Some Good Timing at Notre Dame Belmont! Attend Inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame Luncheon on April 20

The following is published by the San Mateo Journal:

The timing has a certain fortuitous ring to it. The debut of Notre Dame High School’s Athletic Hall of Fame will dovetail nicely with a certain kind of centennial on the all-girls’ Catholic campus in bucolic Belmont.

Notre Dame, which has its founding roots in San Jose as Notre Dame Academy in the mid-19th century, moved north and opened on its tranquil, tree-lined suburban property off Ralston Avenue for the 1923-24 academic year. The school then included both primary and secondary components.

In a nod to that history, the school, the creation of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, celebrated the first Belmont class that received Notre Dame diplomas 100 years ago with a gala on campus last weekend.

The inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame follows next month. The induction event marks a milestone for the high school. Prior to the advent of formalized, competitive sports for girls back in the 1970’s, Notre Dame students had few serious sporting opportunities.

That has changed. A lot. Female athletics at Notre Dame — and other schools, single-sex or not — are in tune with the times, spurred in large measure by federal approval of Title IX, the landmark set of regulations that mandate equal opportunities for girls and women in sports and beyond.

Since Title IX became firmly fixed in the U.S. decades ago, the Tigers have gone with the flow and have emerged as a serious athletic factor in the San Mateo County prep scene. About 60% of the school’s 400 students play at least one sport.

The organizers of their Hall of Fame have a lengthy list of worthy candidates for induction, which, in many ways, will be a celebration of competitive female sports overall. The inaugural class includes:

• • Multisport star Lauren Gualco.
• • Soccer standout Chioma Igwe.
• • Pioneering softball pitcher Sheila Langrock.
• • Volleyball ace Katie Smoot.
• • Athletic director Bill Harke.
• • The 2004 championship soccer team.

The Hall of Fame affair is set for Saturday, April 20, beginning at noon on the Notre Dame campus. For tickets, priced at $40 per person, call the school at (650) 595-1913.

Hall of Fame Tickets

Read Original Article by San Mateo Journal