Nike Inc. said it entered into a collaboration with the WNBA and NBA to launch Game Growers, a program that gives eighth-grade girls the tools and resources they need to increase girls’ participation in sports in their local communities.
A video stream on the Nike YouTube channel and on multiple WNBA and NBA channels taking place on Oct. 18 will officially launch the partnership, featuring Las Vegas Aces forward A’Ja Wilson, actress Sky Katz and Terri Jackson, Executive Director for the Women’s National Basketball Players Association. The group will discuss the benefits of sport participation that go beyond becoming a professional and will invite girls to submit their own ideas for how to grow sport for girls in their city. After the submission process is complete, these girls will then have the opportunity to work closely with their local franchises to inspire a love for sport among their peers.
How Game Growers Works
- Starting Oct. 18 through Nov. 15, eighth-grade girls can submit their ideas to grow basketball participation in their communities by applying online at GameGrowers.com. The winners will be announced in December 2019.
- WNBA and NBA teams will select their Game Growers teams (two eighth-grade girls per team) and join them in attending the Game Growers Training Camp at Nike’s World Headquarters in January 2020. It’s here where the girls will begin to refine their ideas with support from Nike and participating WNBA and NBA teams. Helping facilitate the program is GENYOUth, who specialize in empowering youth to make a difference in their communities.
- Selected Game Growers teams will present their ideas at the WNBA Draft in New York City in April 2020.
To learn more, visit GameGrowers.com. To watch the video stream, click here.
