The first anniversary party for the Women Playing Sports Association (WPSA) was held Sat., June 14, at Spyners Pub, 4623 N. Western.
WPSA co-founders Bobbie Briefman and Jean Miller welcomed players, families and friends for food, drinks and a live band.
‘The highlight [of the first year] is the number of women who have come to play, especially basketball; I never imagined [basketball] would be as successful as it was,’ said Miller, 46, a Park Ridge resident. ‘We all still have a love for sports, but just aren’t as competitive as we once were.’
The WPSA softball season, with six teams and 120 players, runs through mid-August at Horner Park. Then the WPSA league, consisting of about 230 women—70 percent of whom are lesbian—shifts into volleyball mode, and then play basketball in late December.
Briefman said the WPSA is playing to expand its sports offerings over the next two years.
‘The first year has been better than we ever expected,’ Miller said. ‘All of the local [sports] associations offer opportunities for people to play sports; we’re not competition to one another. We want all of the other leagues to succeed like ours.’ Photo of Briefman (left) and Miller by Ross Forman