If you ever played HORSE as a kid, you know the goal is to sink shots your competitors can’t make… and to avoid spelling out the word H-O-R-S-E and getting dropped from the game.
On Wednesday night at the Mall of America, the Green Team was the last team standing in the 3rd Annual FLOSS Competition, Delta Dental of Minnesota’s take on HORSE. The basketball contest was part of National Girls and Women in Sports Day events at the Mall of America.
“We are about teeth, but your oral health is so important to your overall health, and physical fitness is part of overall health,” explained Tamera Robinson, president of Delta Dental of Minnesotal, “So we have been very encouraging in the sports scene.”
The theme of the night was, “If you can see her, you can be her.” Robinson explained the goal is to help girls and young women see successful adult female role models, “They will look at this event and say, ‘I could be a doctor, I could be a dentist, I could be an executive.’”
Robinson played on the Blue Team Wednesday night. It was coached by Minnesota Lynx Assistant Coach Rebekkah Brunson. Other players on the Blue team included leaders from Health Partners, Visit St. Paul and Minnesota Sports and Events.
Robinson’s colleague, Kathie Eiland-Madison, Delta Dental’s Chief Engagement and Inclusion Officer, was her competitor on the Red Team roster. Eiland-Madison played in Minnesota’s first-ever Girls Basketball Tournament back in 1976.
Eiland-Madison remembers the severe shortage of female role models when she was growing up, “There were no women in the boardrooms, there were no women at the executive tables, so we want them (girls) to see that there are women in these spaces, and they can aspire to do that.”
Among the players on the Green Team was Lisa Lissimore, whose St. Paul Central team won the 1976 girls tourney. “When my friends at Delta Dental called and asked if I’d be a part of this, absolutely,” said Lissimore, who worked 34 years for the Minnesota State High School League. She admires Delta’s work aimed at girls and women, “This is our opportunity to share with them that women can lead--and lead in many, many professions.”
Peter Hulbert brought his daughters to watch female captains of industry playing a high-profile version of HORSE. “My girls both like to play basketball,” said Hulbert. “I wanted them to see the inspiring women out here who have done well in business and enjoy sports.”
As the Green Team clinched its victory, Hulbert’s daughters jumped up and down. Roslyn Hubert explained, “We were rooting for the Green team!”
Her sister Summer felt the FLOSS event was the programming equivalent of a three-pointer. “I think it’s very fun to watch, very entertaining,” she said. “They all have a very awesome story to tell.”
In addition to sponsoring FLOSS, Delta Dental also presented $5,000 donations to the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota and Women’s Basketball Enhancement Fund, part of Golden Gopher Women’s Sports.
National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebrates the creation of Title IX, the landmark civil rights legislation that helped get girls start competing in school sports, just like their male counterparts.
Miski Ali, a nine-year-old from Woodbury, watched with her family. The night’s message wasn’t lost on her. “I was listening to what they were saying,” said Miski, who plans to be a doctor someday. “You can be whatever you want to be.”
