United Women's Sports LLC (UWS) is an American

professional sports In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larg ...

company based in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. Operating women's professional sports leagues as a financially sustainable sports entertainment product, UWS works toward raising awareness of women in sport. The business model for UWS is based on the objective of Play It Forward Sports, which was founded in 2015, aiming to create female leaders through sport. Such goals include providing opportunities for women to work in sports, including disciplines such as Marketing, On-Air, Production, Operations and Finance. Operating expenses for UWS includes administration, player salaries, facilities, game operations, travel/lodging and insurance, among others.

Properties

Founded by Digit Murphy and Aronda Kirby in 2016, the first venture of UWS involved lacrosse, with the launch of

UWLX The United Women’s Lacrosse League (UWLX) was a women's lacrosse league in the United States. It was co-founded in Boston, Massachusetts, by Digit Murphy and Aronda Kirby of the Play It Forward Sports Foundation, under the ownership of Unite ...

, its inaugural game took place on May 28, 2016. The flagship season culminated with the

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

capturing the league championship.

Play It Forward Foundation

In addition to the

, Murphy and Kirby are co-founders of the Play It Forward Sports Foundation, with the goal of advancing gender equity in sports at all levels of play. With the objective of providing more opportunities for women in sport as professional athletes, coaches and managers, the model for Play It Forward Sports also allows female athletes a chance to participate in the community by educating, training and mentoring young female athletes, providing them with earning potential. Among their initiatives included an initiative with Eyekonz. Founded by Jazmine Smith, with the goal of introducing African-American girls to lacrosse, the initiative saw the UWLX run a free clinic for members of Philadelphia's Strawberry Mansion high school lacrosse team following a UWLX regular season game. Athlete ambassadors for Play It Forward include Molly Schaus, along with tennis players Neha Uberoi and Shikha Uberoi. In addition, Schaus is part of the Foundation's Board, which includes Valarie Gelb, Debbie Mckay and John Mayers. During March 2016, it was announced that Play It Forward Sport would support a new girls' hockey development program launched by the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

at their practice facility, the Northwell Health Ice Center. Said program shall include working with players 12 and under, while another shall involve an Under-14 and Under-16 years of age program.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:United Womens Sports Entertainment companies of the United States Sports management companies Entertainment companies established in 2016 Women in sports