Young Women in Sports

Sports have the ability to change lives. Participating in sports can teach people teamwork, leadership, resilience, and confidence. Sports can also create an outlet for kids with a tough childhood, tough family situation, or anything else they might be going through. Although strides have been made in the past years, gender gaps in sports still exist. Women and girls face discouragement when it comes to playing the sport they love. Many girls end up quitting sports because of this discouragement or lack of confidence. Sports have mirrored society and the sporting industry in making steps towards an equal future, however there is still a way to go. 

Sports have become more accessible and more extensive opportunities have been offered within the past two decades than before. Across the country, girls are participating in a wide array of sports programs provided by schools, communities, churches, and beyond. Even though there are more opportunities opening up, there is still a gender gap in participation among girls. In 2017-18, at the college level, women had 62, 236 fewer participation opportunities than men in NCAA sports. At the professional level, the opportunities are even more scarce, forcing women to play overseas. This may also be contributing to young girls quitting at a younger age because they do not see enough opportunity to play at a higher level. 

At Sylvania Sports Complex, we provide a space for young athletes to participate and ensure equality between girls and boys in our facility. We can all work towards ending gender gaps in sports. Visit this link to learn more about the gender equality debate, https://www.athleteassessments.com/gender-equality-debate/.

Yours truly, 

Michaela Eisenhauer

Esports growing as a multibillion-dollar industry

 

Video games are a very good way of people of all ages to relax and play with their friends. Games were created so that the individual could have a fun experience based on the game the developer has created. Video games has been a part of our society for quite some time now but not in the sense of Esports. Esports, which is competitive video gaming, is rapidly growing its numbers and could potentially outgrow traditional sports in the future. The younger generation have a multitude of competitive games that developers have made so that gamers can compete with people from across the globe.” In fact, there will be 26.6 million monthly Esports viewers in 2021, up 11.4% from 2020, according to our estimates. The pop-culturization of the Esports industry has helped power the explosions in esports investment and revenue” (Insider,1). A lot of the viewership and population of competitive gamers are from the 10-18 age group. The explosion of Fortnite made it apparent that kids that are skilled enough to compete with some of the best in the world could potentially win up to millions of dollars or be a signed professional esports athlete with a professional organization playing these games in professional leagues. Here at Sylvania Sports Complex we want to be sure that any individual that has a passion for pursuing Esports will be able to access our Esports Arena. We will have team signups for a variety of game titles so that these individuals could gain that team experience which could propel them into more organized play.

Regards,

Kareem Badr

Works Cited: 

Insider Intelligence. “Esports Ecosystem 2021: The Key Industry Companies and Trends Growing the Esports Market.” Insider Intelligence, https://www.insiderintelligence.com/insights/esports-ecosystem-market-report/.

Unity in Diversity

Celebrating Our Differences   

The language of sports is a universal one. Much like music, you do not have to understand what the verbal aspects of it are saying, but you enjoy the way it makes you feel and the experience it gives you. Sports themselves also do not have the ability to discriminate based on race, gender, sexuality, or economic status. Sports allow people to express themselves and gives them the resources to do so. At Sylvania Sports Complex, we lean into the idea of sports being for everyone. Recognizing that sports-lovers come from all walks of life and that a love and passion for sports does not have one singular definition is essential for understanding the true power that sports have. 

Equality for All

    The diversity does not end at the athletes, however. Those coaching, officiating, or even just volunteering should feel the same kind of inclusion as those competing in the sports do. Employing people with diverse backgrounds contributes to the culture of diversity and inclusion. Interacting and working with people who are different from you expands world view, which is quite an underrated attribute. 

Respect Everyone, Fear No One

While I could go on for much longer about diversity and inclusion as it relates to sports, I will instead end this post with a link to an article that has great information on the topic. Again, diversity and inclusion is important in every aspect with of life, and treating everyone with kindness and respect goes along with that. I hope to see you all in the gym sometime soon. 😄

Link to article: https://www.playbytherules.net.au/got-an-issue/inclusion-and-diversity/inclusion-and-diversity-what-is-it

Signing off,

Dominick Brock 💪