Piedmont Recreation’s popular Play Like a Girl+ returns this weekend for another free, action packed day of hands-on activities, live demonstrations, inspiring role models, and good vibes – all designed to get girls pumped about playing sports!
Play Like a Girl+ Piedmont [MORE]
Sunday, May 3 | 10 am-1 pm
Witter Field @ Piedmont High School
Aquatics sports demonstrations at Piedmont Community Pool, 10-11 am
Free to all – register in advance online HERE
Now in its fifth year, Play Like a Girl+ Piedmont invites girls from 2-18 throughout the Bay Area to try their hand at sports from field hockey to flag football to roller derby at 31 interactive demo stations, with supportive guidance from skilled athletes and coaches. If a girl connects strongly with – or just wants to continue exploring – any individual sport, there will be information available at the station about classes, leagues, and camps to sign up for.
Play Like a Girl+ 2026 will feature meet-and-greets with former WBNA player Oderah Chidom, 5-time Olympic swimming gold medalist Dana Vollmer-Grant, and other professional women athletes and Olympians.
New sports this year include Badminton, Curling, Diving, Parkour, Water Polo, and Adaptive skiing.
Playing sports provides lifelong benefits to girls
Participation in sports builds skills that support girls throughout their lives, teaching leadership, discipline, and teamwork. Girls who participate in sports experience lower rates of depression and higher self-esteem than their non-athlete peers.
Research has shown a direct link between participation in sports and better educational opportunities, positive health outcomes, and improved career outcomes for girls:
- Girls who participate in sports are significantly more likely to graduate high school compared to non-athletes.
- Overall, young girls who play sports have higher grades and score higher on standardized tests than non-athletes.
- Girls who participate in high school sports have higher rates of labor force participation and earn 7% higher wages than non-athlete peers.
- In a 2013 study of 821 senior managers and executives, 94% of female executives reported playing organized sports after primary school.
Play Like a Girl+ Piedmont is an inclusive event open to all female-identifying, non-binary, gender nonconforming, and gender queer youth. Visit piedmont.ca.gov/PlayLikeAGirl for details, to register, or to sign up to volunteer.
All photos courtesy of the City of Piedmont