XAVIER’S SISTER LYNN WINSOR HONORED BY PHOENIX WOMEN’S SPORTS ASSOCIATION

XAVIER’S SISTER LYNN WINSOR HONORED BY PHOENIX WOMEN’S SPORTS ASSOCIATION

Sister Lynn Winsor, BVM, CMAA, Vice Principal for Activities and Athletic Director of Xavier College Preparatory, was recently honored by the Phoenix Women’s Sports Association with the 2008 PWSA Advocacy Award for her dedication to creating equality for and advancing young women in sports. Sister Lynn received the award at the Fifth Annual PWSA Celebration of Girls’ and Women’s Sports Awards Dinner on May 2nd, the only celebration of its kind in Arizona to honor elite women athletes and coaches from all generations.

A graduate of Xavier, Sister Lynn joined the staff in 1974 as a softball, basketball and golf coach, and has been the school’s Athletic Director since 1977. She has remained the golf coach, and the Xavier Golf Team holds a 24-year record as Arizona’s High School Girls’ High School State 5A Golf Champions, a national record.

In 2006, Sister Lynn received the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Award of Merit, considered the most prestigious award given by the NIAAA. She was named Girls’ High School Golf Coach of the Century by the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) in 2001, inducted into the Arizona Golf Hall of Fame and the ASU College of Public Programs Hall of Fame in 2000, and was named the Nike Athletic Director of the Year and National Golf Coach of the Year in 1999. The Women’s Sports Foundation named her National Coach of the Year in 1989 and 1994.

Sister Lynn currently serves on the AIA Girls’ Equity in Sports Committee and is Chair of the AIA Tony Komadina Committee which visits Arizona high schools, evaluates their girls’ sports programs, and recognizes those high schools that excel. She is only the second female elected to presidency of NIAAA (1994) and has spoken at seven NIAAA conferences and four National Catholic Education Association conventions, as well as over 20 State Athletic Administrators conferences, on topics of gender equity, Title IX and opportunities for girls in sports.

“I know of no other high school athletic director – male or female – who has done more to advance girls’ high school sports and athletics in Arizona,” said Sister Joan Fitzgerald, BVM, principal of Xavier. “Sister Lynn is driven to provide equal opportunities for girls, to obtain facilities that equal those of boys, and to insure that high school girls get the recognition they deserve for the skills and talent they possess.”

Xavier College Preparatory is twice recognized as a U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and as a national “Top 20 in Academics” in 2005 and 2006 by the Catholic High School Honor Roll. The Arizona Interscholastic Association awarded Xavier its prestigious Blue Cup Award (2006) for excellence in scholastics, athletics and activities. All Xavier graduates attend post-secondary institutions; members of the Class of 2008 were accepted at 163 colleges and universities and garnered over $13 million in college scholarships.

The Phoenix Women's Sports Association is a nonprofit organization formed to help girls and women find their power through sports. PWSA reaches out to all girls and women, particularly those from underserved communities, to give them opportunities to reach their greatest potential by building confidence and self-esteem through participation in sports and fitness activities.