Day 9: Words of Wisdom from the Front Lines of Title IX
Today marks the 40th Anniversary of Title IX, an Amendment that revolutionized the fields of opportunity for women. While the athletic implications of the law may have been an afterthought, Title IX’s impact on female athletes has become the most significant aspect of that legislation. There is not a woman or girl in this country who has not felt the impact of Title IX, and we want to hear from you!
Were you fighting to play before Title IX passed? Were you there when it happened or are you a beneficiary of the aftermath? We’re paying our respects to the Constitutional guardian of smelly gyms, taped ankles, and freshly chalked fields. So bring on those fuzzy photos and words of wisdom. We want to know how Title IX has changed your world for the better. Remember, no experience is too small. Don’t wait, get entered>
Today’s winner will receive free round trip airfare to our Chicago or Bay Area Title 9K running race, a free race entry, a limited eidition Power of 9 Tee and a Title Nine Water Bottle.
*airfare applies to flights originating within the United States only. Destination must be either (customer’s choice) Chicago, IL or the San Francisco Bay Area. Airfare must be redeemed in conjunction with the Title 9K running race (September 16, 2012 or October 21, 2012.). T-shirt & water bottle prize awarded based on availability – a substitute prize of equal or greater value may be awarded.
In the early 1990s starting middle school at small private school where there was only one soccer team. Since there wasn’t enough interest for a girls team, myself and few other girls were allowed to play on the boys team. Playing against the guys all the time taught me there is nothing better about the male sex. And women can hold stand up next to a guy on and off the field.
This has helped me in college classrooms and corporate workplaces.
I was a shy and nerdy kid in high school but I really shined when I was competing in fencing (in all things). I quite vividly recall the pride I felt when my teammates were cheering me on or the rush of adrenalin I felt when defeating an opponent. After winning a tournament, I remember feeling a little more entitled to roam the school halls as if I owned them. I learned that if I practiced hard enough and trusted my instincts, I could win. I could do it. I believe I still use those lessons all the time, especially now as I am building my own company.
So, a big thank you to all the people that made Title IX happen because it gave me the opportunity to learn those things and find the strength to believe in myself.
My mom was in 14 when Title IX was passed. She has told me multiple times that there were not many women’s sports teams back then. She was a swimmer but had to swim on the boy’s team and was one of the few women in the state swimming. Personally, in middle school, my PE teacher said we were old enough to start lifting weights. I was one of two girls to volunteer to lift tw0-three times a week and my teacher was happy because she used to be a body builder. The guys said I wouldn’t be able to lift, but I didn’t let that stop me. Just because I’m a girl wasn’t going to stop me from doing what I wanted to do. I might have gotten teased, but I saw proudness in my teacher’s eyes.
May, hot and humid, 1975, De Pere Redbirds track meet and one small pre woman, me, just 15, ended up running the mile at the regional track meet. It was my first mile and I came in last. Lapped by the more experienced runners I had the track and the crowd all to myself. The crowd, which looked substantial, was behind me which was good because not another soul was behind me in the race. So started my running career and the hunger for those miles. The team was small because girls’ sports teams were a new thing for us in those years. The fun of it all was how easy it was to get a record for an event because there were so few that came before us. Nancy H and I became the distance runners first competing in the mile and eventually the two mile was added. Perhaps, fortunately for us, there was not depth to the team and we were able to shine.
Fifteen years later as I prepared for the New York City Marathon a male friend of mine flippantly said how stupid Title IX was and that females didn’t need it. Tongue tied I tried to explain the importance of Title IX to him. The fact that I was running the marathon, had participated in high school sports, and band as an equal seemed so natural already at that point in life. Now a fully grown small woman, but with a big mouth, I blurted out a visceral reaction that girls and women needed sports to be viewed as equals to men. It gave us a sense of strength , and beauty and equality that had not existed prior to Title IX. We were as serious about our jobs and our sports as he was thanks to Title IX. Perhaps he was not the friend I thought he was or perhaps he had no sense of the inequality that had existed prior to enactment of Title IX. In fact perhaps it was because of Title IX that I was able to respond to him at all. It gave me an equal voice and chance in graduate school and athletics.
And so it was, I was right. Today I enter races that often have more women than men. At 52 years of age I still run, bike and ski and I occasionally place in a race. Every time I step across the starting line I remember those fans in the bleachers at my first race believing in me and every other female athlete. I remember the women that came before me that didn’t have the chance to run, bike, play soccer, softball and basketball.
