Image 1: Left- Orienteering team member, Betsy Dicke explains orienteering activities to elementary school students. Right- Navigation Games program manager Mikayla Moss helps participants check their times and accuracy.
On a Tuesday evening this January, close to 200 girls between the grades of Kindergarten and 5th grade and their families filled the gym of the War Memorial Recreation Center in Cambridge, MA. “Girls in Sports Night” was dedicated to exposing Cambridge girls to a variety of sports, in part to address the gender gap in sports participation. This event helps girls find the right fit, connect to teams and athletic programs, and lay the groundwork to become lifelong athletes. Hosted by the Cambridge Women's Commission and Cambridge Recreation, the evening aimed to break down barriers and foster a love of sports among girls.
According to the Cambridge Women’s Commission, studies show that girls who participate in sports are “more likely to get better grades, have higher levels of confidence and self-esteem, develop critical skills necessary for success in the workplace, and build a larger community of friends”. Girls in Sports Night is not just about physical activity—it’s about empowering girls and providing them with the resources to succeed.
Building Confidence, One Sport at a Time
At the event, girls received “passports” and as they visited each sport, they earned stamps in their passports. Those who filled their passports were rewarded with a special prize. This activity encouraged the girls to step outside their comfort zones, try new sports, and connect with coaches and volunteers.
A wide array of sports were offered for the girls to explore, including ice hockey, basketball, soccer, volleyball, lacrosse, ultimate frisbee, flag football, synchronized swimming, softball, wrestling, and orienteering. Each station was staffed by knowledgeable coaches and volunteers eager to introduce the girls to their respective sports.
Emily Shield, the event director, recalled one participant who wasn’t sure which sport to try at first but fell in love with orienteering saying she “must have tried it like 100 times”. This spirit of discovery is exactly what Girls in Sports Night aims to cultivate—allowing girls to explore sports they might not have considered, all while having fun and making new connections.
Image 2: Left- Participants orient their Geometric-O maps to begin running a course. Right- A participant receives the results of her course using EasyGec software.
Navigation Games Orienteering Activities
With the help of members of the CRLS Orienteering Team, Betsy Dicke, Yulian Keutsch and coach David Landrigan, Navigation Games ran beginner orienteering activities for the attendees. These included Animal-O and Geometric-O, both of which are foundational activities in our lesson plans for school orienteering and are a great way to get kids started on spacial awareness, orienting a map, completing a sequence in order, and planning a route. Once they have completed a course correctly, kids can test their speed and memory by repeating the course as quickly as possible and/or without a map. Their times are tracked by their SI sticks, which are placed into an electronic control at each checkpoint to record when and where the student was.
Animal-O:
Participants get an animal clue strip (shown below) that shows a sequence of animals that correspond to animals on traffic cones scattered around a space. Participants must run around the course, finding the location of each animal, and punching the control at each one in order as quickly as possible. They can then check their speed and accuracy at a download station connected to a computer where they can find out if they missed any controls and how quickly they were able to finish the course.
Image 3: Left- Navigation Games’ Animal-O clue strips Right- Course “controls” with corresponding animals and numbers
Geometric-O:
Geometric-O is often the first introduction of students to using a simple map (shown below). Four different colored cones (or “landmarks”) are placed at the corners of a rectangular course and cones are arranged in the pattern shown on the map. Students must follow a route shown on the map, while using the landmarks to keep the map oriented along the way. Keeping the map oriented can be a challenging task for many students, but once it clicks, their confidence soars and they can quickly build from a 5-point course (shown below) to a 10-point course.
Image 4: 5-point Geometric-O course map
These activities are great to run with Sportident (electronic timing system), but they can easily be done without. Along with an animal, each checkpoint is also labeled with a number, so students can fill out a card with these numbers to show that they have completed the course correctly. Timing can also be done with a stopwatch to make this a fun, cost effective activity for all.
Fostering Long-Term Interest in Sports
The event’s ultimate goal was to plant the seed of lifelong athleticism in the participants. It wasn’t just about having fun in the moment—it was about showing the girls that there’s a world of sports waiting for them, and that they can succeed at anything they try. By offering a diverse range of sports and activities, Girls in Sports Night gave the participants the chance to discover their passions, build their self-confidence, and see firsthand how sports can shape their lives in positive ways.
Orienteering Team member and volunteer, Betsy Dicke, said she volunteered at the event because she wants to see more girls on the team in the future. Girls supporting girls is one of the many benefits of running a Girls in Sports program.
Join the Movement
If you were inspired by the fun and energy of the event, we encourage you to try orienteering with your children, students, or friends. The activities we ran at Girls in Sports Night can be done with simple tools like a map, cones, and a stopwatch—making it an accessible and low-cost way to introduce others to the joy of orienteering.
To learn more about these activities and other lesson plans, visit our website HERE. And if you’re interested in finding a local orienteering club near you, visit orienteeringusa.org to connect with the growing orienteering community.
Let’s keep empowering girls and women in sports—one game at a time.
Comments