82 “Tweeners” enjoy eight sports at Sport Aurora’s All-Girls, All Sports One Day” event at AFLC

September 26, 2024 · 0 Comments

Sport Aurora’s inaugural “All Girls, All Sports/ One Day” event was enjoyed by 82 participants at the Aurora Family Leisure Complex on Sunday morning and afternoon.

Eight local sports clubs—KO Club Martial Arts, Elevation Athletics Badminton, Alpha Cheerleading, Town of Aurora Archery, Aurora Diggers Softball, Storm Volleyball, Spectrum North Baton Twirling, and Performance Fitness—put dozens of enthusiasts through their paces to deepen the youngsters’ love of sports and provide them with recreational options.

Sport Aurora President Ron Weese discussed the genesis of the event.

“‘All-Girls All Sports/One Day’ grew out of our All Sports/One Day demonstration events with a new focus on an all-girls event. We targeted ‘tweeners’ ages 8-14 because this group tends to drop out of organized sports. We’ve invited this group today to the Leisure Complex to learn something new and get re-engaged.”

Laurie Mueller, the masterful organizer behind Sport Aurora’s many events, was pleased that the first AGASOD was “sold out with five on a waiting list.”

“We’ve got over 80 participants for the morning and afternoon sessions. A key component to today’s success was the role of the U18 Panthers Rep Hockey team. We have three or four U18 Panthers in each group to serve as mentors in a leadership capacity.”

Mark Dubeau, President of the Central York Girls Hockey Association and a Panthers Coach, was coming off a big 6-2 U22 Panthers’ win in Kingston to kick off the first weekend of the top club’s hockey season.

Coach Dubeau was even more pleased with the 18U club’s active participation in Sunday’s event

“We want all Panther teams to be leaders in the community – great examples to all girls in all sport, not just hockey.”

Mueller, Sport Aurora’s Executive Director, described the end-of-session process and the critical role of the Panthers.

“The 18U Panthers are going to sit together at the end of the day with their groups. The Panthers are going to do a non-structured talk about girls in sport, they’ll encourage the girls to stay in sports at any level, and get a feeling on how the day went for the girls here at the Leisure Complex.”

In addition to thanking the U18 Panthers group leaders and the eight local sports clubs for providing expert instruction, Mueller also thanked “‘Canadian Women in Sport’ for sponsoring today’s eight-sport event. A big thank you to ‘Next Play’ for providing a grant that covered the costs of fields, extra equipment as needed, and permits.”

By Jim Stewart