The following are articles taken from our bimonthly newsletter, The Buzz. If you would like to subscribe to the electronic or hard copy version, please let us know.

NATIONAL GIRLS AND WOMEN IN SPORTS DAY

Join Body Electric as we celebrate the 18th Annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day in February! This year's theme, "Play Fair," emphasizes sportsmanship as well as equity in sports.

NGWSD was created to honor Olympic volleyball player Flo Hyman, who died suddenly of a heart attack caused by Marfan Syndrome during a volleyball tournament in 1986.

NGWSD is organized jointly by Girl Scouts of the USA, Girls Incorporated, National Association for Girls and Women in Sport, the Women's Sports Foundation and the YWCA of the USA.

** Monday, February 2: Body Electric, in partnership with the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, will award our 7th annual $1,000 Body Electric Athletic Scholarship to a local female high school senior.

The scholarship recipient will be announced at the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table's Girls and Women in Sports Luncheon.

** Sunday, February 29: Body Electric's Annual Women's FitFest will feature sports clinics and demonstrations, information/exhibit tables from local businesses and nonprofit organizations, a scavenger hunt, a prize raffle, and other fun and educational activities for women and girls.

This FREE sports/health/fitness fair is open to the public from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Earl Warren Showgrounds' Warren Hall.

** Throughout February: Body Electric will donate books featuring female athletic role models to middle and high schools through our Women's Sports Book Project.

"DO WE STILL NEED TITLE IX?" WHY WE MUST CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR GENDER EQUITY

When our volunteers and board members share their involvement in Body Electric with friends, acquaintances or co-workers, the response is usually positive.

"What you're doing is so important," or "I wish there had been an organization like yours when I was playing sports" are typical comments.

Every now and then, however, we face a skeptical expression and tone of voice as someone says, "But women and girls have equality now, don't they? Just look at the WNBA/professional women's soccer/UCSB women's basketball team!"

It's true: girls and women have made tremendous progress in educational and athletic settings since Title IX was passed in 1972. Before that time, many schools didn't offer athletic opportunities for girls - period. Fewer than 300,000 girls played varsity sports nationwide.

When girls were offered opportunities, the selections were limited: cheerleading and tennis were frequently the only perceived "appropriate" activities for girls and young women to pursue.

Some sports were adapted for girls in order to protect them from exhaustion; for example, six-player basketball was created by Senda Berenson, Instructor of Physical Culture at Smith College, shortly after the invention of basketball in 1892. The game restricted dribbling, running and moving around the court. Some schools were still playing six-player ball into the 1990's.

Protecting women from the exertion and (unladylike) aggression of sports was the norm.

But Title IX is not just about sports. Before Title IX, women were subject to admissions quotas in undergraduate and graduate schools, hiring practices in universities were openly sexist, and equal pay was unheard of; Title IX was originally drafted to remedy discrimination in these areas of higher education.

Gender equity in sports was not even on the radar for those fighting for the law's passage, but was destined to become the rallying point for female athletes, coaches and other women and men who recognized Title IX's potential to bring about equality.

More recently, as we near Title IX's 32nd anniversary, there has been much progress to acknowledge.

A number of professional women's sports leagues (basketball, softball, football and soccer) have sprouted up and experience varying levels of success.

The 2000 Olympics featured, for the first time, the same number of team sports for men and women. Women made up 42 percent of the competitors at the Games and took home 65 percent of the gold medals. The U.S. Olympic Committee elected the first female president of its 106-year history.

The Australian Open began to offer equal prize money to men and women. Nearly 3.5 million people watched the University of Connecticut women's basketball team win the NCAA championship, representing the largest television audience for a college basketball game - men's or women's - in the network's history.

Girls have come out to play sports in unprecedented numbers: more than 2.8 million girls participated in varsity athletics in 2002-2003, representing 41.5 percent of high school athletes.

In comparison to pre-Title IX America, things are good for female athletes.

Now let's look at some other numbers. ** Women make up over half the student body at the collegiate level, but only 41 percent of the athletes.
** Women coach only 44 percent of women's athletic teams (before Title IX, women coached 90 percent of women's teams) - and one percent of men's teams. Salary disparity is also significant between coaches of men's and women's teams.
** Male athletes receive 36 percent more in collegiate athletic scholarships than female athletes.

Unfortunately, many athletes and coaches have had to resort to lawsuits to force equity.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association was found in violation of Title IX for scheduling six girls' sports, but no boys' sports, in nontraditional or disadvantageous seasons, hindering competitive opportunities as well as college recruitment efforts.

Other lawsuits have involved substandard facilities and playing fields, wrongful termination or retaliation, unequal pay, and lack of effective accommodation of the interests and abilities of female athletes - a few examples of the kinds of discrimination still taking place in women's sports.

But athletics is not the only area in which women are still fighting for equality.

Women and girls still lack access to the education and support needed to achieve success in all nontraditional fields, leading to the perception that women aren't capable or interested - thus leading to more discrimination - thus continuing the cycle.

And what about the WNBA/women's professional soccer/UCSB women's basketball team, after all?

The WNBA is the first professional women's sports league to achieve major success and visibility; however, the league still struggles financially and is heavily subsidized by the NBA. Attendance at games has been steadily decreasing, including a 20 percent drop in Los Angeles, home of two-time WNBA Champion the Sparks.

The U.S. women's soccer team has also seen extraordinary success in their sport, winning the first-ever women's Olympic soccer gold medal at the 1996 Summer Games and the 1999 Women's World Cup. This year, however, saw the WUSA, the first women's professional soccer league, suspend operations for lack of funds to start a fourth season. The league's future is currently undetermined.

The UCSB women's basketball team is currently a top-25 team and has been a strong presence in the community for decades. Its players serve as role models to countless aspiring athletes, both male and female.

