It is the first Wednesday in February which means it’s the day of the year to honor the athletic successes of women and girls in your community.

The National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS) is celebrating the 26th National Girls and Women in Sports Day February 1, 2012. This year’s theme: “Title IX at 40: In it for the Long Run.”

Around the country sports educators, coaches, athletic directors, recreation directors, association members, sponsors, students, and parents create interactive events to raise the profile of women in sport.

Although Title IX has been successful on many levels, it is clear that there is still work to be done. The NAGWS states on their website “Despite the stunning advances made in the 40 years since Title IX was enacted, high school girls still receive 1.3 million fewer participation opportunities than do boys, and evidence suggests that the money spent on girls’ sports programs lags significantly behind the money spent on boys’ programs.”

How Can You Support Women’s Sport?

Check for NGWSD events in your area.

Wear a shirt that illustrates the sports/fitness activity you enjoy on Feb. 1.

Take A Girl to a Game to share your love of women’s sports with her this week.

Put your money where your mouth is and buy tickets to a woman’s sporting event. Just because you may not necessarily hear about these events in the newspaper (due to a chronic lack of coverage of women’s events) doesn’t mean they do not exist. Pro and semi-pro leagues, colleges, high schools, and club leagues are all competiting.

Commemorate the occasion by writing a blog post and sharing stories about how Title IX has benefited you or the lives of others you know. Here are some questions to help inspire you:

• Did Title IX give you more educational opportunities?
• How has playing sports enriched your life?
• Why do you encourage your daughter to participate in athletics?
• What is your favorite women/girls in sports moment?

The fun stuff! As a thank you for sharing your stories, the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) is giving away some awesome Title IX gear, from t-shirts to posters to temporary tattoos!

To be placed in a random drawing and possibly receive some Title IX swag, you can:

• Post a comment on this note or on the NWLC wall
• Send NWLC a Facebook message
• Tweet @NWLC
• Send @NWLC a direct message on Twitter

NWLC will contact the winners as soon as they’ve been chosen. Some of the Title IX swag you could win by sharing your story shown above.

For more information on NGWSD, please visit the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport website here: http://www.aahperd.org/nagws/programs/ngwsd/ and for more news and events visit the WomenTalkSport.com NGWSD page.

Now get out and show your support.

Photo courtesy of NWLC.