall of Fame Basketball Coach, Sister Pares coached at Sacred Heart Academy and Canisius College in Buffalo, as well as Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
At noon, the high school students and coaches will eat with Bonaventure athletes and coaches. Then the attendees will have time to talk with Sister Maria in a question-and-answer session.
At 1 p.m. interested students can take a tour of campus and visit the Bonaventure bookstore. Students may also choose to continue the ROTC fitness challenge or talk with coaches.
“I think it is important to recognize and celebrate women in sports because often times, the male sports are publicized and have more of a fan base, but women go through the same struggles and sacrifices as male athletes,” Graf said. “It is nice to know people recognize that women put so much work and heart into sports, even though we aren’t necessarily the ones being talked about on Sports Center.”
