The Winter Sports Meeting is a yearly gathering of all-girls teams in the U.S. The event has become a favorite with girls ages 5-14 who attend, with teams including a cross country team, an all-girl golf team, a volleyball team, and even a soccer team.
“It’s one of the most fun sports to be a kid because you get to meet other girls and really have fun with them and it’s great for them because they get to see their teammates,” Lauren Harkness, the founder of Girls Who Play, told Polygon.
The meet has grown so big in recent years that it’s now hosted two times per year, and has expanded to other sports like ice hockey and volleyball.
One of the biggest things that sets Girls Who Watch apart is the camaraderie it creates between teams, Harkess said.
“I’ve had kids come up to me and say, ‘I played basketball with you when I was little, I played football with you, I have a basketball team with you.
You’re so awesome!'”
Harkness said Girls Who Show has become an integral part of the Girl Power Invitational, where teams meet in the same room as each other and compete in various activities like games, trivia, and face painting.
A sports meet isn’t a competition, but it is a chance for girls to learn about each other, Harks said.
That camarading is what makes Girls Who Shows such a good fit for the meet, Harkin said.
“[They’re] not competing against each other in a game of tag, they’re competing with each other to win their group,” she said.
Harkess also has her sights set on getting more girls involved with Girls Who Sport.
“There’s a whole bunch of other sports that are growing and getting more popular, but Girls Who Sports is growing so fast, it’s a great opportunity for us to bring that back and have girls participating and participating with us in the fun,” she added.
Harkin and Harkings plans to continue running the meet and host future meet-ups.
Follow Laura on Twitter: @laura_fisher