Bay Area News Group Girls Athlete of the Week: How Voting Works & How to Win

What is the Bay Area News Group girls athlete poll and who runs it?

The Bay Area News Group Girls Athlete of the Week asks readers to name the standout girls high school athlete of a given week in the Bay Area. The organizer is Bay Area News Group, which publishes The Mercury News and East Bay Times. The vote is hosted on Crowdsignal, and each week's ballot lists several athletes for the reader to compare.

Because the series runs weekly, it is one program with a rolling set of ballots rather than a single poll. The address in this guide points to the latest ballot in that series, so a reader who wants an older week will need a separate search through the newspaper group's coverage.

Anyone matching the series should compare the newspaper name, the Crowdsignal host and the girls athlete wording in the ballot question.

Which seasons of the girls athlete series are confirmed?

Editions are confirmed for each season from 2021 through 2026. The series runs in season from September through May, and the notes place ballots across those months. The earliest ballot the data holds falls in September 2021, and the latest falls in January 2026.

The exact close of each week's ballot is not written in the notes. Readers should look at the status line on the current Crowdsignal page to see whether a ballot is still open.

Because the series is in season for most of the school year, a reader can expect ballots during the autumn, winter and spring months, though the notes do not list each week.

A reader who saves the address should expect the link to lead to the most recent weekly ballot rather than to a fixed archive of every week. That makes the status line on the page the best check before any vote, and it is worth rechecking each time a new week is posted.

How does a reader vote in the weekly girls athlete ballot today?

Each week's vote happens on the Crowdsignal ballot. The poll question names the girls athlete category for that week, and the listed athletes appear on the same page as the submit control. A reader chooses one athlete and sends the selection from there, with no separate form.

Read the week's question

Start with the question at the top of the poll and confirm it is the girls athlete ballot for the current week. The poll status tells you whether that ballot is still open before you choose.

Send the selection

Choose the athlete you prefer and send the selection from that same page. The notes do not describe a confirmation email, so note any message the page shows once the vote is accepted.

The notes give no per-voter cap for the weekly ballots. A reader who wants to vote again in the same week should check the poll page first, because Crowdsignal settings can restrict repeat submissions.

How does this girls series sit beside other California weekly ballots?

The Bay Area girls series is one of several California weekly sports ballots. The California High School Girls Basketball Athlete of the Week focuses on one sport, while the California High School Boys Basketball Player of the Week covers the boys' side of the same sport. Each ballot has its own organizer and its own address.

Other California entries cover different sports and seasons. The California High School Baseball Player of the Week, the California High School Football Player of the Week and the California High School Softball Player of the Week each use their own calendars.

What sets this series apart is that it covers girls athletes across several sports from one newspaper group's coverage area, rather than a single sport.

How can a supporter help an athlete gain more votes each week?

A supporter who wants an athlete to gain more votes should begin with the ballot's own terms, since the newspaper group decides what counts. Passing the Crowdsignal link to family, teammates and local followers is the most direct step, because every vote still has to be cast on the poll page for that week.

Supporters can also share the link in school communities and explain why an athlete's season stood out, keeping every message accurate and free of promises. Because the nominees are high school students, posts should stay respectful and should not share personal details beyond what the poll itself shows. No public poll can be guaranteed. The guide on how to get more votes online covers general tactics that apply to public polls across many regions.