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Mixed gender sports teams.

Magic Poriferan

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What do think of the idea of have mixed gender teams in sports such as baseball, soccer, or basketball?

I thought it mildly interesting that sports are some of the last places where gender segregation is still commonly accepted in this country. The reasoning, of course, is that men and women have very different physiology and so they are uneven when playing together.

Personally, I think it would be kind of neat to do it, and it's not like it would mean that the single gender games would have to be discontinued or anything. I think if I were a female athlete, all the talk about the general superiority of male athletes would just make me more determined to play amongst them.
 

Randomnity

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I play on mixed gender volleyball and soccer teams. There's tons of them at the recreational level.

Are you talking at the professional level? If it were implemented, the teams would effectively be male since the best players will pretty much always be male (maybe females on T would be in the same ballpark, though).

You could do it the same way the rec teams do (having a required number of females on the field) but that's kinda lame and arbitrary for "the best" teams IMO. Maybe if it had to be 50-50 it would be ok, otherwise you'd just end up with a couple token girls who don't really change anything....

Don't get me wrong, equality is good and all. But mixing genders on pro teams is just not going to happen in a practical way that I can imagine.

edit: maybe it would work for less physical "sports" like golf and pool, which don't really count anyway.
 

Orangey

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edit: maybe it would work for less physical "sports" like golf and pool, which don't really count anyway.

:laugh:

Professionally, I'm not sure it would work out very well. Recreationally, though, there are already a lot of mixed gender teams. Hell, even in high school we had a mixed-gender rugby team.
 

Magic Poriferan

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I say let the barrier down, and if all the professional players remain men, then nothing changed anyhow. But it's the very idea that women wouldn't stand a chance that makes the opportunity so intriguing. It would be nifty if a woman did get high up in the pro ranks then, wouldn't it?
 

rav3n

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Mixed pro-teams kind of opens up a big can of worms. If women are good enough to play on men's pro-sports teams, then it would only be fair if men were allowed to play on women's teams which would decimate female players and make it a men's league. There's a part of me that says, "yeah, and does that matter?". Frankly when it comes to pro-sports, female teams are boring to watch.

Friends, the ex and I made up a team and joined a co-ed softball league. We had a great time but oh wow, were the guys competitive and good. Not only did we play, we also practiced as a team and also separately. My hitting and running never came close to the guys and neither did my baseball sense. They also used to coach me when running bases. Too funny!!
 

Randomnity

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There's also the social issues involved, like men are fine playing hard against men but against women they're likely to feel uncomfortable say, smashing them against the boards in hockey (and I'd say that without abnormal steroid levels, women are incapable of growing strong enough to not be hurt by a 300+ lb man in physical sports). Even soccer and basketball are often very physical.

I mean, I see that even in my low-level rec teams. The girls can pretty much play normally, but I see some of the male players holding back against girls, and most of the time when there's a male-female collision, the guy will stop and apologize where he wouldn't in a collision with a male. It's kinda silly. I guess it makes more sense if the guy is huge and the girl is tiny, but still.

So there's another layer of difficulty for having mixed gender teams in the pro levels. Of course, this pretty much wouldn't happen anyway since women wouldn't end up in the pro teams even if they were allowed. While some random woman is not necessarily weaker than some random man, I doubt any women alive are stronger, faster, or even more technically skilled than the professional male athletes.

So without "affirmative action" type programs, you're going to see zero result, plus a whole lot of whining and confusion.

edit: even at the rec level, I've played sports for about 4-5 years and not once have I seen a female player even approach the level of an average team's best male striker for either volleyball or soccer. Some females are very good, technically skilled support players with a good shot compared to the other players on the team, but don't come close to the skilled males when it comes to shooting/spiking.
 

gromit

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Yeah the only way I can see it working is if it were specifically coed; there's a required ratio on the field or court at all times. Otherwise the number of women who would be able to compete at the male level would be very, very small. It's one of the things that used to annoy me about biology a little, but oh well, that's how life is.
 

IZthe411

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We have a huge recreational sports program at work, and there's a certain number of females that must be on the court at all times. If you play in the competitive leagues, you don't need a female.

