Women's Sports Foundation

The Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) is a United States nonprofit organization focused on expanding girls' and women's participation in sports and physical activity. Founded in 1974 by tennis champion and equal-rights advocate Billie Jean King, the foundation was created to address the educational, cultural, financial, and institutional barriers that limited opportunities for female athletes. Its work treats sport not only as competition, but also as a means of improving health, confidence, leadership, education, social connection, and career prospects. King established the foundation after donating a $5,000 award connected with her recognition as an outstanding female athlete. She launched the organization alongside her business manager Jim Jorgensen and then-husband Larry King, with early support from Olympic athletes Donna de Varona and Suzy Chaffee. The organization quickly adopted a multisport orientation rather than concentrating on tennis. Its early public profile grew through television, athlete networks, educational work, and the creation of womenSports magazine, one of the early publications devoted specifically to women's athletics. During its first decade, the foundation developed from a small advocacy organization into a national institution with a larger board, professional staff, fundraising capacity, and an endowment. Donna de Varona became its first president in 1979. The foundation's central objectives included educating the public about discrimination in sports, normalizing recognition of female athletic achievement, promoting equal opportunity, encouraging fair play, and supporting participation for health and enjoyment as well as elite performance. WSF combines direct assistance with research and public advocacy. Its Travel & Training Fund has provided grants to aspiring athletes and teams for coaching, specialized instruction, equipment, athletic clothing, and travel. The program has supported athletes in both individual and team sports, including competitors who later became prominent at national and international levels. Other initiatives have focused on girls who are underrepresented or insufficiently served by organized sport. Sports 4 Life, launched in 2014 with support from espnW, was designed to increase participation and retention among African-American and Hispanic girls aged 11 to 18. GoGirlGo! supports programs intended to increase physical activity among sedentary girls and help them remain engaged. The foundation also uses athlete ambassadors, grants to community organizations, public education, and partnerships with corporate, media, and academic institutions. Its Sport, Health and Activity Research and Policy Center for Women and Girls, known as SHARP, was established with the University of Michigan to connect research with programming and policy. WSF maintains a library and resource center containing publications, audiovisual materials, photographs, and other historical resources related to women and sport. Recognition and fundraising are another part of the foundation's public role. Its Annual Salute to Women in Sports celebrates athletes and supporters while raising money for grants, research, education, and advocacy. Awards associated with the event have included Sportswoman of the Year honors, the Billie Jean King Contribution Award, and the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award. The foundation has also operated or supported several historical recognition programs, including the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame and the Billie Jean King International Women's Sports Center, the latter of which opened in 2008 and closed in 2009. The WSF remains an advocacy organization rather than a sports league, team, governing body, or commercial product brand. Its contemporary agenda includes equal opportunity, access to facilities and programs, representation, safety, and protection from discrimination. The organization has also joined other women's-rights groups in supporting nondiscrimination protections for transgender people, including transgender girls and women participating in sports. Its work continues through research, grants, partnerships, events, athlete engagement, and policy communication.

The Women's Sports Foundation was legally established in 1974 by Billie Jean King, Jim Jorgensen, and Larry King. Its creation followed King's donation of a $5,000 athletic award and reflected her broader campaign to improve opportunities for women in sport. Olympic swimmer Donna de Varona and Olympic skier Suzy Chaffee provided early support. At the same time, King helped launch womenSports magazine, which provided a communications platform for female athletes and issues affecting women's sport. The foundation developed a multisport identity during the mid-1970s. Its involvement with the 1975 ABC television program Women's Superstars helped connect the organization with athletes from different disciplines and broaden its public visibility. From 1976 through 1986, executive director Eva Auchincloss and associate director Holly Turner worked with chairwoman King to expand the board and institutional capacity. Board participants included Olympian Peggy Fleming, Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz, and business leaders associated with Bristol-Myers and Colgate-Palmolive. Donna de Varona became the foundation's first president in 1979. Under Auchincloss and her colleagues, WSF grew from a very small organization into one with a substantial endowment and operating base. Its early educational mission centered on challenging discrimination, raising public awareness of women's athletic achievements, and demonstrating that girls and women deserved equal opportunities, resources, recognition, and respect. The foundation framed participation as valuable for physical health, enjoyment, self-confidence, identity, leadership, and future professional opportunities, not solely for elite competition. Over subsequent decades, WSF expanded from general advocacy into grantmaking, athlete assistance, research, community programming, awards, and policy work. The Travel & Training Fund became a long-running mechanism for helping promising female athletes pay for coaching, training, equipment, attire, and travel. Since its establishment in 1984, the fund has supported more than 1,300 individual athletes and teams according to the foundation's historical account. Beneficiaries have included athletes such as Michelle Kwan, Rachael Flatt, Mary Ellen Clark, Alissa Johnson, Mallory Weggemann, and the United States National Water Polo Team. The organization also developed programs aimed at participation gaps among younger girls. GoGirlGo! was designed to support healthier and more active lifestyles among sedentary girls through education, funding, public awareness, and networks of community organizations. In 2014, WSF and espnW launched Sports 4 Life to increase participation and retention among African-American and Hispanic girls between 11 and 18. Its model combined grants, education, and public awareness with support for organizations serving those communities. The Athlete Ambassador Program connected younger participants with amateur and professional athletes who could act as mentors and role models. Research became another core area. In 2010, WSF partnered with the University of Michigan's School of Kinesiology and Institute for Research on Women & Gender to establish SHARP, the Sport, Health and Activity Research and Policy Center for Women and Girls. SHARP was intended to produce research useful for public engagement, advocacy, policy, and program implementation. WSF also maintained a library and resource center containing books, magazines, articles, photographs, films, videos, and artifacts documenting women's sport. The foundation has used awards and events to combine recognition with fundraising. Its Annual Salute to Women in Sports has honored athletes, teams, contributors, and advocates while raising funds for grants, research, education, and advocacy. The organization has also operated or supported the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame, created in 1980 to recognize pioneering and contemporary female athletes. In 2006, WSF and the Sports Museum of America announced the Billie Jean King International Women's Sports Center. The center opened in May 2008 but closed in February 2009. The foundation also presented or supported other award programs, including the Flo Hyman Memorial Award and The Billie Awards. Today, WSF remains an active U.S.-based educational charity advocating equal opportunity for girls and women in sport. Its work spans direct financial support, youth-program development, research, public education, athlete engagement, events, and policy advocacy. Its partnerships have included Athleta, espnW, Gatorade, NBC Sports Group, Yahoo Sports, and academic institutions. The foundation has also publicly supported nondiscrimination protections for transgender people, including transgender women and girls in sports. It is best understood as an advocacy and service nonprofit rather than a commercial sports brand, governing body, or athletic team.

