NCAA Press Release
February 3 is National Girls & Women in Sports Day (NGWSD). This year is the 35th edition of the event, which is organized by the Women's Sports Foundation (WSF).
The first NGWSD was held in Washington, D.C. in 1987. That day also honored Olympic volleyball player Flo Hyman for her "athletic achievements and dedication to promoting equality for women's sports." Hyman died of Marfan's Syndrome in 1986.
As we join in celebrating the 35th anniversary of NGWSD, the NCAA is proud to provide over 200,000 female student-athletes the opportunity to play in 21 different sports for 48 National Championships.
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Softball debuted as an Olympic medal sport in 1996. Every single one of the softball games held in the 1996 Olympics was completely sold out. In 2008, softball was dropped from the Olympics, but will be returning this year in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. UCLA stars Rachel Garcia and Bubba Nickles along with Arizona catcher Deja Mulipola will redshirt this year at their respective schools to take part in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.