Released February 18, 1999

Centre College Invites Local Girls to Sports Day

DANVILLE, KY -- Registration now is underway for the fourth annual Women's Sports Celebration at Centre College. The college invites all area girls who are ages 6 to 13 to participate in the event, set for Sunday, March 7, in Sutcliffe Hall and the adjoining college gym.

The event, which will run from 1-4 p.m., will include training in sports skills and drawings for door prizes. Participants will get acquainted with Centre athletes and learn how each of them came to be active in sports.

The sports celebration requires a $5 fee and completion of a parent permission form. Students who qualify for school lunch benefits may have the fee waived by having their school counselor sign the registration form.

The forms are available in all Danville area elementary schools, the Centre athletic office and local businesses including Danville Sports Centre, Finley's Fun Center, Lazer Sport and Wal Mart.

The college requests that interested girls complete the forms by Thursday, March 4.

Women and Girls in Sports Day is celebrated throughout the United States every year in late winter. The purposes of the celebration are to encourage girls to participate in sports, to educate girls and the general public about the benefits of sports, and to use female athletes and coaches as role models.

According to Kitty Baird, Centre's associate director of athletics and a veteran coach, an overwhelming body of research shows that sports have on a positive influence on girls. Baird says that research collected over the past thirty years shows that high school girls who spend time participating in sports tend to have higher grades and less likely to smoke or drop out of school. A new research study released early this year showed that female athletes are less likely to become pregnant at an early age.

Gina Nicoletti, head coach for women's soccer and tennis, is coordinating Women's Sports Day at Centre.

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Communications Office
Centre College
600 W. Walnut Street
Danville, KY 40422

Coordinator of Public Information: Patsi Barnes Trollinger
Telephone 606-238-5719 · trllngrp@centre.edu