How+Does+Gender+Affect+High+School+Sports+Funding?

HOW DOES GENDER AFFECT HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS FUNDING?

1) Priest, Laurie (1994) Promoting Gender Equity in Middle and Secondary School Sports Programs. ERIC Digest. Retrieved November 30, 2009, from http://www.ericdigests.org/1994/equity.htm

Since 1980, the percentage of women playing a high school sport has increased by 616%. In high school sports, equality has nothing to do with funding or the budget, as long as girls and boys have the same opportunities such as availability, scheduling, coaching, locker rooms and medical, then that counts as equality. The funding does not need to be the same because as long as the quality for boys and girls are the same. Scheduling and practices need to be equal. The time of day they get to practice and play, how long they are able to practice, and the number of games need to be the same. In conclusion, by the end of the day as long as the girls and boys teams are equal by everything else but the budget, then that counts as having equality between the two sexes. These issues affect high school sports in Rhode Island. When I was in high school there was a lot of talk about how the boys get more money than the girls teams do. I can stand by this statement because I was on two highs school teams. It may look like the opportunities are equal, they are not. The boys teams, especially football got a lot of funding. I know it is an expensive sport for the school, but they were spoiled. The less serious sports, like the girls tennis teams, my senior year we had to fund money just to keep our assistant coach because they cut our funding. No matter what people say, girls and boys high school sports are not equal.

2) Prine, Carl. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. High schools wont give their girls a sporting chance. Retrieved November 30, 2009, from http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/specialreports/titleix/secondstring.html.

The girls softball team at Mapletown High School in Greene County has to drive five miles down the road just to play and practice. They are not lucky enough to have their field on campus. While the boys have the baseball field on campus which has just been renovated and has a new electric scoreboard which was purchased by the school. The girls had to play the ball on bad hops from mole holes. Finally, a father of a daughter who was on the team, and local township supervisors revamped with convict labor. This article gives examples of girls sports teams in high school and how they are not treated the same as the boys. The softball was an issue when I was in high school. The JV softball team had to play off campus while the Varisty got to play on campus, not to say that both fields were terrible. The girls softball field is in the back of the school behind a small building where the football players practice in the beginning of the year. We definitely got the short end of the stick. This is an issue in RI high schools. I would know this because I experienced it for all four years. Even going to other schools or complex's to play a game, not all the fields were nice.

3) Kraft, S.. Big Time Boosters. Spotlight Retrieved Dec. 1, 2009, from http://www.americanfootballmonthly.com/Arena/NS_Magazine/Current/spotlight01_jun02.html.

This article talks about booster clubs. The booster club for Hoover High School in Birmingham Alabama brings in over $300,000 every year. The football team's goal is to build an indoor practice facility. A lot of booster clubs spend time to raise money for its high school football team. It can really help them a lot. For example, the football team can receive new uniforms, equipment, food for the players and people in the stands and possibly helping rebuild the field. Many of the time, the more money the football team has, the better the team can be. This is because they will have everything and even more than what they need. Booster clubs are also a way to get parents and others involved more with the school and its athletic programs. Having strong booster clubs for RI public schools can help out a lot. Because public schools are funded by the city or town, and only have a limited budget, booster clubs are a way to help out sports teams. When a team has a limited budget, and still can not get what they need, then a booster club can come in handy. For example, sr year for tennis, our "girls tennis" budget was so low that we did not have enough money to pay for an assistant coach. We did fund raisers to still give our assistant coach money because he still came to every practice and game, but it probably was still not enough. This is a perfect example where we should have had a booster club.

4) King, J.. (2008,). 2008 Statistics - Gender Equity in High School and College Athletics: Most Recent Participation & Budget Statistics. Retrieved Dec. 4, 2009, from http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/Content/Articles/Issues/General/123/2008-Statistics--Gender-Equity-in-High-School-and-College-Athletics-Most-Recent-Participation--Budge.aspx

Even though since Title IX the participation of females in high schools sports has increased 904%, they are still not treated equally. Females have less of a participation opportunity then males do. They still do not receive the money they need to fund for their sports. This is also an issue in college sports as well. There are more male athletes then females, even though there are usually more female students than males. This article gives statistics to prove these facts. This is an issue in RI public high schools. High schools are pretty even when it comes to males vs. females. Being an athlete on two teams during high school, it is true that there are more male athletes than females. You will see more males trying out for a sport than females. This can be an issue because it will make it look like the male teams are receiving more money than the girls are. Girls do not have the opportunity to be on a freshman team, but the boys do. In my high school there were freshman boys teams for football, basketball, and football. Right there proves that three more boys teams are getting money when girls are not.

5) (2009,). Athletics. Retrieved Dec. 4, 2009, from http://www.titleix.info/10-Key-Areas-of-Title-IX/Athletics.aspx.

Before Title IX, high school girls were either cheerleaders or dancers, and 1 in 27 girls played a sport. There were no scholarships for female college athletes, and they received only 2% of the overall athletic budget. Since Title IX, there has been a tremendous increase in females playing a sport, receiving a scholarship and benefits from a budget increase. Also, now more women are participating in the Olympics. Basically more females have more opportunities to be on a team and treated as an equal. Now that more females are playing high school sports, the chances of them staying out of trouble is higher. Even though Title IX is supposed to make sure that males and females have equality in sports, they will never be equal and there are facts in this article to prove that. Females not having the same opportunities when it comes to sports as males is still an issue today and can/is an issue in RI high schools. The only fact that is true is that now more females are staying out of trouble. They go to school for about six hours, have practice or a game for another two/three hours, eat and then do homework. That is a decently long day for a teenager. Females playing sports also gives them a better opportunity for getting into the college of her choice. With the male athlete population getting more than the females, can lead to a lot of talk and unwanted rumors, and no high school wants that.

6) (2009, Month. Day ). In AAUW\'s Position on Equity in School Athletics. Retrieved Dec. 4, 2009, from http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/titleix_athletics.cfm

Title IX has impacted the increase in female sports, and the number of females playing high school and college sports. AAUW believes that it will still be increasing and must continue to increase. This will be better for the community and and the females themselves. There are facts about how that statement is true. AAUW strongly believes in the enforcement on Title IX and the impact is has. The statistics in this article can affect high schools in RI in a positive way. With more females playing sports these days, more females will be out of trouble. Therefore, the school itself will look better because more students are "good students." It will also prepare women for life long lessons, how to socialize and how to handle different situations.