Girl power

Confederation College hosted the event aimed at keeping girls active and learning about healthy living. Girls from Grade 5 to 9 participated in numerous activities from volleyball and cheerleading to drama productions and hip-hop dancing.

More than 120 girls attended the one-day conference.

The Thunder Bay Boys and Girls Club helped to sponsor the event along with the Thunder Bay District Health Unit. Registration cost $25 or $35 with a T-shirt.

Jacqueline Landry, 13, first heard about the conference from her mother and sister. She said her sister gave a small talk about when she participated in the Olympic Torch relay. From there she became interested and wanted to join in.

"So far the drama is really fun," Jacqueline said. "We get to work with our friends and we get to have fun. I’m really into creativity and in my spare time I draw and take singing lessons."

Jacqueline said girls shouldn’t be nervous when attending the conference and to try and meet new people.

Mallary Hatt, started volunteering at the conference last year. A Grade 10 student from St. Patrick High School, she said she wished she knew about the conference sooner so she could attend.

"I love it," Mallary said. "The girls are so bubbly and fluent. It is the seventh year and it’s going strong."

Lee-Ann Skirving, program director at the Thunder Bay Boys and Girls Club, said girls become less active between the ages of 10 and 11 because of they socialize more and become more interest in boys and using the computer.

Traditionally, boys continue to stay active longer than girls do. Skirving said they wanted girls to try a variety of activities so they can become interested and possibly join a sports team or drama club and not just sitting around.

"It builds their self-confidence," Skirving said. "They gain confidence in their abilities instead of shying away. They try a whole bunch of things and meet a whole bunch of different girls. Usually in the morning, the kids are nervous to sit beside each other that’s why I only put out 125 chairs so they have to sit beside each other. At the end of the day they made some real connections with girls they normally wouldn’t have at school."

Girls who registered chose four of the 14 activities to participate in while at the conference. Skirving said they wanted girls to try activities they were interested in without paying a large amount of money.