The funny thing is- the guys sometimes refuse to even defend on a girl. Like playing basketball, they'll let the girl put up 3 point shots instead of defending her. Some of these chicks played ball in college, and have a nice shot! I'm like WTF? I'll go over and block their shots and put my hand in their face. It's equal opportunity!
 

Oaky

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It's an interesting thought. There are much too many variables to consider with such things.
Aside from the physiology of the different sexes, sexual orientation, the egos of the players as well as the possible mishaps that could occur between male and female players would likely cause a bit of a stir. Many variables. It would not be very easy at all.
 

IZthe411

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It's an interesting thought. There are much too many variables to consider with such things.
Aside from the physiology of the different sexes, sexual orientation, the egos of the players as well as the possible mishaps that could occur between male and female players would likely cause a bit of a stir. Many variables. It would not be very easy at all.

You can tell which guys don't have much experience with girls. They are scared to get anywhere near them. Especially bball. They defend them like 5 feet away.
 

Oaky

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You can tell which guys don't have much experience with girls. They are scared to get anywhere near them. Especially bball. They defend them like 5 feet away.
Quite definitely. It really may not allow for players to be able to play at their best during the matches which I'd assume is not something needed.
 

JocktheMotie

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Quite definitely. It really may not allow for players to be able to play at their best during the matches which I'd assume is not something needed.

Then those guys have to get over their delicate sensibilities. SPIKE THAT BALL IN HER FACE.

I don't even know if there is an explicit rule against gender integration in professional sports. There was some commotion a few years ago about Annika Sorenstam or whatever the fuck her name is playing with the men in golf, but that's golf and fat old white dudes love complaining when their little gentlemanly parades get rained on [delicate sensibilities, yet again]. If a woman is good enough to play on the level, I don't see why a team wouldn't let her on. There might be some intra-locker room dynamics issues with some of the chauvinists, but you'd hope the desire to win would override the desire to be douche. Also, think of the marketing/endorsement/brand expansion. Gold mine.
 

Totenkindly

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edit: even at the rec level, I've played sports for about 4-5 years and not once have I seen a female player even approach the level of an average team's best male striker for either volleyball or soccer. Some females are very good, technically skilled support players with a good shot compared to the other players on the team, but don't come close to the skilled males when it comes to shooting/spiking.

Yeah, that's just the bio differences. Males typically get more height, longer limbs (even including the wrist to elbow measurement), and wider shoulders ( = more torque) and more upper body muscle. What else can be said about it? It's just physics.

... I doubt many women could realistically compete in contact-team sports with the best male professionals, but I do agree with other comments in this thread that, if a woman is tough enough to get in there and play, you should treat her like any other player and not "go easy on her."
 

Qlip

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My son & daughter (one grade apart) are on the same co-ed Bball team. I think it's a great thing socially, it teaches teamwork in a mixed gender setting, which is very different than girls or boys only. As a learning experience, it's good. If we're talking about competative aspects, I could see how it could end up being difficult as the kids get more serious about the sport.
 

Oaky

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Then those guys have to get over their delicate sensibilities. SPIKE THAT BALL IN HER FACE.
Sounds rather intriguing. Well, you must weigh the energy wasted upon fixing the delicate sensibilities in the men on the team over the energy used on how well the woman plays the game with the men. If the energy used is less than the energy it would take to increase another man's level to the level of how good the woman plays then right there with ya. Hmm one simplistic matter of many. We must look into other things.
 
G

Ginkgo

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What do think of the idea of have mixed gender teams in sports such as baseball, soccer, or basketball?

I thought it mildly interesting that sports are some of the last places where gender segregation is still commonly accepted in this country. The reasoning, of course, is that men and women have very different physiology and so they are uneven when playing together.

Personally, I think it would be kind of neat to do it, and it's not like it would mean that the single gender games would have to be discontinued or anything. I think if I were a female athlete, all the talk about the general superiority of male athletes would just make me more determined to play amongst them.

I think it's feasible.
 

entropie

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sucks in soccer. You aint supposed to feel guilt after a bloody razorblade tackle :D
 
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