Pittsburgh Celebrates Girls and Women in Sports
As a city nicknamed “The City of Champions” we recognize all athletes that make up our city, including female sports teams. Today we celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day!
National Girls and Women in Sports Day is a national observance celebrating the extraordinary achievements of women and girls in sports and to promote equality in sports, organized nationally by the Women’s Sports Foundation. Did you know Pittsburgh is home to an abundance of professional female sports teams? These women are influential role models amongst young female athletes and strive to encourage them to gain confidence and strength through playing the sports they love!
Pittsburgh Passion
Pittsburgh Passion is a women’s full-contact football team that was formed in 2002 and is part of the Women’s Football Alliance. With 3 championship titles under their belt, the Pittsburgh Passion was the first women’s football franchise in history to broadcast games on a major television network. You can watch the team in action at their home stadium, the Joe P. DeMichela Stadium in Imperial, PA.
Pittsburgh Hotspurs
The Pittsburgh Hotspurs is a National Premier Soccer League that focuses on long term player development. The Hotspurs were founded in Sewickley, PA in 1985 and the first girls’ team was added in the late 1990’s. Their goal is to ensure each player gets to play at their level to enhance the opportunity to develop with a range of four different team levels. The teams play at two fields, one located in Cheswick, PA and the other in Penn Hills, PA.
Pittsburgh Forge Rugby Club
The Pittsburgh Forge Rugby club is a federally recognized, charitable organization whose purpose is to foster, promote, and advance amateur participation in the growth and development of Rugby Union. The club was established in the city of Pittsburgh in 1964 and added their first women’s team in the 1990’s. The Pittsburgh Forge competes in the Midwest Competition Region at the Division II level and plays their home games at the Phillip Murray Field in Pittsburgh, PA.
Steel City Roller Derby
Steel City Roller Derby is Pittsburgh’s premier internationally ranked Women’s Flat Track Derby Association roller derby league. The league was founded in 2006 and currently has three teams; The Steel Hurtin’, The Steel Beamers, and the Blitzburgh Bombers, which is a developmental team for new skaters to grow their skills with help of veteran team members. The Steel City Roller Derby is proud to take yesterday’s roller derby and combine it with a new level of athleticism, moxie, and drive, resulting in a revolutionary sport. All of their home bouts are held at Pittsburgh Indoor Sports Arena in Cheswick, PA.
Pittsburgh Puffins
The Pittsburgh Puffins is a women’s hockey team that was founded in 1998 and began as the Mothers of Hockey program, a group of mothers who wanted to try out the sport their children were so passionate about. Since then, the Pittsburgh Puffins have formed and are now part of the East Coast Women’s Hockey League. The recreational women's ice hockey team is comprised of women from all backgrounds and experience levels and currently field a D level and C level team. The home rink for the Puffins is located at the Roy McKnight Hockey Center at Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, PA.
Pittsburgh’s rich history in athletics ranges from professional to recreational teams and today we honor the girls and women working hard every day to make a difference in their sport.
