This week, we are celebrating Women in Sports Day. On Feb. 4, 1987, President Ronald Reagan declared the first National Women in Sports Day in recognition of the history of women’s athletics.

This past Saturday, I helped our local cable access channel, Channel 7, record the Boothbay Region YMCA Dolphin virtual swim meet. Yes, I did it because our granddaughters are on the team, but that’s what grandparents do, and what supporters of athletics do. Because of the pandemic, spectators weren’t allowed to watch (thankfully people could watch it live online) in the Emery Pool, so I jumped at the chance to help out and to see a live sporting event. I have missed going to the various swim meets this winter.

One thing I noticed is that the Dolphin swim team is made up of nearly the same numbers of boys and girls – I counted 13 boys and 16 girls. There may have been some swimmers missing, but it was great to see that so many girls are taking part this year.

Having been a coach of girls basketball for over a decade at Boothbay Region High School and having dealt with declining numbers of participants for various reasons, I am glad there is a day celebrating women in sports.

I recently read a synopsis of a chapter in the report, “Go Out and Play: Youth Sports in America,” on why kids are dropping out of sports. One of the reasons stated in the chapter as to why girls drop out of sports is that they tend to get a later start in team sports than boys (7.4 years as opposed to 6.8 years), which may slow down their athletic development and confidence. But the report stated that “The main reason both girls and boys drop out of sports is that they are not having fun.”

Well, I hope the Dolphins are having fun – they appeared to be – and I hope girls continue to get the opportunity to compete in athletics and have fun doing it.