WIN for KC History

The Sports Commission founded WIN for KC in 1994 as a volunteer organization. Kansas City was a founding city for the national headquarters office of the Women's Sports Foundation. In 1997, the Sports Commission raised funds for a permanent staff member for WIN for KC, and a part-time staff position was added the following year after the highly successful NCAA Women's Final Four.

WIN for KC exists because its volunteers and contributors believe in the physical and emotional well-being of girls and women through various types of involvement in sports and fitness.

With its small staff and fast-growing volunteer base, WIN for KC has become one of the largest and most well-respected initiatives of its kind in the United States, engaging thousands of girls and women in sports and fitness activity and advocacy. It remains one of the largest community action programs affiliated with the Women's Sports Foundation.

WIN for KC was proud to celebrate its 10 year anniversary in 2004. 

WIN for KC initiatives are helping to support these important outcomes

in our community:

• Sports and fitness programs keep women healthy. Just four hours of exercise a week reduces the risk of breast cancer by over 50%. Regular exercise reduces heart disease and osteoporosis.

• Girls who participate in sports are more likely to graduate from high school, stay off drugs, and have a higher level of self-esteem.

• Sports provide women a fair share of scholarship money and access to career opportunities.

• Sports give girls and women the power and confidence to compete throughout life.

• Sports teach invaluable lessons: how to play, how to win, and sometimes, how to lose - lessons that level the playing fields of life.

• Research shows that sports and fitness are positive ways to stay healthy and improve one's quality of life.