WASHINGTON, D.C. – Independent Women’s Forum (IWF), the leading national women’s organization advocating for better policies and more freedom for women, together with its grassroots membership arm Independent Women’s Network, has registered an official National Women’s Sports Week observed annually during the week of June 23 to recognize female athletes — past, present, and future — for their athletic participation and achievement in sport. 

The inaugural 2022 National Women’s Sports Week takes place June 20-26 and coincides with the 50th anniversary of Title IX, landmark legislation passed in 1972. Title IX transformed sports by guaranteeing women and girls the right to equal athletic opportunities. Two in five women now participate in sports, compared to one in 27 prior to Title IX’s passage.

How to observe National Women’s Sports Week:

  • Champion female athletes for their teamwork, resilience, and success.
  • Honor the coaches and parents who support female athletes.
  • Fight to ensure the continuation of single-sex athletic competition.

To celebrate 2022 National Women’s Sports Week, IWF along with female athletes, parents, advocates, and fourteen organizations from across the political spectrum will rally for “Our Body, Our Sports” on Thursday, June 23, at 11 a.m. ET in Washington, D.C. Female athletes including NCAA Swimmer Riley Gaines Barker, USA Women’s Masters Track Athlete Cynthia Monteleone, Olympian Inga Thompson, and Skateboarder Taylor Silverman will join former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) in celebrating 50 years of Title IX and advocating for the preservation of single sex sport.  

Competitive sport is a zero-sum game where some athletes make the cut, and others do not; someone wins, and others lose. In a zero-sum competition, the inclusion of male-bodied athletes in women’s sport inevitably denies opportunities to female athletes. Claims to the contrary deny science, defy logic, and undermine Title IX. Women’s Sports Week is the perfect time to STAND UP for female athletes and single-sex competition.

  • For more information about National Women’s Sports Week, visit www.iwf.org/womenssportsweek and use #WomensSportsWeek hashtag on social media.
  • Media interested in Our Bodies, Our Sports rally credentials, email [email protected]

### 

www.iwf.org 

Independent Women’s Forum is dedicated to developing and advancing policies that aren’t just well intended but actually enhance people’s freedom, choices, and opportunities.

www.iwnetwork.com

Independent Women’s Network, a project of Independent Women’s Voice, in partnership with Independent Women’s Forum, is a positive, supportive community of engaged, informed, and activated women working together to inspire, interact, influence, and have impact.