(No) girls allowed

It’s 2014. You might know that, but others clearly don’t. It’s ok for females to have the vote, to wear pants, to be educated, to have a high-flying career, to have a family and to play sport.

But they can only play sport if they play in the “girls” team.

We are still segregated based on our assigned sex, rather than our skill level in the sporting environment.

Last week it was revealed that 10-year-old fourth grade basketballer, Jaelyn Bates who plays in a boys’ team, would not be able to play in a tournament the team was entered into. Why? Because the tournament was for boys only, according to the event organisers.

 The Southwest Salsa Slam tournament organisers stated in an email to a US TV station "Girls can not play on boys teams and boys can not play on girls teams. That has been a rule in our tournament for a number of years but has not always been enforced. This year it will strictly be enforced for all teams".  

They then said “The intent of the rule is simple; if you allow a 4th grade girl to play on a 4th grade boys team, how do you stop a 6'10" freshman boy from being allowed to play on a freshman girls team … (we) will not bend or change our rules".

What is interesting is that the organisers create the rules and regulations for this tournament. Why not change the rules to allow the tournament to be all inclusive?

I’ve heard so many arguments for why girls and women shouldn’t be able to play with boys or men on the sports field.

Have you watched the White Ferns recently? Have you seen Lauren Boyle in the pool? What about Val Adams? You can’t tell me that they are not competitive

 Let’s look at youth sport - an environment in which many of us start our sporting experiences. Like Jaelyn Bates, at age 10 I played in boys’ teams. I didn’t have a choice back then. There were no girls’ cricket teams. As I said last week boys would bowl harder and faster to me. They’d also try to hit me out of the park when I was bowling.

I was never much of a batsman, but I’ll never forget the very first wicket I took. The batsman, who was all of 11 or 12, wouldn’t walk. The previous ball I’d just missed off stump, and then I clean bowled him. I was slightly shocked, but pleased with my efforts as the bails fell to the deck. My team mates gave me high fives. The batsman just stood there and refused to go. Eventually he was told (very nicely) where to go.

What would have happened if someone had said “that doesn’t count because she’s a girl” and reversed the wicket? A wicket is a wicket no matter who took it. For Jaelyn Bates saying that she can’t play is saying that her 3-pointers aren’t worth as much as a boy’s 3-pointers.

Here are a couple of points to get the debate started:

 Argument 1: Boys are bigger, stronger and tougher than girls. They will hurt girls.

In the youth sport environment this isn’t true. Just check out this video of Jaelyn. Look at her skills and abilities. Look at her size, strength and accuracy. She is the same size, if not bigger than some of her fellow players. And to be quite honest she’s better than most of them. Basketball is meant to be a non-contact sport. But so what if girls want to play contact sport with boys. We are strong, tough, agile, and skilful too.

Argument 2: Where will the girls get changed? They will want their own locker room.

This is a fascinating debate, and a debate we should have. Maybe it’s a chance for us to redesign locker rooms, where there are specific areas for changing and others for preparing for a game. What happens if we have someone who identifies as Trans within our group? Or Queer? Should they be segregated to other locker rooms because of who they are too? Being part of a locker room is an important part of our sporting experience. Our locker room engagement with one another allows us to strengthen our bonds within the team environment.

Argument 3: Boys are more competitive than girls.

Really? Have you watched the White Ferns recently? Have you seen Lauren Boyle in the pool? What about Val Adams? You can’t tell me that they are not competitive. But competitiveness isn’t attached to your assigned sex. Yes it is a traditional masculine trait, but that doesn’t mean that girls or women can’t be competitive too.

Argument 4: It’s unfair on boys… a boy might miss out on a place on a team because of a girl. What if a boy plays in a girls’ team?

It shouldn’t matter what assigned sex the player is. It should come down to skill and ability. If you are good enough to be in the team based on skill then so be it. If you happen to be a girl trialling for a boys’ team, then so be it. If you are a girl, who takes the spot of a boy, then so be it. And if a boy wants to play on a girls’ team then go right ahead.

We should be encouraging the younger generations to play sport together. It could help both sport and social skills. It will enable us to learn how to work with others to reach shared common goals.

How can we solve this issue?