<p>RE post #34: At the University of Washington - a PAC12 school, long time rowing school and perennial national champion - scholarships for men’s rowing are rare and privately funded. I have a client who funds one of these scholarships in the name of her husband who rowed there and is a sponsor of the golf tournament that raises money for more. My understanding is that U of W only started doing private scholarships after their arch rival Cal did. (could be wrong, and didn’t look up to verify yet)</p>
<p>When I was at the U of W women’s crew and women’s soccer were club sports.</p>
<p>That’s a school decision. But do you think a league could do that? How about if Major League Baseball decided Albert Pujols was just too good? You think they’d just kick him out of the league?</p>
<p>Another option for boys (or girls for that matter) that want to compete in a sport not offered at their school is for the state high school sports governing body to create a rule that allows kids from one school to compete on teams at other schools if that sport is not offered at their home school. I know of kids taking advantage of something like this in 2 different states and it works out very well.</p>
<p>Quote: I tend to agree - that in Jr high and high school, boys have no place on the girls team.
Quote: There are places this boy can play - he can play for a club team. Just not his high school team. </p>
<p>Then a girl shouldn’t be allowed to play on a boys team. It’s only fair, right? </p>
<p>^^Exactly! </p>
<p>I have been reluctant to read the posts in this thread because of the still-raw feelings of hurt over what my son went through several months ago. He was asked to join his girls’ HS team, as there was no boys team. He was able to make a lot of progress in his (non-contact) sport, had wonderful supportive teammates, and now will be joining a varsity college team. Without this opportunity, I doubt he would be able to consider playing his sport in college. This – equal opportunity to play a sport – is what Title IX was meant to do.</p>
<p>I worked with a woman who was a participant in the crafting of Title IX. Her athletic background was in swimming. She was a national caliber swimmer and was not allowed to swim in the men’s pool at Yale (as she said - did they think I would taint the water?). She went on to coach women’s swimming at one of the Michigan State Universities (not sure which one) where the women’s team had bake sales to pay for a team bus and sub standard facilities. They were a self funded program. Many high school programs also had these issues - when I was in high school post Title IX the boys varsity soccer team practiced in the stadium, the JV team practiced on an on campus dirt field and the varsity and JV girls practiced on the dirt and sand field at the elementary school across the street.</p>
<p>In our state, district and at our school sports are still evolving. Girls wrestling divisions were added at a state level after enough interest built over several years. LAX was just added last year after building as a club sport. Rugby is not far behind. Much is dependent on the athletic director at any given school. When we had an issue several years ago I spoke with the state school athletics administrator for the sport in question who sent accurate information on to our AD. We handled this when kid was in 8th grade, so it would not be a hot-button issue when turn outs came around as a freshman. Overall, our experience was very positive working this way. However, many states and administrations are different. We are fortunate to live in a fairly forward thinking state.</p>
<p>saintfan–we’ve recently added LAX, both boys and girls. Many schools had formed club teams and the off-season rec teams were becoming very popular so many schools added LAX as an official sport. These sports really need to grow at the youth level before they can become high school sports because it’s expensive for the schools to start up a new team, equipment, uniforms, etc. and if they don’t get enough interest, it’s just not worth it.</p>
<p>Also, they have to balance the sport offered because of Title IX. They had to add both boys and girls LAX here. In our old school there was some interest in forming a girls soccer team, but they would have had to add another boys team somewhere to balance offerings and they just didn’t have the interest in any other sport to do that.</p>
<p>As for practice facilities–don’t even get me started on those…that still has a long way to come, as do contest facilities…</p>
<p>hops_scout–I’m assuming you are against this–personally, good for that school. The school has some basic fundamentals that they try to adhear to and teach the boys attending that school. Parents choose to send their boys to that school for one reason or another and if they decide to go against the principles of that school for sports, why have any principles at all?</p>
<p>Do you really think those boys have never played a girl in any kind of competition before? It just seems weird to me…</p>
<p>They can have whatever principles they choose for their school. But they have imposed that onto other schools in a negative fashion and student-athletes from other schools suffered because of no wrongdoing of their own…</p>
<p>I think it’s great that school forfeited. They don’t consider it honorable to engage a girl in an arena, and that is fine for them. It’s about having respect for the sanctity of the female body.</p>
<p>The coach, however had the audacity to suggest that the girl should have forfeited her opportunity to play in the championship game so his team “could” play. Out of consideration she did sit out during their regular season games. I say that she should have played all games, let them stick to their principles and forfeit those regular games and take the ding to their season record. Had they stuck to their principles and taken the forfeits during the regular season, I’m thinking that the championship game might not even have been at issue.</p>
<p>I guess they have a right to hold prejudice, but they do not have a tight to expect others to defer to that prejudice.</p>
<p>Update: He can play for at least one more season.</p>
<p>“An athletics committee determined the 13-year-old boy can keep playing on the girls’ varsity team at Southampton High School, at least for one more season. The decision at an appeals hearing Tuesday reverses earlier rulings that claimed Keeling’s skills as a field hockey player, which he developed growing up in Dublin, Ireland, had developed to a level superior to those of girls.”</p>
<p>Thanx for the update.
I really doubt the intent of title9 was that a person could play on the opposite gender’s team unless they were “too good”.</p>
<p>No kidding. Wasn’t it supposed to allow a student to play a sport (s)he was interested in, regardless of gender? Many times, this has meant a girl was allowed to play on a boys’ team. But, sometimes, it works the other way. Fair is fair.</p>
<p>While I wasn’t instrumental in the drafting of title 9, I suspect its intent was to make sure girls’ sports weren’t shortchanged because boys sports dominated so. More girls’ teams had to be created or supported. It was believed then that all children could learn and grow physically and mentally from the rigors, and challenges that come with sports and competition. It think it has expanded in scope(rightfully or wrongfully) to include joining the "other gender’s " sport if no same gender team exists for the player. If that had been the original intent, I suspect the wording would have been much different.
Agree or disagree with what title 9 has become, but most all would agree its intent was to provide fairness to both genders. It darn sure isn’t fair for a boy to be kept off a girls team because he’s too good. Either it’s fair for him to join or it’s not due to gender- but his skill level should not be the determining factor.</p>
<p>Well you may want to actually read the law. It actually does not say anything about sports in it. It’s an academic thing that has included sports. </p>
<p>And it’s about equality all around. Not for females or for males. But for all.</p>