[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 25 (Monday, February 7, 1994)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 5693-5694]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-2953]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: February 7, 1994]




                        Presidential Documents 


                Proclamation 6649 of February 3, 1994

 

National Women and Girls in Sports Day, 1994

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                The inspiring story of Wilma Rudolph is among our most 
                outstanding examples of the courage of women in sports. 
                Wilma Rudolph literally sprinted onto the world stage 
                during the 1960 Olympics, becoming the first American 
                woman to win three gold medals in track and field 
                competition. What had transpired in her life before her 
                great victory in Rome was perhaps even more astounding. 
                The twentieth of twenty-two children, Wilma was born 
                near Clarksville, Tennessee, weighing only 4-\1/2\ 
                pounds. At the age of four, she was stricken with 
                pneumonia, chicken pox, and polio, which left her 
                crippled and with little hope of ever walking again. 
                Through sheer determination and the love and support of 
                family and coaches, Rudolph became an athlete of 
                enormous talent and skill. However, hers was not only a 
                personal victory. She was one of the first major role 
                models for both Black and female athletes, and her 
                unprecedented success caused gender barriers to be 
                broken in previously all-male track and field events, 
                like the Penn Relays.

                As we celebrate the ability and commitment of women and 
                girls in sports, we recognize that the life of Wilma 
                Rudolph carries an important lesson for all of us. This 
                stunning athletic sprinter, who raced like the wind, 
                reminds us that women have long delighted in the thrill 
                of athletic competition. They have demonstrated their 
                versatility and have tested the limits of physical 
                mastery and endurance.

                With the adoption of the Education Amendments of 1972, 
                American law offered women in colleges and universities 
                the hope of enjoying the same governmental support that 
                men's sports had always enjoyed. Title IX of that Act 
                requires that those institutions receiving government 
                funding provide equitable athletic programs for women. 
                But even as we remember the passage of this historic 
                legislation, we realize that true equality in the world 
                of sports has not yet come. By applying the same 
                virtues that make a successful athlete--commitment, 
                spirit, and teamwork--all of us can play a role in 
                providing women and girls the opportunities they 
                deserve.

                Wilma Rudolph has spent her lifetime trying to share 
                what it has meant to be a woman in the world of sports, 
                so that other young women have a chance to reach their 
                dreams. On this day, let us emulate this goal--to 
                encourage all women and girls to fulfill their true 
                potential in any sport they choose. Let us hope that 
                they, too, will enjoy the incomparable feeling of the 
                wind at their backs.

                The Congress, by Public Law 102-557, has designated 
                February 3, 1994, as ``National Women and Girls in 
                Sports Day'' and has authorized and requested the 
                President to issue a proclamation in observance of this 
                day.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim February 
                3, 1994, as National Women and Girls in Sports Day. I 
                urge all Americans to observe this day with appropriate 
                ceremonies and activities.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                third day of February, in the year of our Lord nineteen 
                hundred and ninety-four, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and 
                eighteenth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)>

[FR Doc. 94-2953
Filed 2-4-94; 11:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P