STATE COLLEGE — Memorial Day weekend in Happy Valley is about to get a new rhythm, one built on whistles instead of fireworks and connection instead of competition.
This spring, the inaugural See Her Win Festival will bring young female athletes, coaches and mentors together for a multi-sport celebration designed less like a tournament and more like an invitation. It’s an invitation to try something new, to feel empowered and to see what’s possible.
The idea grew out of a simple question posed to Char Morett-Curtiss while serving on the Happy Valley Sports and Entertainment Alliance board: What’s missing?
“One area where we have a void the past couple of years is Memorial Day weekend,” Morett-Curtiss said. “So I thought, why don’t we think about doing a female athletic festival?”
Rather than recreating something familiar, Morett-Curtiss pushed the conversation forward. What emerged was See Her Win — a girls-centered festival highlighting emerging Olympic sports such as flag football, lacrosse, rugby and field hockey, with adaptive athletics built into the weekend as well.
“These are sports that are going to be in the Olympics in four years,” she said. “But more importantly, we wanted this to be fun. Not a recruiting event. A festival for young girls.”
That distinction matters. The focus is participation over performance, curiosity over comparison. Lacrosse sixes, for example, offers a faster-paced, more accessible version of the game. Rugby and flag football introduce contact and strategy in controlled, welcoming environments. And for the adaptive component, wheelchair basketball will take center stage during the Friday night kickoff.
“We had a conversation a couple weeks ago with Rise Above, so we’re going to bring an adaptive program in with wheelchair basketball,” Morett-Curtiss said. “That was really important to us.”
The festival’s guiding theme — compete, connect and be inspired — is more than a slogan. Current Penn State student-athletes will be on campus throughout the weekend, serving as mentors, coaches, officials and supporters.
“This is an opportunity for our current student-athletes or maybe high school juniors and seniors to mentor these young girls,” Morett-Curtiss said. “There’s so much research about why it’s important that young girls stay involved in sports throughout high school. We want them to feel empowered, to feel important, to be this young athletic girl.”
That mentoring component is deeply tied to Teammates for Life, the women’s athletics initiative Morett-Curtiss founded after retiring from coaching in 2022.
“When I knew I was hanging up my whistle, I knew there was something else I wanted to do,” she said. “I wanted to start a women’s athletics initiative at Penn State. The premise was to build relationships within our community and on campus, connecting strong women leaders with our student-athletes.”
Since its launch, Teammates for Life has hosted professional networking “power hours,” leadership programs and alumni engagement events in cities like Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New York, all centered on women supporting women.
See Her Win extends that mission outward, reaching girls earlier in their athletic journeys.
The weekend begins Friday night with the adaptive basketball showcase, followed by full competition Saturday across Penn State facilities. Spectators are welcome, and while there is a participation fee for competing teams, the broader community is encouraged to come out and be part of the atmosphere.
Morett-Curtiss credits a wide circle for making the festival possible, including committee members Eric Engelbart and Megan Boyle, sport-specific leaders, and a board willing to try something new.
“I’m just really grateful for those members who looked outside the box a little bit and said, ‘Let’s try this,’” she said.
For Morett-Curtiss, the philosophy behind See Her Win is simple and personal.
“When you put your fun and passion into something, it can take you wherever you want to go,” she said. “It’s about getting engaged. Making new friends. Doing something healthy and meaningful. That’s what it’s all about.”
And for one weekend in Happy Valley, that meaning will echo across fields, courts and sidelines, proving that sometimes winning isn’t about the scoreboard at all.
