Women's Sports Foundation
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| Women's Sports Foundation | |
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| Founder(s) | Billie Jean King |
|---|---|
| Type | 501(c)3 charitable educational foundation |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Headquarters | Eisenhower Park East Meadow, NY 11554 |
| Key people | Chief Executive Officer Donna Lopiano, Ph.D. Chair of the Board Dorothy G. Blaney, Ph.D. |
| Focus | to advance the lives of girls and women through sport and physical activity |
| Method | Educational projects, public education/recognition, grant making, advocacy |
| Revenue | $6,414,375 (2004)[1] |
| Employees | 50[1] |
| Website | womenssportsfoundation.org |
The Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) "is a charitable educational organization dedicated to ensuring equal access to participation and leadership opportunities for all girls and women in sports and fitness."[2]
Contents |
[edit] Background
The foundation was established in 1974 by Billie Jean King, former husband Larry King and Jim Jorgensen, funded with a $5,000 check from Bob Hope that Billie Jean King had won as the Gillette Female Athlete of the Year [3]. The WSF began its multi-sport emphasis at the 1975 ABC TV show “Women’s Superstars” which was held at the Houston Astrodome at which Olympic swimmer Donna de Varona and other women’s sports stars became interested.
From 1975 to 1990, under the direction of Executive Director, Eva Auchincloss, Deputy Director Holly Turner, and Chairwoman Billie Jean King, the Board of Trustees was expanded beyond Billie Jean, Larry King, Jim Jorgensen and Donna de Varona to include influential persons like Peggy Fleming, Snoopy creator Charles Schultz, and Bristol-Myers executive Marvin Koslo. In 1990, Life magazine named King one of the "100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century," in part because of projects such as the Women's Sports Foundation.
WSF advocates that girls be allowed to play on boys' sports teams, but that boys be barred from playing on girls' sports teams once boys have reached puberty [4].
Past presidents include Julie Foudy, Dawn Riley, Donna Lopiano- current CEO, Jim Jorgensen, Donna de Varona, Dominique Dawes and Nancy Hogshead-Makar. The current Chairwoman of the WSF is Illona Kloss.
[edit] Award ceremonies
[edit] Women's Sport Hall of Fame
During this period, WSF created the Women’s Sport Hall of Fame and its annual award dinner which has become one of the most prestigious award nights in women’s sports in the US (2006 event highlighted by Sheryl Crow. With initial guidance from Donna de Varona and the public statements of Billie Jean King, the WSF has been a proponent and defender of Title IX which passed in 1972.
[edit] The Billie Awards
The Billie Awards are given each year in four areas: Journalism, Entertainment, Breakthrough and Innovation, and Outstanding Journalist. They honor "positive portrayals of female athletes in the media" [5] and are named after Billie Jean King.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Women's Sports Foundation Charity Report. Give.org. Better Business Bureau, June 2006.
- ^ Women's Sports Foundation Services/Programs
- ^ Women's Sports Foundation ATHLETES
- ^ Women's Sports Foundation Know Your Rights
- ^ Women's Sports Foundation Billies
