International Association of Physical Education and Sports for Girls and Women

The International Association of Physical Education and Sport for Girls and Women was founded to provide "an international forum and vehicle for women physical educators to meet together and share ideas, methods, programs, problems, and solutions." Dorothy Ainsworth served as the first president. The first international Congress was held in 1949 in Copenhagen with two hundred fifty delegates attending from twenty-five nations, and since then quadrennial congresses have been held at various locations around the world. Ainsworth established the United States branch in 1961 and appointed Catherine Allen as its representative; she served until 1969. The organization informs its membership by means of a semi-annual newsletter and an annual Journal. From its inception and as recently as 1998, IAPESGW served as an affiliate of the National Council of Women, a satellite organization of the International Council of Women. By virtue of its NCW/ICW affiliation, IAPESGW was recognized as an NGO by the United Nations. IAPESGW is a member of the International Women's Group and the International Council of Sport and Physical Education. The organization is ongoing, and as of 2005 membership included forty-five countries across all five continents.

From the guide to the International Association of Physical Education and Sport for Girls and Women (U. S. branch) Records MS 529., 1967-2001 (ongoing), (Sophia Smith Collection)

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