From TIME · Gabby Thomas · · 2m
Half of girls who want sports never get to play
More than half of girls aged eight to eighteen want to play organized sports but never get the chance, according to new research from the Women's Sports Foundation.
In brief
More than half of girls aged eight to eighteen want to play organized sports but never get the chance, according to new research from the Women's Sports Foundation. Fifty four percent of girls ages eight to eighteen who have never played organized sports say they want to, but barriers prevent most from participating…
Professional women's sports are thriving
The WNBA and NWSL are booming, proving that women's sports can attract fans, fill stands, and secure brand investment after decades of skepticism.
But millions of girls never get to play
According to the Women's Sports Foundation's inaugural WSF Sport Report, more than half, fifty four percent, of girls ages eight to eighteen who have never played organized sports say they want to.
What those girls might discover
Among those girls could be a future captain, coach, or Olympian. Sports shape health outcomes, confidence, leadership, and belonging that lasts long after competition ends.
Interest and opportunity don't match
Girls want to participate in sports, but too many are not getting the chance. When they do play, families spend more on girls' sports than on boys' sports.
Belonging drops as girls become teens
Among young children, eighty percent of both girls and boys say sports are for someone like them. Among teens, girls are less likely than boys to say the same.
One opportunity can change everything
The author started running track at twelve years old without a grand plan. That chance led to Harvard, Olympic competition, and discovering possibilities beyond the track.
College sports are losing ground
Industry leaders surveyed see progress at the professional level, but at college, the only part of the pipeline where more say progress has declined than improved.
Most girls don't know Title IX
More than five decades after Title IX transformed sports for girls and women, seventy nine percent of girls surveyed have never heard of it. More than half of their parents haven't either.
Industry sees Title IX as under threat
Nearly half of industry leaders surveyed identify Title IX rollbacks or weakened enforcement as the greatest threat to continued progress for girls and women in sports.
What matters most
Fifty four percent of girls ages eight to eighteen who have never played organized sports say they want to, but barriers prevent most from participating, the Women's Sports Foundation reports.
