WSW Women In Sports

Women's Soccer World congratulates Michelle Akers and Mia Hamm on being named to "The FIFA 100" It is a list commemorating the 100 greatest living soccer players. They are the only female players named and the only soccer players from the United States on the list

The Fifth Annual KICKS Against Breast Cancer Women's Intercollegiate Soccer Tournament at the South Germantown Park SoccerPlex, Boyds, MD will include the Freedom playing Shanghai, China as the featured game on Saturday night

Kicks against Breast Cancer © Women's Soccer World July /August 1997

Kicks Against Breast Cancer Tournament: Banquet Address© Women's Soccer World July /August 1997

Early Detection: The Key to Survival© Women's Soccer World July /August 1997

Lorrie Fair' jersey number #14 retired by the University of North Carolina on January 24, 2001

Special meaning for graduating college women players at Umbro Select All-Star Classic taking place in Ft. Lauderdale's Lockhart Stadium this weekend (Feb. 1-4)

Mia Hamm voted as Favorite Female Athlete in Sports Illustrated for Kids Poll

Lorrie Fair and Sara Whalen to be on MTV Real World/Road Rules Challenge

Mary Harvey, the U.S. Goalkeeper in 1991 First FIFA World Champion Team elected as Chair of Athete's Council on U.S. Soccer Board of Directors

England anounces a program to encourage and develop women coaches

Chevrolet Athlete of the Year awards to be announced in February

Sheila Begbie, Assistant Technical Director for Girls' and Women's Football at the Scottish FA, made an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the New Year Honours List for the United Kingdom

Women's World Cup Soccer Stars, and Olympians celebrate with the public at Girls Sports X-travaganza National Girls & Women in Sports Day Saturday

Mia Hamm and Tiffeny Milbrett named as finalists for the Soccer Player of the Year award ESPY

Julie Foudy in first week as Women's Sports Foundation President, announces additions to WSF Board

"No Stopping Us Now " is the theme for the 15th Annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day!© -so what are YOU doing?

Article Index 2000

WSW's Most Valuable Person of World Cup '99

On-line voting to count for 50% of votes for selection of U.S. Soccer's 2000 Chevrolet Athlete of the Year-how to vote

Another Olympic medal for Norway?

A tragic loss for women's soccer

Julie Foudy raises $62,500 for TopSoccer competing against other Olympic athletes on a special edition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire on ABC television

Foudy competed against other athletes on a special Olympics-themed show.The athletes played on behalf of their favorite causes, and Foudy chose Uniroyal Tire TOPSoccer, a US Youth Soccer outreach program that gives children with mental and physical disabilities the opportunity to play soccer. Foudy made it to the "hot seat" and progressed all the way to the $125,000 level before she walked away with the prize money, rather than risking it on a $250,000 stumper. Fifty percent of her winnings will be donated to the grassroots program.

"I was determined to get into the hot seat," said Foudy, co-captain of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team, which won the silver medal in Sydney.
"This program means so much to me, and I knew that every extra dollar raised will help more children with disabilities get into the game."

Uniroyal Tire, which became the national sponsor of the program earlier this year, will work with Foudy and US Youth Soccer to develop a special grant program. The program will use the donation from Foudy, as well as additional funds raised by Uniroyal Tire and its dealers, to help start
TOPSoccer programs in communities across the country.

FIFA referee Sandra Hunt chosen to fill the Referee Director's role on U.S. Soccer's Board of Directors

Hunt, from Bellingham, Washington, has been a FIFA referee since 1999, a year in which she received the prestigious assignment of working the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. Hunt also worked the 2000 Olympic Tournament in Australia.

At 37 years old, having played since the age of 12, and making 119 appearances for England, Gillian Coultard has decided to end her International career

Colin A. AldisShe will continue to play for her Yorkshire club, Doncaster Bellesand coach at the East Durham academy for womens football.

Gillian is the only English women's player to reach 100 appearances, and is second on the English ( both men&women) list to Peter Shilton (125 app).

With the England team preparing for the away leg of the UEFA 2001 Finals play-off in Ukraine, Gillian Coultard was not included in the squad for the match, or the last match against Finland, and was un-available for the prestigous match in France, a warm-up game before the mens FIFA All Star game against the host country.

Prior to that in June, she was included in the squad for the trip to Norway, when England suffered their worst ever defeat, 8-0 and arguably this greatest ever player for this country had to sit and watch the game from the bench. You can draw your own conclusions on how such a player was feeling on that dreadful day. To put it mildly, I was not happy sitting watching it. It does help a little to know that almost the same Norway team were being crowned Olympic Champions, some 3 months later.

There will be plenty of fond memories for her to treasure, but only one major international medal to look after, a runners-up medal from the 1st UEFA final in 1984, when England lost on penalties to Sweden. England did manage to win a trophy in Italy later in the decade.

