Title IX
I was reading a news article on row2k.com about a master's woman who learned to row at Ithaca prior to Title IX and the changes that it brought about to women's collegiate sports. In it, the woman talks about the challenge of being a club sport, namely the lack of funds. For those of us who row for club programs, scrounging for equipment, being 5-7 years behind the technology curve, having hand-me-down oars and boat parts is nothing new.
But now, over thirty years after Title IX was first implemented, the gender of the club teams have changed; now it's almost impossible to find a school with a men's varsity crew and a women's club crew. I can say that I've never come across such a school. I wish I could recall how many times my teammates and I have joked about taking away the football team and making the men's crew program a varsity sport. Rowing out of the same boathouse as a funded women's rowing program, it is a constant thorn in the side to see the women take for granted their top-of-the line rowing shells, bussed transportation to races and practice, and the infrastructure that goes behind supporting them on the college campus. Bearing these burdens quietly, I must imagine is like the women of thirty years prior to today, paying for everything that we use, from unis to boats, fundraising to pay our way to regattas and to have a coach, and to drive ourselves to practically everything: regattas up to five hours away, practice to the boathouse 15 minutes from campus every morning, and even winter training in Florida.
Before I proceed any further, let me explain that this is not in any way a rant to discredit Title IX, or women's athletics as a whole. The intentions behind the act are completely good; I understand that. I enjoy watching women's crew, and I don't think anyone should have limited access to the sport due to gender.
However, it feels that the times have turned; the theoretic "equality" that exists in athletic departments is not really equal at all. In the time that Title IX has existed, it has practically reshaped the landscape of collegiate sports. I did a little searching, and I couldn't find one state university with an equal number of men's and women's sports, let alone a college with more men's sports programs than women's programs. None of the state schools I looked at, most in the Atlantic Coast/New England region had this trait; indeed, out of all the Ivy League schools, schools known for affluence and a budget the envy of every public university, only two can field more men's teams than women's teams (Harvard and Penn).
In reaction to this, most men's sports, instead of becoming inactive on campus, have been filed under the "Intramural and Club Sport" label. Among some of the clubs sports that had long traditions of being varsity sports on college campuses include men's lacrosse, rowing, fencing, volleyball, wrestling, water polo, etc. While I would not be in favor of slashing women's sports programs to bring these sports back to a varsity level, I feel that as a whole, the club system (with exceptions) limits the heights which athletes can achieve, which is a bad thing for sports across all levels, not just men's athletics. But irregardless of the negative effects which this system has on the development of amateur sport in America, is it now fair to make men pay reparations for the actions of the past?
But now, over thirty years after Title IX was first implemented, the gender of the club teams have changed; now it's almost impossible to find a school with a men's varsity crew and a women's club crew. I can say that I've never come across such a school. I wish I could recall how many times my teammates and I have joked about taking away the football team and making the men's crew program a varsity sport. Rowing out of the same boathouse as a funded women's rowing program, it is a constant thorn in the side to see the women take for granted their top-of-the line rowing shells, bussed transportation to races and practice, and the infrastructure that goes behind supporting them on the college campus. Bearing these burdens quietly, I must imagine is like the women of thirty years prior to today, paying for everything that we use, from unis to boats, fundraising to pay our way to regattas and to have a coach, and to drive ourselves to practically everything: regattas up to five hours away, practice to the boathouse 15 minutes from campus every morning, and even winter training in Florida.
Before I proceed any further, let me explain that this is not in any way a rant to discredit Title IX, or women's athletics as a whole. The intentions behind the act are completely good; I understand that. I enjoy watching women's crew, and I don't think anyone should have limited access to the sport due to gender.
However, it feels that the times have turned; the theoretic "equality" that exists in athletic departments is not really equal at all. In the time that Title IX has existed, it has practically reshaped the landscape of collegiate sports. I did a little searching, and I couldn't find one state university with an equal number of men's and women's sports, let alone a college with more men's sports programs than women's programs. None of the state schools I looked at, most in the Atlantic Coast/New England region had this trait; indeed, out of all the Ivy League schools, schools known for affluence and a budget the envy of every public university, only two can field more men's teams than women's teams (Harvard and Penn).
In reaction to this, most men's sports, instead of becoming inactive on campus, have been filed under the "Intramural and Club Sport" label. Among some of the clubs sports that had long traditions of being varsity sports on college campuses include men's lacrosse, rowing, fencing, volleyball, wrestling, water polo, etc. While I would not be in favor of slashing women's sports programs to bring these sports back to a varsity level, I feel that as a whole, the club system (with exceptions) limits the heights which athletes can achieve, which is a bad thing for sports across all levels, not just men's athletics. But irregardless of the negative effects which this system has on the development of amateur sport in America, is it now fair to make men pay reparations for the actions of the past?
posted by Anonymous at 21:09
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