Female athletes have frequently been the target of gender-based discrimination and are often not given access to the proper education or resources needed to succeed. These factors and more led to the creation of the Girls in Athletics Club, which is new to Sherwood this school year. It is described as a space for female athletes to discuss shared experiences and offer support to each other. The club is sponsored by Health teacher Claudia Wilks and was started by junior and cross country and track star, Madeline Quirion, who serves as the club’s president.

“I personally have always really enjoyed participating in athletics; I grew up playing several sports,” said Quirion. “As I got older I noticed two things: that fewer and fewer girls were participating in sports every year, and that my teammates often struggled with health issues like period loss and malnutrition that none of us were very educated about. Through a bit of research, I learned these challenges are very common among all female athletes. I believe a huge cause of these issues is misinformation and a lack of open discussion. I founded GiA to confront these issues in the Sherwood community through education and support, with the help of my fellow SHS female athletes.”

The club is set to meet once a month to discuss any issues members have noticed along with planning service projects. “One upcoming project we’re really looking forward to is our Rosa Parks field trip. We will be sending a couple of athletes to visit every girl’s sports team at RPMS to discuss mental and physical health issues female athletes often face, how to manage them and encourage the girls to stay active as they get older,” said Quirion.

By informing middle schoolers about issues female athletes face there is hope that change can be made in the future as these students will feel like their struggles are being validated. Through an Instagram page, the club hopes to highlight the success of female athletes at Sherwood, giving them well-deserved attention and respect, and also providing role models for younger girls to look up to.

Quirion also hopes to give a voice in the club to female athletes from all Sherwood sports. This way all female athletes will be able to become better informed about the struggles many of them share.

“I’ve had some great conversations with girls at school about the issues GiA is founded to combat,” observed Quirion. “Almost everyone I’ve talked to has at one point experienced  health issues as a result of having a poor diet or intentionally not eating enough.” She added that a lot of female athletes severely underestimate the amount of food a girl who works out every day should be eating and that some are over-exercising.