Fortunately, her club has been extremely successful, so the trophy cabinet is well stocked. It will be interesting to see if the country and the English FA honour her in a similar way to some of the other 'top ladies' of the beautiful game.

Lance Cpl. Veronica Cortez, a native of Santa Ana, California rises to top of Marine Corps soccer

by Lance Cpl. Josh P. Vierela
Consolidated Public Affairs Office, USMC
Okinawa, Japan

With only three years of soccer experience, she has reached the top of Marine sports as one of the members of the All-Marine Soccer Team.

Lance Cpl. Veronica Cortez, a Santa Ana, California native serving here as an electrician assigned to Communications Company, Headquarters Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, tried out for the elite group of females at Camp Lejeune, N.C., to represent the Marine Corps at both military and open tournaments.

After completing the tryouts in August, Cortez and her teammates played against male and female high school teams in North Carolina in preparation for the All-Forces Tournament held at Ft. Eustis, Va., in September.
Although her team lost the tournament, the other teams and coaches recognized it as the team with the most heart.

"I was really proud of my team because we gave it our all, not because we had to, but because we wanted to," Cortez said.

Cortez said she, like many Latinos, is passionate about soccer and feels as adamant about the sport now as she did three years ago when she first started playing at age 15. "I want to play soccer for the rest of my days," Cortez said.

Her cousin and mother introduced Cortez to the game to keep her busy with a sport. Playing most of her three years as a midfielder, All-Marine team coach Brian Hickerson moved Cortez to the position of defender. Cortez said she knows how it is to switch positions, not only in a soccer game, but also in life. Originally planning to go to college and work part-time, Cortez said she never thought about joining the Marine Corps until she talked to a friend. Cortez said she was lucky to have joined the Marine Corps and plans on getting as much out of it as she can. "I love my job," said Cortez, referring to her unit. With a positive look on the future, Cortez described her life as "just lucky." Looking forward to being the best she can be in the Marine Corps, as well as soccer, Cortez said she plans on trying out again next year for the All-Marine team.

Why can't we get past this!!?

I agree wholeheartedly with Liz Forbes great appreciation and support of our women's team. However, I found one comment troubling, particularly because it appeared in a publication devoted to female athletes and their pursuits. Ms. Forbes wrote: And, another important factor (to a woman, anyway): you are great athletes, but you still look and act like women!

Why can't we get past this!!? There is NOTHING inherently masculine or masculinizing about sports! However, the better and stronger women become in their athletic pursuits--when they become, to use Forbes' phrase "great athletes"--the greater the sensed fear that this is going to detract from their ability to look like real women. Implicit in the phrasing of Forbes' statement (and to her defense, I will point out that she is just one of thousands of people who continue to say this kind of
thing), is the idea that athleticism and being womanly are inherently contradictory ("you are great athletes, BUT you still look and act like women!" [my emphasis added]). Am I supposed to deduce from her statement that a lot of great athletes DON'T look like women? Does Forbes' realize how subjective her viewpoint is and how destructive this kind of statement is to women's sports?

We've been trying to fight this image (i.e. sports is masculinizing for women) for over a hundred years now. This kind of attitude kept most women out of athletic pursuits until literally the last thirty years, and it has prevented many female athletes from getting the respect they deserve up until the present (Babe Didrikson and Martina Navratilova--two of the greatest athletes, male or female, of all time come immediately to mind). Historically, and to this day, sport has played a critical role in our culture in helping to define masculinity and serving as a proving ground for "real men." Now, thankfully, women are standing up in greater numbers and saying "we want to play too." However, as sports sociologists and psychologists have shown us in numerous studies and reports, many who would like to hold on to the realm of sports first and foremost for men, have worked to perpetuate the erroneous idea that women who pursue sports run the risk of becoming masculine. This popular belief is considered to be the primary factor causing many young girls to end their athletic pursuits around the age of puberty (13-15 yrs.). Yes, more girls are playing sports than ever before, but I firmly believe that even more would be if our culture was more supportive.

The idea that women who excel at sports must make a concerted effort to hold on to their femininity (what Forbes seems to be saying with her comment) is the kind of thing that our opponents--people not so keen about women's inroads into athletics--use against female athletes in an effort to break them down and make them unsure of themselves, their bodies, and the ways they choose to live their lives. Those of us who support female athletes--as I know Ms. Forbes does--do not need to add any more fuel to that fire.

Sincerely,

Elise Edwards
University of Michigan

Finalists for the 10th annual Missouri Athletic Club Collegiate Player of the Year award announced

The fifteen women candidates for the 10th annual Missouri Athletic Club Collegiate Player of the Year award, the official National Soccer Coaches Association of America award for Division I players, have been announced. The winners will be selected by a vote of NSCAA member Division I coachesand will be honored at an awards banquet at the Missouri Athletic Club on Friday, January 5, 2001, at the NSCAA convention in Indianapolis.

