I believe the explosion of women's rowing due to Title IX has been a great thing. There is no question that women's rowing was undervalued and ignored by university athletic directors, like all other women's sports. Requiring a close balance in funding between men's and women's sports has been a great boon to the sport. Anyone who began rowing in the mid to late 90s can attest to the huge difference Title IX has brought to our sport.
HOWEVER: "I sense a disturbance in the force." The beginnings of a split between men's and women's rowing greatly concern me. While the intervention of the NCAA has benefited the sport as a whole and women's rowing in particular, NCAA intervention has changed some traditional aspects of rowing on the women's side. While the men continue mostly unchanged, the women are moving in a different direction, at least in the college area of the sport.
Here I refer to Fight in the Dog and a recent post there about possible changes in novice entries on the women's side. Specifically, I believe women's rowing is moving away from recruiting novices in college. Athletes at the highest-level women's rowing programs are assumed to have rowing in high school, and novices are not expected to contribute (ie compete) until they are upperclassmen.
I'll leave all the other arguments save this one: if women's rowing is going to become the female football, then I don't believe that sort of equality is what we as a society should be striving for. The beauty of rowing is the simplicity of the stroke, the fitness of the participant and the teamwork required by the boat. Closing that opportunity to novices in college simply because they didn't have a large body of water with a boat club in their hometown seems an injustice.
I believe the sport should continue to grow. I believe women's programs should continue to lead the way at the collegiate level; for the most part, rowing in general has benefited. However, I sincerely hope collegiate coaches leave a little room for instruction of novices and keep novice racing around. Those who learned to row in college many times come back to become the greatest alumni supporters.
I'm not sure what else I need to say or want to say in this post. Perhaps our readers can contribute more to this. Simply because the NCAA is involved doesn't mean the sport should move away from its roots.
Categories: Rowing, Politics, College
4 comments:
Not all the women's programs are NCAA regulated. The programs such as PITT are still club sports and many of the schools that they race against are also at the club level, which still promotes the use of novice rowers. The exclusion of the novice races from the NCAA is a loss for the sport; however, the individual colleges can still foster these rowers. The torch has been passed on to them by the NCAA regulations.
True, and we do encourage novice rowing at Pitt because we are a club program. My concern goes out to women not getting an opportunity to enjoy the sport at these bigger women's "Title IX" schools where every athlete is a recruited, experienced high schooler. What happens to those novices?
The fate of the novice rowers at the bigger "Title IX" schools lies in the hands of the coaches at those schools. Presevation of that part of the sport is now the responsibilty of the coaches instead of an institutionalized regulation. Its a shame that the NCAA, which has limited knowledge of the history of rowing, was the organization that made these decisions. They did what they believed was best for women's rowing, but in the process may have hurt it as you have said. Now in order to preserve what the sport is the coaches who know what the sport is must do something to keep it that way.
Title IX's goal is to create equality. If that means making a girls version of a football team (rowing), then the women are going to have to deal with it.
Women not getting an opportunity to enjoy the sport? Are you serious?
Women get paid to enjoy this sport.
It will be better for the racing and the sport in general by having top-end experienced rowers getting recruited over good body types. Seriously, I was reading the other day about a girl who had never even heard of rowing (lettered in Basketball and Volleyball), getting 20,000+ a year TO ROW. Two words: Bull Poop.
Honestly, I have a good body type to play safety. Do I have a chance at making a D1 football team? Heck no! Do I feel like I do not have an opportunity to enjoy the sport? Heck no! I just call up some other guys and go play some squaw ball.
If women actually like the sport, they'll join a club.
If women want equal opportunity for athletics, they are going to have to deal with the consequences.
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