Written by Diego Ramos
At our school the ratio of male to female students limits opportunities for participation in sports. While it is understandable that many more teams are required in order to be proportionate to the number of girls, it is not fair that boys’ opportunities to participate in sports teams are trumped because of their imbalanced presence in the community. Many teams available for girls would most likely have a highly competitive participation in part by boys in the school.
It is not only the junior varsity teams that are missing for boys. In some cases, the representation of males is not even accounted for. In sports such as swimming and flag football, only girls varsity teams exist with no male counterparts. These and many more sports should be accounted for boys because there are surely many male athletes that would find themselves at home with playing for such teams.
More of the male population would be involved with athletics since not all the boys that try out for varsity basketball or volleyball are able to make it. This possibly comes as a means of a lack of space in the rosters of these teams. Also, perhaps the skill level associated with JV competitions could be better suited for some individuals. This would give the chance for more students to participate in school rather than playing for outside teams and clubs.
The inclusion of more male sports reaps benefits for the school, since this would offer the opportunity for more fundraising as well as contention for more city championships. Basketball and volleyball games already attract a lot of attention when home games are played, so adding another basketball and volleyball team guarantees more school spirit and support. By adding more sports, the opportunity for more teachers of becoming coaches increases as well.
The lack of these sports teams is just one small controversy in the many that inhabit THHS, because of the out of balance population in the school. By giving males more opportunities in athletics, it is a step towards enhancing the circumstances students face.
Fairer representation will come from introducing more athletic teams such as JV volleyball and basketball, swimming, and flag football, to male students. The school will also benefit tremendously from these efforts seeing as though sports competitions are highly attended and supported by both the staff as well as the students.
