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Middle school athletes attend FUEL Girls in Sport Summit

Tulsa Public Schools middle school students attended the FUEL Girls in Sport conference in March at Metro Technology Center in Oklahoma City.

FUEL was formed in 2023 by women in leadership roles at the OKC Thunder, USA Softball, Cleats for Kids, RIVERSPORT OKC, University of Central Oklahoma, Rookie League Foundation, and Oklahoma City and Tulsa Public Schools to encourage girls to participate in sports.

“Our FUEL program within Tulsa Public Schools has provided a secure platform for our young women to discuss the obstacles hindering their participation in sports during middle and high school,” said Krystel Markwardt, deputy director of athletics.

“We’ve discovered that many girls refrain from joining due to family responsibilities post-school hours, compounded by parental misconceptions about the advantages of sports involvement. Our objective is to enlighten families through organized events, showcasing the unlimited opportunities and benefits awaiting their daughters in sports participation.”

FUEL is an acronym for Females Understanding, Educating and Leading.

“We want girls to know they aren’t alone in how they feel and that they have support for staying involved in sports,” explained Michelle Matthews, Director of Fan Development and Retail for the OKC Thunder. “Our mission is to keep them engaged.”

USA Sitting Volleyball national team member Sydney Satchell delivered the keynote address for the summit which also included presentations on staying healthy as a female athlete, strategies for managing social media, leadership skills, and coping with stress. Speakers included Lakeside Women’s Hospital physicians Jennifer Nelson, MD, Susan Chambers, MD, and BreeAnna Gibson, MD.

Michelle Moultrie of the OKC Spark and Emma Schieck, USA Sitting Volleyball, will presented on leadership.

The Thunder’s O’City Dance Crew made a special appearance to get the girls up and moving. Additional guest speakers included Tesica Starkey and Katie Starr, NorthCare; Layne Smith, University of Central Oklahoma Women’s Softball Team; Oklahoma City University basketball player Amaya Gordon; and Gayle Zulema de Miranda, a national team rower from India who is training at the RIVERSPORT OKC National High Performance Center.