[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 20 (Thursday, February 16, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S1410]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  COMMITTEE TESTIMONY OF LYNETTE MUND

  Mr. DORGAN. Earlier this month, Lynette Mund, a teacher and coach 
from West Fargo, ND, testified before the Senate Commerce Committee 
about the importance of women's athletics.
  Lynette is a great athlete in her own right. She was a three-time 
national champion in basketball. Her home State of North Dakota has 
always been proud of her and is lucky to have her contributions at West 
Fargo High School.
  Her excellent statement laid out the struggles of providing the 
opportunity for young women to participate in sports. I ask unanimous 
consent that her statement be printed in the Congressional Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

 Testimony of Lynette Mund--Promoting Women in Sports, February 1, 2006

       Good morning, Chairman Stevens, Senator Inouye and Members 
     of the Committee. On behalf of the state of North Dakota, I 
     would like to thank the Commerce Committee for hearing my 
     testimony.
       My name is Lynette Mund and I am a teacher and head girls 
     basketball coach at West Fargo High School in West Fargo, 
     North Dakota. I am here today to testify to the importance of 
     women's athletics and the struggles of providing athletic 
     opportunities to young girls in rural communities. I will 
     also discuss what I am doing to encourage more young girls to 
     participate in sports in North Dakota.
       Girls and women being involved in athletics has been a long 
     discussed issue. Many questions have been asked, such as 
     ``Can girls' bodies handle it?'' ``Are girls mentally tough 
     enough?'' ``Does it really make a difference in a girl's 
     life?'' I am here as evidence that the answers to the 
     previous questions are all ``Yes''. The fact that I am in 
     Washington, DC, testifying in front of the U.S. Senate 
     Commerce Committee shows what a difference sports can make in 
     a girl's life. Twenty years ago, I was a 12-year-old girl who 
     was milking cows on my parent's dairy farm in rural North 
     Dakota, and now I am here in our nation's capital with some 
     of the most influential people in our country listening to 
     what I have to say. I have always loved sports, but I had no 
     idea where they would take me and the confidence they would 
     give me.
       At age 13, I was a skinny 8th grader who was stepping out 
     on the basketball court to start my first varsity game, and 
     by age 23, I was a 3-time NCAA Division II National Champion 
     and a college graduate from North Dakota State University who 
     had the confidence to leave North Dakota and move to the 
     ``big city'' of St. Louis, MO. However, while I was in St. 
     Louis, I always had a desire to move back to North Dakota and 
     give back part of what I had been given. That opportunity 
     presented itself when I was offered the head girls basketball 
     coaching position at West Fargo High School. Being back in 
     North Dakota not only afforded me the chance to work with 
     female athletes in West Fargo, but I was also able to 
     continue working with young girls back near my hometown of 
     Milnor, ND, which has a population of 700 people.
       As I stated earlier, I grew up on a dairy farm. I was a 
     relatively naive young lady without much self-confidence. I 
     had always dreamed of going to college, but I knew it would 
     not be affordable without a college scholarship. I remember 
     standing out in the milk barn and hearing on the radio that a 
     local basketball star, Pat Smykowski, had gotten a college 
     scholarship to play basketball, and right then and there I 
     knew that was what I wanted to do. Thankfully, due to the 
     efforts of many great women before me, the chance to 
     participate in college athletics was available; something my 
     mother and many women from her generation never had an 
     opportunity to do. My mom used to talk about wanting to play 
     sports but not having the chance to compete. I sometimes sit 
     and wonder how different my life would be without athletics. 
     I wonder if I would have had the money to attend college, if 
     I would have had the confidence to move away from my home 
     state, and if I would have had the nerve to fly to 
     Washington, DC, all by myself and speak in front of U.S. 
     Senators. However, all of these things happened because I 
     participated in athletics. As a result, I want to inform and 
     inspire other young girls from rural North Dakota.
       One of the biggest challenges in rural North Dakota is that 
     there are very few opportunities for athletes to improve 
     their skills. That is why over the last 12 years, I have 
     offered over 40 basketball camps in North Dakota and 
     Minnesota. I am proud to have given over 800 young women the 
     opportunity to participate in their first basketball camp. 
     For many of these young girls, my camps are the only exposure 
     they will have to an athletic camp for the whole year. Over 
     the years, I have had the chance to see some of my former 
     campers continue their careers in high school athletics, some 
     of which I have actually had to coach against! However, it 
     was always worth it to see how far these young ladies have 
     come and the confidence they now carry. At the time they 
     attended camp, you should have seen their eyes when I told 
     them they could have the chance to play in high school or 
     college someday. Some of these girls did not even realize 
     this was an option for them. By exposing these young girls to 
     athletics at an early age, it allows them to see that sports 
     is an option. This is relevant to the future of women's 
     athletics because equal access to sports in college only 
     works if girls have the opportunity to get involved in 
     athletics at an early age.
       Getting these young ladies involved is even more evident 
     when I look at athletic participation numbers for girls in 
     North Dakota. According to figures from the 2004-2005 North 
     Dakota High School Activities Association, females made up 49 
     percent of the student population in North Dakota. However, 
     only 40 percent of the student-athletes were females. It is 
     one of my goals to bring this number closer to 49 percent. 
     This is important to me because I have first hand knowledge 
     of how athletics can have a positive effect on a young woman.
       I have been very fortunate to coach camps along with a high 
     school basketball team. This year, I have 3 seniors at West 
     Fargo who will be receiving athletic scholarships and playing 
     college basketball next fall. I have had the chance to watch 
     these young ladies grow and mature since their freshman year. 
     They exude a confidence that was not there 3 years ago. They 
     know they have the ability to do whatever they want in life 
     and the self-assurance they will be successful.
       By providing my basketball camps and coaching high school 
     basketball, I hope that other young girls from my home state 
     realize that there are many opportunities to participate in 
     athletics, and even a young girl from a town of less than 
     1000 people can be a National Champion, a college graduate, 
     and a successful, confident professional.
       Thank you very much for your time.

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