Niagara College’s Athletics and Student Engagement department kicked off the month by hosting a fun-filled event for 200 young girls in the Welland and surrounding Niagara communities.
Held in partnership with the City of Welland, the third annual Welland Girls Sports Day took place on June 1 at the Empire Sportsplex.
The event provides participants with the opportunity to try out a variety of sports through seven stations facilitated by Knights varsity coaches, volunteers and community partners, and it’s become a popular offering since its debut in 2022. Registration for this year’s event filled up in less than 48 hours.
“The fact that Welland Girls Sports Day was full after two days of open registration shows the incredible need and interest from our local girls to play and be active,” said Michele O’Keefe, Director Athletics and Student Engagement. “We would love to be able to add another day to accommodate our waiting list. We need more corporate support to make that happen.”
Committee member Tori Royer, Recreation Coordinator with the City of Welland’s Recreation, Sport and Culture department, says the event provides sport exposure and opportunity to a much-underserved group – girls ages six to 12.
“This group has been identified as being the most adversely affected by the pandemic which led to most young girls dropping out of organized sports,” said Royer. “In teaming up with NC, we are able to provide a free and fun event to local girls to introduce them to different sports and take home a free piece of sport equipment.”
Welland Girls Sports Day aims to empower girls of all abilities and their families with the experience, confidence and resources required to get involved in sport and active recreation within their community.
“Parents and guardians at the event thank us for the opportunity to expose these young girls to different sports, to meet and make new friends, and hopefully find opportunities after the event to continue in sport,” said Royer.
Students and faculty from the Hairstyling program teach girls how to style hair for sport.
Multiple academic areas from the College were involved again this year to help make the day a fun and educational experience.
Students and faculty from the Hairstyling program facilitated a hairstyling station where participants could learn how to style hair for sport, while Recreation Therapy students designed and delivered six leisure education booths in the Parent Hub as part of their Leisure course.
“Each of the activity stations provided parents with opportunities to learn more about ways to contribute to healthy and inclusive participation, take part in some active recreation themselves, and leave the event with resources for later review,” said Erin Wilkie, Recreation Therapy Professor and Coordinator, who is a member of the planning committee.
“This group of motivated and enthusiastic students has a passion for equity in active recreation and sport; using it to fuel realistic and practical resources for families to get involved in various ways,” added Wilkie.
Plans for the 2025 event are in the works – stay tuned for details.
“It’s absolutely amazing to see such a day come together so beautifully,” said O’Keefe. “Our organizing committee is so strong and is able to pull together the many moving parts of the event. I’m extremely grateful for our committee; this wouldn’t happen without them.”
Members of the 2024 organizing committee: Sandy Forand, Laura Chatterton, Norma Lostracco, Valerie McMurtry, Katie McQuestion, Jill Peters, Tori Royer, Nimisha Sumathi, Natalie Stoberman, Lorelle Weavers and Erin Wilkie.
NC’s Michele O’Keefe (left) and Erin Wilkie draw prizes at the event.
Testimonials
Participants Paityn (left), Kiara (middle) and Blake (right) had fun together on June 1.
Melanie Oakes from Welland attended this year’s event with her three daughters, all of whom play hockey. Oakes said that she was drawn to the event for its focus on the “empowerment of playing sports with other girls as a community.”
Cassandra Patterson from St. Catharines was excited for her daughter, Blake, 6, to participate for the first time. “The event was an awesome opportunity to expose my daughter to a variety of sports for free and with other girls, which made it less intimidating for her,” said Patterson.
Blake’s favourite sport at the event was beach volleyball. She chose a soccer ball to take home with her and shared that the best part of her day was “having fun with friends.”
Another parent, Courtney McLoughlin from Thorold, also enjoyed watching her daughter, Kiara, have fun at the event. “I’m really excited that she could try different sports and it was interesting to see which sport she chose as her favourite from the day – soccer,” said McLoughlin.
Kiara, 7, picked up a basketball from the event and said that she loved “having fun and playing all the games.”
Thank you supporters
Welland Girls Sports Day was made possible thanks to the generosity of many sponsors and supporters including Canadian Tire Welland, Canadian Women and Sport Next Play grant supported by the Province of Ontario, Frescho (Welland), McDonald’s (Lincoln St., Welland), Medavie Health Foundation, Niagara College and Niagara College Student Administrative Council (NCSAC).
A warm thank you goes out to the volunteers who supported the event, including NC alumni, students from a variety of NC programs and local high school students.
NC and NCSAC employees also volunteered their time and talents to contribute to the day’s success. Thank you to: Frances Haver, Jake Alfano, Vicky Janitz, Amanda Levy, Steve Stone, Rob Lalama, Adam Steinschifter, Mike Hurley, Danny Cvetanovic, Denise Ryan, Pauline Duquette, Ivan Olivares, and Martha de Jesus Hernandez Ozuna.
The event was supported by many volunteers, including NC Broadcasting alumna Amy Audibert (middle) who has experienced a successful career in sports broadcasting since graduating from the college in 2012.
