Penn Manor is celebrating National Girls & Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) by inviting girls from the district to learn more about the school's sports offerings.

Penn Manor's third annual event will be held Saturday, Jan. 31, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the high school's auxiliary gymnasium, 100 E. Cottage Ave., Millersville. The first 75 girls to register will receive a T-shirt. Go to @pmathletics on Instagram or one of the Comets' teams' social media sites for more information about how to register.

The activity will precede a girls' basketball game against Kennard-Dale, which will tip off at 2:30 p.m. in the main gym. Those who attend the NGWSD festivities will receive free admission to the basketball game.

Rachel Suter, a first-grade teacher at Hambright Elementary School and head coach of the Comets' wildly successful varsity field hockey team, helps organize the occasion along with Penn Manor athletic director Pat Tocci.

"Every sports team that's participating will have an interactive station for girls to test out the sport and get a taste of it," Suter said. "They'll also be able to interact with our coaching staffs and some of our athletes as well."

Although she greatly appreciates the opportunity to meet future Comets, Suter stated that meeting Penn Manor High athletes is more significant than talking with the coaches. "I think it's really important for (the younger students) to interact with our athletes," she said. "The youth really look up to up to the high school kids I think more than they even probably realize. It's just good motivation. I think it's cool for them to meet me and the other coaches, but the athletes are the faces of our programs, and that's what gets people to want to try our sport or other sports."

NGWSD will also provide a chance to learn about a wide variety of sports. "There are so many options," said Suter. "It's nice to like to try those (sports) that are off the beaten path a little bit. I think it also helps with our community engagement, getting people out to our games and events. It's exposure to all of our sport programs, and it's something fun to do together as a family."

More than 60 girls came to Penn Manor's first NGWSD event, and 75 stopped by in 2025. "It's been growing each year," said Suter. "I think that maybe in the first year it was like, 'What is that?' And then it was a good experience, and we did it again and it keeps growing. It's a free event too, so there's no financial commitment, which is nice for a lot of families."

Suter said she enjoys activities like this and is happy to participate. "I feel like sports has given me so much and really shaped who I am," said Suter. "I just want everyone to have the opportunity and experiences that I've been given through sports."