Organization Aims To Push Female Athletics In Tulsa

There's a push to help women and girls in the Tulsa area through sports and fitness.

Athletic Women Excel Tulsa, or AWE Tulsa, is the name of the new initiative introduced Tuesday by the Tulsa Sports Commission.

It's the brainchild of a group of local women headed by Bama Companies CEO, Paula Marshall. The hope is that AWE Tulsa will be able to bring a fresh focus on women's athletic events and programs here not just for any economic benefit, but also for personal health.

"Women get knocked down more, and stay down, and it's not acceptable. We want AWE to be a beacon for women to come towards to say 'when I'm knocked down I can do it, I can get up back on my feet,'" Marshall said.

Tulsa Threat running back, Kinsey Cranford said, "Athletics shaped my life. Coaches, teammates and the structure of a team instilled in me a fighting passion to never give up, and the knowledge that anything is possible with dedication and preparation."

The group cites statistics from the Women's Sports Foundation, which shows a more than 900 percent increase in female participation in high school sports over the last 40 years.

They'll be targeting major women's events to try and bring to Tulsa in the near future.