Finalists

Megan Anderson , Nebraska ‹ junior, midfielder
Jenny Benson, Nebraska‹ senior, defender
Susan Bush, North Carolina ‹ sophomore, forward
Isabelle Harvey, Southern California ‹ senior, midfielder
Jena Kluegel, North Carolina ‹ junior, midfielder
Karina LeBlanc, Nebraska ‹ senior, goalkeeper
Lori Lindsey, Virginia‹ junior, midfielder
Anne Makinen, Notre Dame ‹ senior, midfielder
Mary-Frances Monroe, Connecticut ‹ junior, forward
Danielle Slaton, Santa Clara‹ sophomore, defender
Nikki Thole, Missouri ‹ senior, forward
Aly Wagner, Santa Clara ‹ sophomore, midfielder
Abby Wambach, Florida ‹ junior,foward
Christie Welsh, Penn State ‹ sophomore, forward

Three w omen elected to Executive Council of Barbados Football Association - most ever in BFA history

At the Annual General Meeting of the BFA, held September, 24 Maria Jones was elected as Junior Assistant Secretary, Sylvia Darlington as Honorary Assistant Treasurer,and Carol Best as Member, on the Executive Council. The three women on the Council are the most during any one term in BFA history.

"SOCCER...KICKIN' BUTTS"

US Olympic soccer superstars Shannon MacMillan, Tiffeny Milbrett and Lorrie Fair have teamed up with In the Mix, the Emmy award winning teen series on PBS, to encourage young people to pick up a soccer ball rather than a cigarette. "Because there's no way you can be at this level, be sucking down cigarettes and still be successful", says Milbrett.
SOCCER... KICKIN' BUTTS premieres the week of October 7-14, 2000 on PBS stations across the country. The program will re-air the week of November 18th (Please check your local listings or visit our web site at www.inthemix.org).

Despite the efforts of many national anti-tobacco campaigns, young adults are still smoking-many of them beginning as early as age 12. Each day more 3,000 teens become daily smokers. It is estimated that among teens that are regular smokers, one in three will die from tobacco related illnesses. "Soccer...Kickin' Butts shows how soccer is the perfect antidote to teen smoking. On and off the field, the men and women of the U.S. National Teams go for the gold and prove that an active, smoke free lifestyle is clearly a winner." Donna E. Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services

SOCCER.... KICKIN' BUTTS takes an in-depth look at the physical and psychological benefits of playing soccer as part of a healthy smoke-free lifestyle, including weight management, stress relief and building life long friendships. Professional soccer players Eddie Pope of the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team and Bobby Convey of D.C. United share how their involvement with soccer helped them resist peer pressure to smoke. Rick Guter, Certified Athletic Trainer for D.C. United, explains how smoking affects not only the lungs but also an athlete's reaction time, endurance and risk of physical injury. Dr. Alan Leshner, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, explains how nicotine changes the brain, debunks myths and reveals that some people can actually become addicted in months rather than years.

Teen soccer players from across the country talk with candor and humor about how being involved in soccer has "kept them out of trouble" and helped them make friends, deal with adversity and develop leadership skills. In addition to playing soccer, many of the teens profiled in the show volunteer as anti-tobacco advocates. In the Mix is there as they visit elementary schools, record PSA's and spread the word about the dangers of tobacco. Also, Jennifer, a young soccer player from New Hampshire, describes how second hand smoke affects her and takes the difficult step of confronting her mother about her smoking.

SOCCER.... KICKIN' BUTTS also features an interview with Soccer Olympian Danielle Slaton, one of the hottest up and coming female soccer players in America. Danielle, along with Eddie Pope talk about what it was like growing up in a sport played by few African Americans. In the Mix gets a behind the scenes look at two organizations working to change the image of soccer as a "suburban" sport by bringing soccer to young people in the inner cities.

Army pilot Captain Stacy Hennessy named to All-Armed Forces Soccer Team
By Patti Bielling

She scored four goals during the six-game tournament to lead the Army to 5-0-1 victory over the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Army held their opponents scoreless until the last game of the tournament, when Air Force, the defending champs, managed a 1-1 tie. A minor knee injury had kept Hennessy from practicing at full speed, but hampered her little during the games. Playing forward, she scored at least one goal against each of the other services to earn a spot on the All-Armed Forces team.
Hennessy, a 1991 Rogers High School graduate, assumed command of an aviation company at Fort Eustis shortly before the team trials. The petite-but-muscular brunette admits it was a challenge to begin a new job while trying out for the team, but said the opportunity to compete again was worth it. In the last five years, recreational games were the only means Hennessy had to indulge her passion for soccer. At Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y., where she attended on a full soccer scholarship, she competed and earned numerous honors as a striker. As a sophomore, she accepted a 3-year Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps scholarship, which complemented her soccer scholarship.
"I traveled all over the world and met people from all over," she said. "As a college student, just knowing you have full medical and dental coverage and you'll be collecting a pay check for the next five or six years that security is a nice feeling."
Throughout the tournament, Hennessy maintained a positive attitude, and teammates said she was very supportive of them.
"There are a lot of great players out here," Hennessy said. "Most of the officers have played on the collegiate level. The enlisted soldiers we have on the team are really talented and must have come from exceptional soccer programs to be playing here."

