Women's sports institute gets first run

The growing opportunities for women in amateur and professional sports will be examined during a conference on "The Emerging Role of Women in the Public Sphere of Sports," Friday and Saturday, May 1 and 2, at the University. The conference is sponsored by the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Sports Institute of the Susan B. Anthony University Center.

Headlining the roster of speakers will be Myra Gelband '71, senior editor at Sports Illustrated, and Olympic diver Mary Ellen Clark. Clark won a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics and came back in 1996 from a yearlong bout with vertigo to capture another.

Others invited to speak are Bernadette McGlade, associate commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference; Virginia Seitz, a Washington, D.C., attorney specializing in sports law; and Meredith Geisler, marketing/promotion director for FILA USA Inc.

A panel discussion will examine how women athletes continue to integrate sports and fitness into their lives after high school and college competition. Panelists include: Julia Crotea, manager of the Silver Bullets, the professional women's baseball team; Jill McCabe '88, player, manager and owner of the Rochester Ravens, the professional women's soccer team, and assistant coach of the University's women's soccer team; Esther Maltese, an associate professor at Nazareth College and an equestrian; and Leslie Marx, assistant professor at the Simon School who competed in fencing at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

High school and college athletic directors will discuss how women have affected the manner in which sports teams and organizations are managed. Participants include Nancy Viola of the Batavia public schools; Chris Grant of the University of Iowa; and Judith Sweet of the University of California at San Diego.

The conference is the premiere event of the Sports Institute, which explores sports issues of interest and importance to women. It is named in honor of Babe Didrikson Zaharias (1911-1956), generally considered the greatest woman athlete in sports history.

For more information, call the center at x5-8799.