Story and Photos by Jayla Renter
Data News Weekly Contributor
Smiles were big. Voices were high. Energy was up. For National Girls and Women in Sports Day the New Orleans Recreation Development (NORD) Commission invited athletes from all parts of the city to encourage girls to continue their athletic journey into local colleges and professional sports.
“It brings attention to girls’ sports,” said Ajia Mitchell, NORD’s Director of Recreation Centers at the community event on Jan. 9, 2026. “We started this intertwining thing to introduce them to the sport and let them know they’re able to play the sport on the college level,” Mitchell added.
Participation numbers in women’s sports in high school are usually less than those in men’s sports, Mitchell said. Many girls are not motivated to join high school athletics because, until recent years, women’s success and equal pay in sports at the professional level often disincentivized girls from an early age. With the success of women in college athletics like Angel Reese during her time at Louisiana State University, and more young African American women earning major deals at the college and professional levels, Mitchell said the NORD Commission established this program five years ago to change the perception of who is successful in sports.
NORD collaborates with local universities to partner to bring different sports to high schools. Xavier University of Louisiana’s Co-Ed Rowing Team partners with NORD to mentor teens in the sport.
“Rowing is one of the first Olympic sports ever, so just to show that we’re still breaking barriers now in 2026 is crazy,” said Tamara Clayton, the Head Coach for Xavier’s Rowing Team, the only co-ed one in the country at an Historically Black University. “We literally show up out of the bus and little kids migrate towards us like ‘we’ve never seen you before,’” Clayton added.
NORD hopes that in partnering with college students, younger students would have positive role models in the community, Mitchell said.
“Yes, I enjoyed myself,” said Nuri Langham, who attends Louise S. McGehee School, as she rotated through rowing, soccer and the majorettes at the event.
Nuri Langham’s mother, Alexis Langham, who is a middle school Math Teacher and Director of Teacher Development at Louise S. McGehee School said, she wants more girls like Nuri to see sports as an activity that supports their learning and future goals.
“I play basketball, and this made me believe I can play in the future,” Nuri Langham said.
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