"She is a great addition to the team," said defenseman Capt. Catherine Gaffigan. "Her speed on the right side is lethal. She can outrun any defender."

Hennessy said she is looking forward to the chance to compete again soon. Military sports officials are exploring the possibility of entering the All-Armed Forces team in a national-level tournament early next year.

She scored four goals during the six-game tournament to lead the Army to 5-0-1 victory over the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Army held their opponents scoreless until the last game of the tournament, when Air Force, the defending champs, managed a 1-1 tie. A minor knee injury had kept Hennessy from practicing at full speed, but hampered her little during the games. Playing forward, she scored at least one goal against each of the other services to earn a spot on the All-Armed Forces team.
Hennessy, a 1991 Rogers High School graduate, assumed command of an aviation company at Fort Eustis shortly before the team trials. The petite-but-muscular brunette admits it was a challenge to begin a new job while trying out for the team, but said the opportunity to compete again was worth it. In the last five years, recreational games were the only means Hennessy had to indulge her passion for soccer. At Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y., where she attended on a full soccer scholarship, she competed and earned numerous honors as a striker. As a sophomore, she accepted a 3-year Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps scholarship, which complemented her soccer scholarship.
"I traveled all over the world and met people from all over," she said. "As a college student, just knowing you have full medical and dental coverage and you'll be collecting a pay check for the next five or six years that security is a nice feeling."
Throughout the tournament, Hennessy maintained a positive attitude, and teammates said she was very supportive of them.
"There are a lot of great players out here," Hennessy said. "Most of the officers have played on the collegiate level. The enlisted soldiers we have on the team
are really talented and must have come from exceptional soccer programs to be playing here."

"She is a great addition to the team," said defenseman Capt. Catherine Gaffigan. "Her speed on the right side is lethal. She can outrun any defender."
Hennessy said she is looking forward to the chance to compete again soon. Military sports officials are exploring the possibility of entering the All-Armed Forces team in a national-level tournament early next year

U.S. National Team's 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup to go on public exhibition at National Soccer Hall of Fame on Saturday, June 24, 2000

Carin Jennings-Gabarra will be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame at official ceremonies to be held in Oneonta, NY on Saturday, October 28, 2000

In a special ceremony during half-time of the U.S. - Argentina game on April 24th, Carin Gabarra was honored by her teammates and U.S. Soccer as she officially retired from international play. A member of the U.S. National Team since 1987, Gabarra represented her country in 117 matches, in which she scored 53 goals‹placing her as the fourth highest scorer in the team's history.

As Carin Jennings she was a formidable scorer in the 1991 World Cup, helping lead the U.S. to victory with six tournament goals, including a hat trick in the 5-2 semifinal match against Germany. Known throughout that tournament as "Crazy legs" and as one third of the famed "Triple-Edged Sword" (along with April Heinrichs and Michelle Akers) she was part of a forward line which cut through defenses and put the ball in the net. When Pele presented her with the Golden Ball as most valuable player of the championship she became the only American to ever receive that soccer honor. She also earned the Silver Boot as second top scorer of the tournament.

Gabarra was named as U.S. Soccer's Female Athlete of the Year in 1987 and 1992. She played in the 1995 World Cup in Sweden and made her last international appearance with the U.S. Team at the 1996 Olympics, taking time off from play to have her first child, Tyler Andrew Gabarra, the following year. Since her appointment in 1993 she has served as head women's soccer coach at the U. S. Naval Academy and has been active with numerous outreach projects, including the Annual Kicks Against Breast Cancer Tournament. She is married to former U.S. Men's National Team member, Jim Gabarra. ©WSW

Michelle Akers to be awarded the 2000 Henry P.Iba Citizen Athlete Award on June 19th in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Sun Wen is the first woman to be a candidate for the prestigious Asian player of the year award
By Mario Rimati

Three women referees officiate official men's game in Argentina
By Guillermo Tagliaferri

Italian sports correspondent writes about the possible dependency of the MLS on the popularity of U.S. women's soccer
By Mario Rimati

Three Mexican players to play for the New Brunswick Power team
By Flor M. Romero Rivera

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