More women getting involved in sports

If Kayla Rhodes had been born forty years earlier, she likely wouldn’t have had a chance to run track. She probably would not have memories of lining up against fellow students from her school district. The only way she would have heard the bang of a starting gun is from the stands.

Since the institution of Title IX, more women in the United States have the opportunity to play sports. These opportunities come at all levels of education, from elementary school through college. Participation in K-12 school sports, like track and field for Rhodes, has increased from less than 300,000 young women playing in 1972 when Title IX became law to more than 2.8 million women participating in 2001 according to the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education. That growth has continued to the present day.

Along with the growing opportunities for playing sports in school, more women are entering professional sports as leagues in soccer and hockey have developed in the last ten years. In North America, college soccer players can now join the National Women’s Soccer League, a ten-team professional league supported by the national sport federations of the United States, Mexico, and Canada. In hockey, there are two options for female athletes. The five-team Canadian Women’s Hockey League, which does not pay players, or the four-team National Women’s Hockey League, which does pay players and is in its inaugural season.

Yahoo Sports writer Jen Neale covers the CWHL and NWHL on Puck Daddy, a hockey blog. Neale said in the last five years, the focus on the women’s hockey event at the Olympics has led to more exposure and coverage.

“I can’t say it’s as big as I’d like it to be,” said Neale.

Neale said the women’s leagues will need support from the men’s leagues to be successful early on, with financial backing being important.

Neale said there is a challenge to overcome the inherent thought process that women’s sports are not as popular as men’s. Recently, Stephen A. Smith of ESPN made a comment about soccer players not wanting to mess up their hair on a free kick. Neale cited this as part of the ingrained attitude that women are not as good at sports as men.

Scott Jedlicka, Ph.D., a professor teaching sport sociology at Washington State University also noted the prevailing attitude, but acknowledged the growth of opportunities in recent years.

“The greatest expansion has been at the college level in terms of opportunities and equal treatment,” said Jedlicka. “There’s a greater measure of acceptance on college campuses.”

Jedlicka said the employment status of college athletes could have a big impact on the growth of women’s sports in the near future.

“If things remain similar to how they are now, there will likely be expanded opportunities for women’s sports,” said Jedlicka. “However, if big-time college sports get reconstituted as an employment-style system, this will perhaps negatively affect women’s sport.”

Jedlicka said the coverage of women’s sports today will have to change for greater acceptance to occur.

“We need to get beyond recognizing women athletes as women first,” said Jedlicka.

For Rhodes, her athletic career ended before college, as she stopped running track on her own terms.

“I’m thankful that I got the chance to participate,” said Rhodes.