UCSB, in the last school year, allocated 52 percent of athletic scholarship funds to female athletes - matching the percentage of women enrolled at the university. UCSB also spent 53 percent of recruiting dollars on female athletes.

There are many measures of gender equity to review at a university, but in these two areas, UCSB has made great progress, demonstrating that Title IX compliance is not out of reach when institutions make a commitment to equity.

Of course, Title IX doesn't apply to professional sports; federal law can only influence educational institutions. Our greater society still has work to do in accepting women as athletes.

Is advocacy for gender equity still necessary? Yes! Is education for community awareness still necessary? Yes! Is Title IX still necessary? Yes!

We all must continue to speak up when girls or women are marginalized or discriminated against - even when such discrimination is subtle, in the form of lesser expectations or omission of women's successes.

If we don't expect great things from girls, girls don't expect great things from themselves. If girls don't hear about the achievements of female athletes, scientists, engineers, soldiers or doctors, they don't learn that such achievement is possible.

As a parent, coach, teacher, or any other member of the community, it is imperative that we remain aware of sex discrimination in our educational and sports programs, but also in our minds and in our actions toward girls.

Speak out about the achievements of women and girls, as well as the challenges we face in achieving equity.

The progress we've made on this journey is substantial; the road still stretches ahead. In 2004, let's make a commitment to fight for the future of girls.

KIRA'S JOURNAL

Part one, and the first in a series, the following is an excerpt of the journal of Kira Anthofer, a former collegiate and professional athlete who is working toward health and fitness of body, mind and spirit.

With our journal series we bring you the challenges and accomplishments of an average woman: someone who, like all of us, balances a life full of work, play, friends, family and occasional struggle.

We hope you find inspiration in their daily endeavors, and perhaps decide to try something new and challenging yourself!

October 26, 2003 - Today we turn the clocks back one hour. This is the perfect time to start all over again. Why? Well, I was once a collegiate athlete and a professional athlete. Successful in mind, body and spirit - not a care in the world.

Then came life. Especially over the past three years, life has really put me to the test, and I allowed the combination of mind, body and spirit to go awry.

Now, as I embrace my 37 years in this world, I embrace a positive change in my life. I search for a more conscious thought, stronger body and openness in my heart about what I want to regain in my life.

I have let emotions tied up with food rule my life for the past three years.

After changing jobs four times, buying a home, breaking up a four-year relationship, and coming to terms with my family dynamics, my body hit bottom. It clicked for me one night in October after watching one of the reality shows. I thought, "This is not reality." I was tired of watching people wanting "instant" success.

I reflected back to my training days in college. We did not play Division I basketball without working hard and developing our skills, body and mind. So I said, "Get to the gym - eat right - live life."

My goal is to be in the same shape I was three years ago; I want to lose 60 pounds. Let me share with you my planned routine.

Three days a week: weight room. Three days a week: cardio workout (mostly treadmill - walking with an incline). Six days in the gym. One day off. Nutrition will include higher levels of vegetables and good source of protein. Finally, have "fun" foods in moderation and at well-planned events. My protein sources will include my favorite - cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is the wonder food in my dictionary. You can make it a dessert or turn it into a side dish with just a change of a spice!

My approach is to eat three well-balanced meals with 2-3 snacks throughout the day.

I have a workout journal that I fill out every time I lift weights. It helps me to know how much I lifted, my improvements, and it allows me to write down my feelings for the day. Here are a few entries:

Day 1 - Overall happy to start Day 1. Arms are shaking after my upper body workout.

Day 3 - Great leg workout. Lunges were tough. I'm thankful for the time change ("fall back" one hour). I'm done by 6:30 a.m.

I am a morning person.

Day 5 - My legs are so sore from the other day. It is hard to get up/down from my chair, in and out of the car, etc. But I know what I will look/feel like on the other side after multiple workouts. So I smile to myself, knowing that I need to take one step at a time.

During this time I am adjusting the weight and fine tuning the workout.

Day 7 - I feel fantastic after only one week. I do not expect to see physical changes until weeks 6-8. Emotions are high and that is a much better start. Today as a treat, I cooked a four-course meal for my dearest friends' wedding anniversary (including three different bottles of wine to accompany the meal).

Day 13 - Eating habits have been off. I ate a dish of ice cream yesterday, a slice of ice cream cake today and I had large dinners twice this week. I am feeling ½ guilty.

Day 15 - Business trip out of town. For the past two days I've been staying at the Hilton in Pleasanton, CA.

Where there is a will there is a way; there was a wonderful gym right next door and I didn't miss a workout - and I got in free through the Hilton!

After 4 weeks - I change the order of all the weight exercises in order to shock the muscles. Working out the same muscle groups yet with a different grip or motion helps to become stronger.

I am pleased to report FIVE pounds lost and TEN pounds of high spirits gained.

Okay - I'm not following my strict regime. The holidays are a poor time to start a new lifestyle. So I am choosing to eat wisely, maintain good exercise habits and enjoy holiday foods in moderation.

Cardio success! I usually speed walk on the treadmill and change the incline every minute. I do a two-minute warm-up, and then I start at a low incline and increase to a very intense incline. Then I start at the low again and work back up to intense. I do this for four repetitions. This really works the body; it changes the workload and causes me to sweat! Well, after eight weeks I end my four repetitions with a two-minute high-speed run. I could not have done this during Week 1. I have to look out for these milestones - recognize them and move forward. I like my pace. If you asked me three years ago, I would not have been happy unless I had instant results.

December 15th - Still five pounds lost. But for some reason my clothes are fitting differently. I found a little bit of breathing room.

I must be giving off some good vibes; a guy in the gym made some light flirtation this morning. I needed that little boost.

Can't wait to share my next two months with you.