FALLOWFIELD TOWNSHIP — A proposal to form a girls’ golf team was heard Tuesday by the Charleroi Area School Board. Sophomore Sarah Mazanetz told the board she has collected 100 signatures on a petition from students and district residents who favor the formation of the team. Mazanetz said several businesswomen have told her business deals are often completed on the golf course. Gary Shawley suggested a golf club be formed this year. He said Mazanetz is one of 10 girls interested in playing. He said an organization known as The First Tee provides free golf instructions at Schenley Park Golf Course “to young people of all backgrounds.” There are more than 200 The First Tee courses nationwide. Shawley, an instructor at The Neighborhood Academy in the Garfield section of Pittsburgh, is also forming a girls’ golf team. The district could seek WPIAL membership for the sport next year. Shawley, a cousin of Mazanetz, suggested the two golf clubs could play a couple of times during the upcoming school year. He offered to facilitate the program through the summer, when the girls would receive golf lessons. Board member Valarie Porter, an avid golfer, said the Mon Valley Country Club reached an agreement with the district which permits members of the district’s golf team to play before 10 a.m. for just $5 per round. Porter, a member of the country club, offered to take any interested girls to play. She also encouraged interested girls to join the boys” team. Every Mid-Mon Valley school has a boys’ golf team. Elizabeth Forward is the only Valley school, and one of just 26 WPIAL schools, that offers girls’ golf. Under WPIAL rules, girls are permitted to play on a boys’ team. The board is expected to act on the formation of a girls’ golf team at its voting meeting next week.

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