I first fell in love with sports at four years-old (1990) when neighbors asked me to join their kickball game. Growing up I played sports daily and never thought of it as a privilege but rather a right. Little did I know that in the pre Title IX era (prior to 1972), a law that forced schools to provide athletic opportunities to women, girls had far fewer chances to compete. Women's sports have come a long way since those days. At a recent luncheon honoring several female athletes, I spoke to the CEO of the Women’s Sports Foundation, an organization that promotes opportunity and equality for women's athletics. The Foundation's CEO Karen Durkin reminded me that our work is far from done.

"There are approximately 2.8 million girls playing sports at the high school level. Roll back the clocks that number use to be about 300,000.” Durkin explained. However, there are 1.3 million fewer opportunities for girls at the high school level comparatively speaking, so there is still a gap."

Personally, participating in sports gave me confidence and direction. Also, I learned lessons such as teamwork, discipline and even patience; these have translated into all aspects of my life, particularly in the workforce. Knowing that sports have the potential to have a profound impact on women, Nike decided to create Gamechangers. Gamechangers is a campaign as well as competition that recognizes organizations and individuals that use sports to catalyze positive social change.

"Gamechangers is about coming up with innovative solutions to address some of the barriers that girls still face, particularly at the high school level. It's phenomenal," says Durkin.

Through Gamechangers the world is getting a first-class education on the inequality that women face in their pursuit of athletic competition. However, even though we are still miles away from equal pay, media coverage, treatment, financial support and viewership, there are moments when we do see glimpses of what the future holds for women in sports.

"You see it with things like the U.S. Open Women's Finals being held at primetime TV," Durkin said.

Women in sports have traveled a long way, but it is evident that with the help of campaigns and organizations aimed to change the game for women, the best is yet to come.

-Lauren Brill

To find out what you can do to take women's sports to the next level visit the websites for Gamechangers and Women's Sports Foundation