2nd Annual Black Women in Sport Foundation & Simon Gratz Mastery Charter Lady Bulldogs Athletic and Leadership Conference

(March 20, 2024) Black Women in Sport Foundation and Simon Gratz Mastery Charter hosted the 2nd Annual Lady Bulldogs Athletic & Leadership Conference. It was an awesome event! Approximately 100 African American girls and women of color participated. The Simon Gratz Student Ambassadors lead the conference planning, ice breaker and other exercises, created the motivational videos of student leaders and professional athletes, and were keynote speakers for the event. The day also consisted of Learn to Play stations where participants played non-traditional sports such as fencing, lacrosse, pickle ball, tennis, rugby, flag football, yoga, double dutch, and high energy cardio exercises with innovative Kangoo Jumps rebound shoes. Middle school (Mastery Prep) students of all genders wanted in on the fun, so they were allowed to participate in the Learn to Play session. The event was awesome!

 
 

PRESS INFO

We had over one hundred participants and our students  were captivated by the story of Dr. Lurline Jones  suing the school district and being instrumental in Title IX to fight for money and resources for her own female athletes. This year’s conference will continue with themes of inspiration and empowerment but we are adding four components to increase our impact this year.

  1. Each cohort got a session  on yoga and meditation to help our athletes learn to breath through difficult moments in sport and in life from certified yoga instructors.

  2. This year we expanded participation to more middle school athletes. We know that there is a significant sport participation drop in adolescent females and even more so with our city youth. This year we invited 75 middle school participants from 4 neighboring Mastery middle schools.

  3. Upperclassmen female athletes have been designated as student leaders and are on the conference planning committee and will serve as ambassadors on the day of the event. They represent different sports and have different skill sets. They have been a huge asset in coming up with fresh ideas to make our day engaging and supporting the many logistics from inviting speakers, creating flyers, and even filming and editing our promo video.

  4. There is a focus on exposure to new and different sports. This year each cohort rotated to a Learn to Play station where they participated in demonstrations in: Dance, Flag Football, Lacrosse, Soccer, Tennis, Pickleball, and Rugby, and others.

Background: Maureen Quiles has worked at Gratz for twelve years as a Postsecondary Advisor and has been a long time coach and proponent of womens’ sports. Last year, she became the Head Coach for girls flag football, an emerging sport with PIAA, supported by the Philadelphia Eagles. This year her team grew from 10 players to 23. Not everyone gets the chance to play in games, but they get to be a part of something historical.  She saw a way to blend her love for sport, help her students be exposed to more opportunities, and ultimately connect them to a life-long passion and commitment to fitness. She met Dr. Germaine Edwards and they  connected on their  love of sport and in particular exposing our students to sports they may be unfamiliar with. Dr. Edwards is a champion and advocate for women in sports, especially women of color, and has been an amazing partner in this endeavor.

Guests and Organizations: 

  • Jazmine Smith, CEO and Head Coach, Eyekonz

  • Lydia Koku, Educator and Yoga Instructor

  • Marvin Hill, Tennis Advocate

  • Dr. Lurline Jones, Title IX Activist

  • Marirose Roach, Esq., Professional Football Player

  • Janice Gilliard, Color Crowns Yoga

  • LaVerne Webb, Soul2SoleBounceFitness,

  • Dr. Nicki Franke, former Olympic and Temple University Fencing Coach

  • Temple University Women's Rugby Players

  • Coach Cassandra Lee, Philly Jumping Jems Double Dutch 

Female Athlete Ambassadors

NAME, Grade, Sport, Role, Ambassador/Day of Role

AJ Ketter, 11th grade, Softball, Pics and Media; Pictures/Media

DK Golden, 12th Grade, Cross Country, Track, Flag Football; Middle school outreach; Ambassador 1/Speaker

Janiya Martin, 12th grade, Volleyball, Flag Football; Middle school outreach and speaker recruitment; Ambassador 2

Lovette Sah, 11th grade, Volleyball, Flag Football, Flyer creation and media; Ambassador 3

Maniana Adolph, 12th grade, Softball, Communications and Media Lead; Ambassador 4/Speaker

Rasheeda Henry, 11th grade, Cross Country, Track, Flag Football, Ambassador 5

Desani Jimenez, 11th grade, Volleyball, Softball, Operations Lead; Check in table

Nai Solomon, 12th grade, Flag Football, Check in table/Student activities; Check in table

Kimorah Williams, 11th grade, Volleyball, Flag Football; Check in table/ Student activities, Check in Table

Kataya Henderson, 12th grade, Cheerleading; Ambassador 6/Speaker.

The conference received great coverage. See below for media links.

NBC10 News Coverage of BWSF & Gratz MC 2nd Leadership Conference

Thank you to Eva Anderson, CBS, for her impactful coverage of the 2nd Annual Black Women in Sport Foundation & Simon Gratz Mastery Charter Lady Bulldogs Athletic and Leadership Conference!

Black women and girls learn the power of leadership through sports at annual conference in Philadelphia

By Eva Andersen

Updated on: March 21, 2024 / 9:01 PM EDT / CBS Philadelphia

CBS3 News coverage of BWSF & Gratz Mastery Charter 2nd Leadership Conference

Germaine Edwards