UB to Celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Jillian Vogtli, a former Ellicottville resident, member of the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team and 2002 Olympian, will deliver the keynote address at the University at Buffalo's 13th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day Celebration, to be held from 8-9:30 a.m. Feb. 5 in Alumni Arena on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

The event, which will be free of charge and open to the public, is presented by the Division of Athletics to honor UB's female varsity athletics teams, its competitive female club sports, women who have positively impacted UB women's athletics and faculty and staff who work directly with the female athletes.

The goal is to educate the campus and surrounding communities about the importance of female participation in athletics, the meaning of National Girls and Women in Sports Day and the impact Title IX of the 1964 Civil Rights Act has had on female athletic opportunities all over the United States. Community outreach programs, such as UB athletes speaking in local elementary schools, "High School Shadow Day" and involvement with local youth groups, provide female student-athletes with a chance to get the NGWSD message out.

A moguls skier, Vogtli moved to Ellicottville at age 10 and began skiing at Holiday Valley. After graduating from Brockport State College in 1996, she moved to Park City, Utah, to focus full-time on skiing.

She came back from reconstructive knee surgery in April 2001 to compete in the 2002 Olympics. In 2002, she ranked 4th in the United States and 12th in the world.

When she's not training or competing, Vogtli is pursuing a doctorate in natural health.

For more information, contact Dawn Reed at 645-6263.