On June 22nd I accidentally started a movement. Within 6 weeks, what started out as a simple sticker sale has rapidly grown into a movement. I am still shocked by the support I’ve received throughout this process and the growth it’s encountered at such a young stage.
Since day one the main goal has been to bring more awareness to women in the sports industry and provide a platform to encourage the next generation of women in sports to pursue their dreams of working in the industry. The plans for this movement are ever-changing as it continues to grow at such a rapid rate. Everything has been unexpected, and that's a driver of what keeps me motivated creating change.
I’ve always been described as a go-getter and extremely extroverted. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve leaned into the twitter sports community as a place where I can connect with others and stay positive. I’ve been lucky enough to connect with extremely supportive people across the industry and have helped me with the success of this platform. After the second wave of sticker sales, I saw an opportunity to go beyond the sticker and build a twitter community based on all the feedback coming from people and seeing a need in the industry to create a space like Support Women in Sports.
I’ve been on the social media side of sports for several years now and thought twitter was the perfect platform to build a community where women in the industry could connect, and more importantly uplift each other. Several days after I created the account, the news regarding the Washington Football team came out. After making a few tweets regarding that and the importance of providing a safe environment for women in sports I saw a rapid increase in support for the movement. After gaining 1,000 followers within the first week, the need became even more transparent and has made me want to do more.
I’m currently taking steps to make this platform continue to grow into something amazing. Recently, my friend Alana Meraz encouraged me to start a podcast and jumped right into the challenge with me as my co-host. After one episode we’ve seen success and have received positive feedback which makes us excited to continue this journey and share the stories of women in sports.
Link To Support Women in Sports Podcast: HERE
Speaking of sharing stories, Support Women in Sports noticed there was a need for more voices to be heard, so this week we opened up a google form for women in the industry to fill out and we will be posting stories throughout the month. We wanted to provide a platform to bring more awareness to the realities of being a woman in sports and the highs and lows involved. Taking that one step further to help inspire the next generation, a high school series is also in the works to educate girls that there are opportunities to be involved in sports in many different ways after high school. Not everyone can play college athletics, but if you're passionate about athletics, careers in the industry are limitless if you put in the effort to achieve your goals.
Link to share your story: HERE
I’m excited to see this continue to grow, the plans for the platform are constantly changing and I take any feedback very seriously, so if you’re a woman in sports and would like to see our platform cover a need, please reach out because at the end of the day it’s all about keeping a positive attitude and providing the best community possible for women in sports!
Link to Support Women in Sports Etsy: HERE
- Sydney Large (@sydlarge18)
Founder of @SupportWSports
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