The Drinkwater Leadership Award in Women’s Health, Sport & Physical Activity celebrates mid-career members who demonstrate exceptional leadership in the area of women’s health, sport and physical activity — to include research focused on women, clinical care of women or other work focused primarily on women.  

The award is given in honor of Barbara L. Drinkwater, PhD, FACSM, who served as an ACSM trustee, vice president and president (1988-89) — the first woman to be elected to all three positions. Dr. Drinkwater was a role model in ACSM, receiving the Citation and Honor Awards and delivering both the D.B. Dill Historical Lecture and the Wolffe Memorial Lecture. Her storied career focused on girls’ and women’s health, exercise and physical performance. To learn more about Dr. Drinkwater, read Honoring Dr. Barbara L. Drinkwater.  

The inaugural recipient of the original Drinkwater Award was Ms. Claudia Navarro from the Lorena Ochoa Golf Academy, Mexico, in 2010.  

The award is offered through generous donations to the Women’s Health, Sport & Physical Activity Fund. Major donors to the fund include Larry Boot, Barbara Drinkwater, PhD, FACSM, and Linda and James Pivarnik, PhD, FACSM.  

Eligibility:  

• Applicants must be an ACSM national member in good standing before applying. ACSM chapter membership alone does not fulfill this requirement.   

• Open to mid-career researchers, clinicians and certified professionals.    

• Applicants must demonstrate exceptional leadership in the area of women’s health, sport and physical activity — to include research focused on women, clinical care of women or other work focused primarily on women   

• Consideration will also be given to nontraditional nominees demonstrating leadership in women’s sport, reflecting Dr. Drinkwater’s passion for Women Sport International.   
    

Award Requirements:    

• Winner is required to attend the Josephine L. Rathbone & Barbara L. Drinkwater Named Lecture at the ACSM Annual Meeting. 

• Winner is encouraged to attend the ACSM Honors at the ACSM Annual Meeting.