[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 103 (Tuesday, July 20, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1601]]


  EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE WITH REGARD TO THE UNITED STATES 
  WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM AND ITS WINNING PERFORMANCE IN THE 1999 WOMEN'S 
                          WORLD CUP TOURNAMENT

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                     HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 20, 1999

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, the looks on the faces of the little 
girls gazing up with hero worship to the U.S. Women's Soccer Team made 
an awful lot of struggles that we have gone through worthwhile. When 
Title IX was first written and passed in the Congress, there was a 
great furor about it. The idea of opening athletics to women was almost 
anathema. We have seen now what a wonderful opportunity we have given; 
that girls in school know that they too can achieve in sports and that 
they too can be part of that wonderful experience of being a member of 
a winning team.
  Title IX has helped us to reduce the inequality and the differences 
in Americans and says to everybody, ``You too can be a winner.''
  I commend to my colleagues the following article from my local paper, 
the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

       [From the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, July 11, 1999]

                      Girls Expand Sports Horizons

                            (By Bob Chavez)

       Chelsea Kilburn was having too much fun. She not only shed 
     her blocker to reach the quarterback, but her tackle included 
     an ``emphasis'' that would draw a flag in any organized 
     football game.
       Good thing for her this was just a clinic. It's also a good 
     thing that the quarterback was just a stuffed pad.
       ``I love tackling and that swimming thing,'' the 13-year-
     old from Rochester said, referring to the moves taught to her 
     by former Buffalo Bills longsnapper Adam Lingner at 
     yesterday's Girls Sports Festival at Frontier Field.
       More than 400 girls attended the festival, in its second 
     year. Robin Guon, who works for Monroe County Sports 
     Development, said the event undoubtedly was a success.
       ``We got such positive feedback from last year that we 
     decided to do it again,'' explained Guon, who said attendance 
     was up by about 100 girls this year. ``We would like this to 
     be an annual event.''
       Girls ages 8 to 14 participate in up to six of the 17 
     sports offered. Some girls selected sports they liked. 
     Others, like Irondequoit's Kristin Deiure, picked lacrosse.
       ``I just wanted to see what it was like,'' said Deiure, 11. 
     ``It's pretty hard, but I like it.''
       Emma Hardy, 9, of Penfield tried lacrosse because her 
     friends play on a team. She'd like to do the same some day, 
     but throwing the ball presents quite a challenge.
       ``Probably because I'm so bad at it,'' she said. ``My dad 
     tells me to watch the ball but it can be so frustrating. But 
     he tells me how to do things correctly and sometimes I just 
     have to concentrate harder.''
       The best part of the day for Hardy was the chance to try 
     her hand at games she had never played.
       ``I like all sports and this day is great,'' she said. 
     ``Some of (the games) were new to me. But I tried them and I 
     actually liked them.''
       Emily Thomas, 10, of Chili had a tough time deciding her 
     favorite, but ultimate frisbee was right near the top of the 
     six sports she tried.
       ``It was fun to throw the frisbee to other people and I 
     like to learn new things,'' she said, adding that lacrosse 
     was a close second to frisbee.
       Alissa Coates of Honeoye Falls preferred the more physical 
     games. Her list included stops for taekwondo, karate and 
     boxing.
       ``I learned different kicks and punches,'' she said. ``I 
     also learned different finger locks. It was all new and it 
     was nothing like the taekwondo I learned in school.''
       Devon Monin, 11, of Rochester was at the baseball clinic, 
     but could not stop talking about all she learned about 
     football.
       ``You get to tackle and pass the ball a lot,'' she said. 
     ``I also learned that there are a lot of positions. I didn't 
     know there were so many.''
       Given the choice, she'd play defensive line.
       ``It's not exactly in the middle and it's not exactly 
     outside,'' she said of why she liked the position. ``You get 
     to play a lot of both.''
       As much fun as Kilburn had learning to read blocks to sack 
     the quarterback, she was just as glad to have the opportunity 
     to learn.
       ``It was really good,'' she said. ``I knew nothing about 
     any other sports, but I learned a lot. Now when I watch 
     football with my brother, I'll actually know what I'm talking 
     about.''

     

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