Ari Merlino – first Sault Ste. Marie born hockey player invited to the Canadian Women’s under 18 hockey camp!
Mercedes Mazucca -St. Mary’s college graduate who will be suiting up for the Algoma Thunderbirds basketball team this fall!
Jana Headrick – University of Toronto and University of New Brunswick player who had an unbelievably successful playing career and is now a mentor to Indigenous youth across the country due to her role with Indigenous Hockey Canada!
Mya Headrick – accepted a full ride scholarship to Bemidji State university in Minnesota to play D1 women’s hockey!
Olivia Starzomski – A member of the Michigan State swimming team who competed at the Canadian Olympic Trials this year!
Not bad, for a girl.
Why is it that certain media outlets continue to ignore these accomplishments? Sure, you’ll get a story here or there. But one thing I always appreciated about the men I mentioned in my last article is that they covered ALL SPORTS from people of all genders.
Any Sault boy who gets drafted to the OHL or grabs a scholarship in the States gets all the publicity they want, which is well deserved and they should take it. This isn’t to diminish any of their accomplishments, it’s just that female athletes should be afforded the same opportunity.
That’s one thing I’ve been very proud of working with Jim Monico, Dom Deluca and Jay Houslander. In my opinion, we have done an admirable job of highlighting the accomplishments of these women. I say “admirable” because of course we can do better. It’s something we discuss and we are trying to find a fair balance.
“Not bad, for a girl”, is a phrase I’ve become quite fond of over the years. Before I lose my audience after my second article, let me explain.
My two stepdaughters used to participate in Kuk Sool Won and they would participate in tournaments in Ontario and Michigan. Much to my chagrin early on, they would have to spar against boys. “Sparring” is when you compete against an opponent using the techniques you’ve been taught. You wear protective equipment but there is punching and kicking. The intent isn’t to injure your opponent. The intent is to score points.
Well, the boys were no match. The girls would, generally, walk through the competition and would win most sparring events they competed in.
Every tournament, you would always see one or two boys laugh at “having to fight a girl” and throw a comment as such to their parents or friends.
That was motivation enough and that’s where, “not bad, for a girl” really took life.
After every opponent, after every win, the first thing we’d say to each would be, “hey, not bad, for a girl.” We’d say it JUST loud enough for her opponent to hear.
It became motivation. It was always dripping with sarcasm, but everyone knew what we meant.
If you’re a female athlete and want exposure, reach out. If you’re a coach and want to promote your club or team, reach out. We’ve interviewed Tania Castellani Greco from Sault Dance Unlimited and Kim Bonnel from the Sault gymnastics club in recent months and we want to give every organization a chance to promote and succeed.
I hope we continue to cover female athletes with the same respect, honour and recognition they deserve.
Source: Tony Boniferro
