adidas and Billie Jean King collaborate to drive change for girls in sport

NEW YORK, Aug. 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today on Women's Equality Day, adidas - a global leader in sport performance - announces its commitment to changing the future for NYC's young female athletes. Unveiling research that shows that less than 1 in 3 girls² continue to play sport after school, adidas kicks off Here to Create Change, which commits to breaking down the barriers that see nearly 1.7 million³ potential female athletes quit playing in NYC alone.

Currently, girls of NYC are dropping out of sport at 2.4x the rate of boys⁴. The drop off is significant. During middle school there is only a 5% gap⁵ between the percentage of male and female athletes, which rises to 13%⁶ in high school, with the biggest decline between the ages of 17 and 18. At today's rate, girls are 1.5x less likely to play sport than boys⁷, and by the age of 19 only 29% of girls (versus 56% of boys⁸) will play any sport at all.

When asked, 28% of girls⁹ - over 670,000¹⁰ potential NYC athletes - said they dropped out as there were fewer opportunities as they got older. However increased infrastructure (24%)¹¹, coaching (12%) and free spaces (26%) would significantly encourage female sporting creators to stay in the game.

Eva Barrett, Global Senior Director of Marketing for adidas Specialist Sports says, "At adidas, we believe through sport, we have the power to change lives. That's why we are proud to partner with Billie Jean King on Here To Create Change, which asks the people of New York and around the world to help us find solutions to the problems faced by young girls in sport.

As a sports icon and a social justice pioneer, Billie Jean King is evidence that positive change on and off the court for women is possible, and we celebrate her achievements with our own commitment and footwear that all aspiring female athletes can step into. We want to build a future for female creators in this great city's pitches, fields and courts of play. But we can't do it alone. We want to hear from you, New York."

The campaign plays to the backdrop of the US Open, a global platform for the power of positive change in female sport and the location of Billie Jean King's fight for equality in her pivotal match 45 years ago.  

Billie Jean King says, "The US Open, and the global audience the event delivers, is the perfect stage for this program and showcases adidas' commitment to equality and positive change. I am proud to collaborate with adidas on addressing today's barriers. Together, we can achieve more  progress, equality and access for everyone in tennis and beyond. "

To mark the campaign and honor the ultimate champion for women in sport, adidas is releasing a limited edition run of Here To Create Change product.

• Leading the product release is the Billie Jean King Speedfactory shoe AM4BJK – created in honor of BJK's permanent footprint on the fabric of female sport. The AM4BJK is an homage to the famous blue adidas suedes she played in during her match 45 years ago, but modernized through adidas' innovative production method. 300 pairs will be available beginning Aug. 27 at the adidas US Open store, select adidas performance stores in NYC and on adidas.com.
• adidas is inviting New Yorkers to the U.S. Open store on Aug. 27 to spray their own shoes blue to inspire women everywhere to break down barriers and play sports

Wimbledon Champion and World number No.4, Angelique Kerber adds, "New York is a special city for me after winning the US Open here in 2016 – a feat I only could have achieved with Billie Jean King paving the way for women in tennis. Playing sport at any level is hugely important and that's why I support adidas' campaign to get more girls playing. Whether it's tennis, basketball or soccer, I look forward to seeing more girls and women of this great city continue to play any sport."

To create this movement for change, adidas is activating #creatorsunite. To join Kerber, Billie Jean King and adidas in collaborating for a better sporting future by eradicating barriers, we want to hear from the creators of New York. Together through this open source initiative we can make a difference in this city for girls in sport.

This campaign is part of the wider /// <3 NYC campaign, a series of events, projects, and surprise moments—each designed to put the community first and show love to the Big Apple.

For further media information please contact:
Margaret Bourn
[email protected] 

Notes to editors:

About /// <3 NYC: 
/// <3 NYC is a celebratory series of adidas events, 'pop-up' installations and surprise moments, designed to show love and respect for the diverse, storied communities that comprise and bring New York City to life.  Pronounced 'adidas Loves New York City' with a reference to the brand's 3 stripe mark, /// <3 NYC will show the brand's deep admiration for a metropolis that continues to inspire and excite.  Calling on the adidas family of partners and leaders from across music, sport and style to help spread the love, /// <3 NYC will simultaneously energize New Yorkers to come together, unite and recognize the global, cultural impact of the city they call home.  Whether through acts as varied as sport field refurbishments or special moments that unite young creators with established names from culture, fashion and athletics, /// <3 NYC aims to put the New York City community first and give back in ways that only adidas can.

About adidas Tennis
adidas Tennis is represented by top players such as Angelique Kerber, Jelena Ostapenko, Kristina Mladenovic, Garbiñe Muguruza, Caroline Wozniacki, Tomas Berdych, Lucas Pouille, Dominic Thiem, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Sascha Zverev. For more information on adidas Tennis, please visit www.adidas.com/tennis. For additional images please visit our media news room on news.adidas.com and follow us on Twitter or on Instagram under @adidasTennis.

About adidas
The adidas Group is a global leader in the sporting goods industry, offering a broad portfolio of footwear, apparel and hardware for sport and lifestyle around the core brands adidas and Reebok. Headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany, the Group employs more than 56,888 people across the globe and generated sales of around € 21.2 billion in 2017.

¹ adidas gathered statistics: Research taken from Google Survey on 1,500 18 – 24 year olds in New York, survey conducted 08.14 – 08.17
² adidas gathered statistics: Research taken from Google Survey on 1,500 18 – 24 year olds in New York, survey conducted 08.14 – 08.17
³ Calculated using adidas gathered data and population figures as per NYC health department
⁴ adidas gathered statistics: Research taken from Google Survey on 1,500 18 – 24 year olds in New York, survey conducted 08.14 – 08.17
⁵ adidas gathered statistics: Research taken from Google Survey on 1,500 18 – 24 year olds in New York, survey conducted 08.14 – 08.17
⁶ adidas gathered statistics: Research taken from Google Survey on 1,500 18 – 24 year olds in New York, survey conducted 08.14 – 08.17
⁷ Source: WSF
⁸ adidas gathered statistics: Research taken from Google Survey on 1,500 18 – 24 year olds in New York, survey conducted 08.14 – 08.17
⁹ adidas gathered statistics: Research taken from Google Survey on 1,500 18 – 24 year olds in New York, survey conducted 08.14 – 08.17
¹⁰ Calculated using adidas gathered data and population figures as per NYC health department
¹¹ adidas gathered statistics: Research taken from Google Survey on 1,500 18 – 24 year olds in New York, survey conducted 08.14 – 08.17

SOURCE adidas

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