• 2014

  Sports 4 Life launched

  [1]Women's Sports Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  WSF and espnW launched a national program focused on participation and retention among African-American and Hispanic girls aged 11 to 18.

• 2010

  SHARP research partnership established

  [1]Women's Sports Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  WSF and the University of Michigan created the Sport, Health and Activity Research and Policy Center for Women and Girls.

• 1984

  Travel & Training Fund begins

  [1]Women's Sports Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  WSF established a grant program to help aspiring female athletes and teams meet training, equipment, coaching, and travel costs.

• 1980

  International Women's Sports Hall of Fame established

  [1]Women's Sports Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The foundation established a hall of fame recognizing women whose athletic achievements helped shape the history of women's sport.

• 1979

  Donna de Varona becomes first president

  [1]Women's Sports Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Olympic swimmer Donna de Varona was appointed the foundation's first president.

• 1975

  Multisport public profile expands

  [1]Women's Sports Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The foundation's involvement with ABC's Women's Superstars connected it with athletes across multiple sports.

• 1974

  Foundation established

  [1]Women's Sports Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Billie Jean King, Jim Jorgensen, and Larry King legally established the Women's Sports Foundation, with early support from Donna de Varona and Suzy Chaffee.

Sports advocacy, education, research, grantmaking, and nonprofit support focused on girls' and women's participation and equality.

• Athlete grants · 1984

  Travel & Training Fund

  A direct-assistance grant program for promising female athletes and teams. Awards can help cover coaching, specialized training, equipment, athletic clothing, and travel to regional, national, or international competition. The program serves both individual and team sports and has historically supported athletes at different stages of development.

• Youth sports participation program · 2014

  Sports 4 Life

  A national initiative launched with espnW to improve participation and retention in developmental sports among African-American and Hispanic girls aged 11 to 18. It combines grants to community organizations with education and public awareness intended to produce sustainable improvements in health and development.

• Youth physical activity program

  GoGirlGo!

  A program supporting organizations that help sedentary girls become active and remain involved in physical activity. Its approach includes education, funding, public awareness, and networking among groups serving girls.

• Research and policy center · 2010

  SHARP

  The Sport, Health and Activity Research and Policy Center for Women and Girls links Women's Sports Foundation programming and policy expertise with University of Michigan research. Its focus is generating evidence that can improve the reach, quality, health effects, and sustainability of sport and movement opportunities for women and girls.

• Awards and fundraising event

  Annual Salute to Women in Sports

  An annual recognition and fundraising event celebrating female athletes, teams, contributors, and supporters. Proceeds support the foundation's grants, research, educational work, and advocacy programs. Associated honors have included Sportswoman of the Year, the Billie Jean King Contribution Award, and the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award.

• 2014Sports 4 Life

  United States

  WSF and espnW created a national effort to increase participation and retention in developmental youth sports among African-American and Hispanic girls aged 11 to 18.

  Outcome. The initiative used grants, education, and public awareness to support organizations serving the target communities. A quantified overall outcome is not stated in the supplied sources.

  Source
• GoGirlGo!

  United States

  A participation campaign supporting programs that encourage sedentary girls to become active and remain engaged in physical activity.

  Outcome. The supplied sources describe the program's objectives and methods but do not provide a consolidated outcome figure.

  Source

• 2014

  Launch Sports 4 LifeProduct launch

  Background

  Participation and retention gaps affected African-American and Hispanic girls in developmental youth sports.

  Action taken

  WSF and espnW launched a national grant, education, and awareness initiative for girls aged 11 to 18.

  Aftermath

  The program expanded the foundation's focus on targeted community participation and retention.

  Source

• 2010

  Establish an academic research partnershipStrategy

  Background

  The foundation sought stronger evidence to guide advocacy, programming, and policy affecting women and girls in sport.

  Action taken

  WSF partnered with the University of Michigan to establish SHARP.

  Aftermath

  Research and policy became a formal component of the foundation's operating model.

  Source

• 1984

  Create the Travel & Training FundStrategy

  Background

  Aspiring female athletes faced financial barriers to coaching, equipment, specialized training, and competition travel.

  Action taken

  WSF introduced direct grants for individual athletes and teams with elite potential.

  Aftermath

  The fund became a long-running athlete-support program and has historically assisted more than 1,300 athletes and teams.

  Source

• 1974

  Adopt a broad women's-sports advocacy missionStrategy

  Background

  The foundation was created in response to unequal opportunities, discrimination, and limited public recognition for female athletes.

  Action taken

  WSF combined public education, advocacy, athlete support, and promotion of girls' participation rather than operating as a single-sport organization.

  Aftermath

  The multisport model became the basis for later grants, research, youth programs, awards, and policy work.

  Source

1. 1Women's Sports Foundationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Women's Sports Foundation official websitewomenssportsfoundation.org