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Changing Hawaii
DID you notice the front page of last Wednesday's Star-Bulletin? The sight of one particular story and photo above the fold was enough to make this feminist editor break into a cheer. Girls are making
history in sportsGimme a G, gimme an O, gimme a G, I, R, L. Go, girl power!
Chelsea-Ann Kaimi, a running back for the Nanakuli Golden Hawks football team, has become the first girl in Hawaii (and possibly the second in the nation) to score a touchdown in a high school varsity game.
OK, so it was only a one-yard run, and it came in the fourth quarter during an already lopsided victory over Moanalua.
But, hey, six points are six points (which is more than the University of Hawaii offense could muster on the road against Texas-El Paso).
"I was happy, but I didn't think it was that big a deal," said a modest Chelsey-Ann. "I just want to play my hardest and compete with the best to become the best."
This wasn't the first time an island girl has made history on the varsity football field and humbly accepted her crown of laurel.
Four years ago, Angela Ichinose of the Iolani Red Raiders became the first female to score a field goal in Interscholastic Football League action (Changing Hawaii, Nov. 1, 1996, "A teen girl who gets a kick out of football").
"A sport is a sport. It doesn't matter who's on the team," Angela had remarked back then about her feat against Kamehameha.
Aren't these girls great? So much is right about them and other jock-ular young wahine in the state.
They're breaking barriers in a formerly guys-only domain. They're getting to play the sports that interest them and that can best utilize their athletic prowess.
And, just like the mustachioed milk lovers in those famous ads, they're doing the body good.
According to both the Women's Sports Foundation and the Ms. Foundation, girls who play sports are less likely to be depressed, less apt to fall prey to drugs and unwanted pregnancies, more likely to graduate from high school, and have higher levels of self-esteem and self-confidence.
TO encourage such empowering trends, and in celebration of Women's Health Month, two free, open-to-the-public events being billed as "She's Got Game" will take place at the St. Andrew's Priory campus near downtown Honolulu.
First, there's a forum/panel discussion this Thursday from 6-9 p.m. at Tenney Theater.
It will feature women athletes like kayaker Audrey H. Sutherland, Olympic volleyball player Barbara Perry, surfer Patti Paniccia and triathlete Ruth Heidrich, and will be moderated by Star-Bulletin sports editor Cindy Luis.
They'll share their personal stories, talk about how women can be physically fit at every age, and ponder how far girl athletes have come and how much farther they have to stretch.
Then, on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. at the Priory's Queen Emma Square, there'll be a sports fair for girls and women.
Participants can sign up for clinics on soccer, volleyball, basketball and softball, and mini-clinics on kickboxing, race walking, running, fencing, yoga, jump rope and golf.
For more specifics, especially the times of the clinics, call 532-2446.
Tell 'em Chelsea-Ann and Angela sent you.
Diane Yukihiro Chang's column runs Monday and Friday.
She can be reached by phone at 525-8607, via e-mail at
dchang@starbulletin.com, or by fax at 523-7863.