CLEVELAND — Right now, Cleveland is at the forefront of women's sports, with the NCAA Women's Final Four in town. But, when the tournament ends, a lot of momentum continues to help keep women athletes healthy and playing the sports they love.
Samantha Husted grew up playing sports and got connected to the non-profit Play Gap as an adult. Husted is enjoying learning to play ice hockey with her team.
"I've learned that I excel at sports when I'm just on my feet instead of skates," said Husted, who lives in Gordon Square.
Alongside Husted, dozens of Northeast Ohio women athletes are playing dozens of sports, all connected through Play Gap.
"After college, after high school, a lot of women stop participating in sports, and then they find that their mental health and their physical health is directly impacted by that," said Elise Vue, co-founder of Play Gap.
Not only are women getting active on these teams, but they're also forming friendships.
"It is such a blast. Meeting new people, having that community of people to cheer you on," said Husted.
At the Harrington Heart and Vascular Institute, cardiologists are prioritizing female athletes.
"So much research that has been done has been on men and essentially, we've been extrapolating, assuming the data on men is that same as women," said Dr. Bradley Lander, Director of Sports Cardiology at University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute.
Lander and his team published the first EKG study of women athletes. Instead of using metrics for male athletes, Lander's team evaluated 180 WNBA players.
"More and more programs, high schools, colleges, other athletic programs are doing EKG screening prior to participation. Sometimes athletes get held out if there's a concern as to whether the EKG is normal or not. So now we have more data showing what's normal and what's abnormal, and that I think hopefully will allow more athletes to stay on the court without being held off unnecessarily," said Lander.
Lander continued, "We hope that the data will allow more athletes to stay on the court as opposed to being held off the court unnecessarily."
After the buzz of the NCAA Women's Final Four ends, Cleveland still looks to continue its advancements for women inside hospitals and on the playing field.
"Hopefully, it brings more women to see that there are these organizations out there that can help connect you to the sports you've always wanted to try," said Husted.
If women want to get connected to Play Gap, check out their website here.
