{"id":2717,"date":"2018-10-18T09:04:50","date_gmt":"2018-10-18T13:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.porticomagazine.ca\/?p=2717"},"modified":"2020-10-28T14:40:15","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T18:40:15","slug":"shooting-for-the-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2018\/10\/shooting-for-the-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"Shooting For The Stars"},"content":{"rendered":"

She\u2019s Got Game aims to provide new scholarships, opportunities, role models<\/h2>\n

On the basketball court, Quincy Sickles-Jarvis is known for fighting for rebounds, boxing in opponents and, as she puts it, \u201cpushing the big girls around.\u201d She\u2019s got game.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about opening the floor up for other players to do their thing \u2013 about taking charge and doing the dirty work,\u201d says Sickles-Jarvis, who played three seasons for the Gryphons and is now serving in team management.<\/p>\n

Her role as a basketball player in some way parallels what the University of Guelph is trying to do for female athletes in general: Do the hard work, clear a path and open the doors of opportunity so female athletes can be at their best.<\/p>\n

The Department of Athletics\u2019 She\u2019s Got Game campaign, with its $2.5-million fundraising goal, focuses on ensuring that female athletes have access to better scholarships, optimal training, and equal opportunities and recognition as their male counterparts.<\/p>\n

The seed of She\u2019s Got Game was planted during a fundraising event one February evening just over three years ago. That initial event inspired a much broader movement toward equity in U of G athletics \u2013 a movement incorporating awareness and engagement, policy renewal and fundraising.<\/p>\n

February is now designated as the month to mark She\u2019s Got Game on the University campus, including an annual gala. The next event will take place Feb. 16, 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cEqual scholarship monies for women and men athletes signal to the athletes that gender is no barrier to our recognition of excellence.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Like an athlete taking her game up a notch, the University is making strides toward giving women greater prospects to succeed \u2013 in school, in competition and in life.<\/p>\n

Charlotte Yates, provost and vice-president (academic), says the University has made a major commitment toward ensuring gender equity is front and centre in its processes and practices. Equity is fundamental to building a diverse, inclusive and vibrant community, she says. Equal scholarship support for male and female athletes must be an integral part of the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s Got Game is important to female athletes because it elevates our recognition of their contribution to the University\u2019s success in athletic pursuits and excellence,\u201d says Yates.<\/p>\n

\u201cEqual scholarship monies for women and men athletes signal to the athletes that gender is no barrier to our recognition of excellence. It also signals to the world that U of G values equally the contributions of women and men.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Quincy<\/a>
Quincy Sickles-Jarvis played three seasons of Gryphons basketball and now serves in team management.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In three seasons with the Gryphons, Sickles-Jarvis earned a reputation as a player able to hold her own against opponents who often towered over her. She also learned invaluable life lessons and gained strength of character and collaborative skills that she believes will serve her throughout her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a grind, for sure,\u201d says Sickles-Jarvis, who is of Iroquoian ancestry as a descendant of the Oneida Nation of the Thames. Like her female Gryphon counterparts, she has held down a part-time job while being a full-time student and a full-time athlete. She says she has grown immeasurably as a person despite the enormity of the task.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou learn to love every single minute of it,\u201d says the psychology student. \u201cBecause you\u2019re in it with the people you love, people who have like minds and are all doing the exact same thing. You\u2019re there for each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about much more than sport. It teaches you so much \u2013 teamwork, accountability, leadership. It is those types of things that you can apply in your life after university.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nyasha Mombeshora, a second-year guard with the basketball team, is a strong supporter of the University\u2019s drive for gender equity in sports.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a very important issue for me because I believe female athletes in the past and present have not benefited from competing at a varsity or pro level of sports to the same degree that males have,\u201d says Mombeshora, a biomedical science student.<\/p>\n

\u201cSports are a great outlet for youth, and accessibility to training should be available to everyone no matter a person\u2019s gender, race or ability. I feel that not having as many opportunities for female athletes could steer them towards activities that may not benefit them in the same way that organized sports may.\u201d<\/p>\n