Disclaimer: The names of the student-athletes interviewed for this article have been withheld at their request. Smith College recently announced that it will abide by…
Posts published in “Sports”
Smith College Athletics is growing in recognition and acclaim. At a time when the global spectatorship of women’s sports is on the rise, Smith is stepping up to the plate. Smith’s athletic teams are consistently receiving national poll rankings, winning conference championships and making headlines. How can Smith stay on this wave of increased viewership? The answer starts with Smith students and community members.
On April 21 at 7:30 p.m., Smith students gathered in Weinstein Auditorium to attend “Trans Inclusion in Sport,” a conversation with speaker Cal Calamia, who uses they/he pronouns. Cal Calamia is a highly successful transmasculine marathoner, activist, writer and educator who joined the discussion through Zoom. The event was moderated by Smith's Sports Committee for Inclusion and Diversity (SCID) board member Pria Parker ’25, who uses they/them pronouns.
On Thursday, April 10, at the annual Celebrations event, the organizers referenced Smith’s recent announcement that they are complying with the NCAA Transgender Athlete Ban. The organizers stated Smith’s compliance is, “blatant discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression—a direct violation of Smith’s current non-discrimination policy.” They expressed their opposition and issued a call to action to the student body: “We vehemently oppose the College’s decision to comply and collaborate with fascism. As this policy is silently rolled out, we as a student body must continue to vocalize our dissent and support trans people on and off this campus.” Their statement reflected a larger, ongoing campus-wide debate on whether Smith should comply with this policy, not comply or pull out of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) entirely in protest.
On March 12, 2025, Smith College released an announcement that they are committed to changing the school mascot from the Pioneers, which have been Smith’s mascot since 1986, to a moniker that better represents the values and interests of the Smith community by the end of the academic year. They sent out a survey where students can submit up to three nominations for the new mascot for a period of two weeks. No current or former mascots can be nominated.
After back-to-back wins on their home court, Smith basketball will continue on to the next round of the NCAA championship. The pioneers pulled off a triumphant 69-59 win over SUNY Cobleskill on Friday, March 7th, sending them to a Pioneer Valley faceoff against Amherst College on Saturday, where graduate student Ally Landau ’26 scored a buzzer beater in the final seconds of the match to earn Smith a 52-50 win. The pioneers will play at the Sweet 16 this Friday, March 14th.
With 20% of Smith students calling the West Coast home and California being one of the most represented states on campus, the California wildfires have devastated the Smith community. California’s Incident Archive states that in 2025 alone, there have been 359 wildfires, 29 fatalities and 16,248 structures destroyed. Gaby Ayala Becerra ’25 and Hadley Vareschi-Woelfel ’25, with the help of Smith Athletics and the Smith Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), have transformed their grief into action by organizing a campus-wide Jog-a-Thon to raise money for relief efforts.
Revamping of the “Central District” has closed the athletic fields, as the site is currently being used as a wellfield for the drilling of two drill rigs. The athletic fields affected consist of the soccer field and throwing and jumping spaces for the Track and Field team. A comment from the Geothermal Energy Project shared that construction on these fields will take place from Nov. 12, 2024 to May 15, 2026.
On Feb. 4, the Department of Education (ED) sent a “Dear Colleague” letter stating that the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will be reverting back to the 2020 Title IX Rule, created by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos during Trump’s first term.
One of WOZQ’s newest radio shows, “The W in Win,” covers global women’s sports news as well as prominent Smith Athletics performances and events. The show airs every Thursday from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. and is hosted by Syd Levine ’27, Sarah Formica ’27 and Kylie Cave ’28. There is also an archive of past episodes available on Mixlr.