Feb. 1, 2001
Stony Brook, N.Y. -
Ronnie Fair, a former member of the U.S. women's soccer national team and a player for the New York Power of the Women's United Soccer Association, will be the featured speaker at Fleet Bank and Stony Brook's Girls and Women in Sports Day banquet on Friday, Feb. 2.
Fair will make her New York Power debut on April 21 against Atlanta, a game that will be televised on TNT. Previously, Fair played for the Boston Renegades club team.
"I'm very excited about playing on the East Coast," Fair said. "I love being close to big cities. Plus, I know a lot of girls on the team and they are all great people."
Before being drafted to play in the WUSA, Fair earned three caps with the U.S. national team. She made her debut against England on May 9 of last year in her hometown of San Jose, Calif., playing on defense along with her twin sister Lorrie. She registered her first point with the national team on May 11 with an assist on a goal by Debbie Keller.
"It was such a great experience training and playing with the team," Fair said. "It was even better playing in front of the home crowd in San Jose."
Fair was also a member of the U-20 National Team pool from 1996-99, and a member of the 1997 and 1999 Nordic Cup champion Under-21 National Teams. A four-year starter at Stanford, she played on all three lines during her career and was an All-Pac-10 selection in 1997, 1998 and 1999. She was also an NSCAA second team All-American in 1999 and named team MVP as a sophomore. As a high school senior, Fair was a Parade High School All-America at Los Altos High School, where she played with Lorrie. Lorrie now plays with the Philadelphia Charge of the WUSA.
"I played high school and club with Lorrie growing up, and on the national team," Fair said. "We had a lot of competition growing up but that's normal. It's different not playing with her anymore."
Friday's banquet kicks off Stony Brook's annual GWSD Celebration. Fleet Bank has donated to Stony Brook's GWSD events for the past three years, and Community Relations Manager Elena Perez said that there are several reasons for Fleet's support.
"What Fleet likes about Girls and Women in Sports Day is that in addition to celebrating women in sports, the event also reaches out to the boys and girls in the community," Perez said. "It gives the athletes a chance to talk about the great things sports can do for children, such as teaching teamwork and discipline."
Fair says that the national celebration is a wonderful time to recognize women who have excelled in athletics.
"I look at Girls and Women in Sports Day as more of a celebration than a promotion of women's sports," Fair said. "It's to celebrate how far women's sports have come, even in the past 20 years."
The banquet takes place on Friday, Feb. 2, at 6:30 p.m. at Port Jefferson Country Club.