I have never been very involved in sports in school, but was blessed to have women pave the way for me to make involvement an option. I was involved in music, primarily, and dabbled in sports on the side. I never thought I was athletic enough. I was self-conscious about my body and never thought I measured up. I didn’t believe I could GET athletic; I thought you already had to BE athletic. It wasn’t until I graduated from high school that I decided to see what my body could do.
I decided to put shoes on and run. I ran as long as I could and decided I really wasn’t too bad at it. Pretty soon I was running 8 miles a day with no problem. I entered one 5k and then didn’t enter another race until I was 30 years old. Now, at almost 40, I have run countless 5ks, 10ks, half marathons, and 5 marathons. In preparation for Boston this year, I read about the women bandit runners who chased by the race organizer for fear they would ruin the race. Wow, how far we’ve come. What guts it took by these women to blaze the trail.
My personal goal is to encourage those women and girls who think that they can’t that they CAN. Your body type doesn’t dictate what you can do. Your current state of athleticism does not set your future for you. I am living proof that anyone can do it.
That’s me in the middle of the picture. 🙂
May, hot and humid, 1975, De Pere Redbirds track meet and one small pre woman, me, just 15, ended up running the mile at the regional track meet. It was my first mile and I came in last. Lapped by the more experienced runners I had the track and the crowd all to myself. The crowd, which looked substantial, was behind me which was good because not another soul was behind me in the race. So started my running career and the hunger for those miles. The team was small because girls’ sports teams were a new thing for us in those years. The fun of it all was how easy it was to get a record for an event because there were so few that came before us. Nancy H and I became the distance runners first competing in the mile and eventually the two mile was added. Perhaps, fortunately for us, there was not depth to the team and we were able to shine.
Fifteen years later as I prepared for the New York City Marathon a male friend of mine flippantly said how stupid Title IX was and that females didn’t need it. Tongue tied I tried to explain the importance of Title IX to him. The fact that I was running the marathon, had participated in high school sports, and band as an equal seemed so natural already at that point in life. Now a fully grown small woman, but with a big mouth, I blurted out a visceral reaction that girls and women needed sports to be viewed as equals to men. It gave us a sense of strength , and beauty and equality that had not existed prior to Title IX. We were as serious about our jobs and our sports as he was thanks to Title IX. Perhaps he was not the friend I thought he was or perhaps he had no sense of the inequality that had existed prior to enactment of Title IX. In fact perhaps it was because of Title IX that I was able to respond to him at all. It gave me an equal voice and chance in graduate school and athletics.
And so it was, I was right. Today I enter races that often have more women than men. At 52 years of age I still run, bike and ski and I occasionally place in a race. Every time I step across the starting line I remember those fans in the bleachers at my first race believing in me and every other female athlete. I remember the women that came before me that didn’t have the chance to run, bike, play soccer, softball and basketball.
I feel a sense of pride and beauty and agility in my aging body just like I did as I ran that first mile. I stand equal in opportunity as do my daughter and nieces. When I hear them ask about my high school athletic feats I have to laugh and smile because today they have so much more opportunity and skill. They have no idea what was and what is yet to be and I hope they never sound like that long ago friend of mine.
I’m a beneficiary of Title IX. Playing on school sports teams taught me mutual cooperation, the value of working towards a common goal, and that EVERYONE had something to contribute to the game, match, event, etc. I may not have been particularly fast, talented, or graceful in my various athletic efforts, but I always took away the feeling that my participation was valued. That is a huge, life-shaping affirmation for any pre-teen/teen girl to experience. I’m 45 years old now, and I run half marathons, ride bike tours, do duathlons, etc. If I had not had the benefit of playing school sports as a girl, I would argue that my life would have been smaller and less rich. Thank you, Title IX advocates!
My strongest memory of Title 9 is of a student teacher for a PE class that I had in the mid to late 1970s. I don’t remember exactly the year or the grade, but what I do remember is that she was our student teacher because of Title 9. Because of Title 9, she had had an athletic scholarship opportunity that she would not have had a few years earlier. Which eventually brought her to my classroom.
Not many girls play baseball – I couldn’t even find an appropriate “cup.” I started playing as a little kiddo with my father and brothers in our backyard. My play became an obsession and I just kept showing up to tryouts and kept on making the teams – with the boys. By the time I hit 7th grade, softball was pushed on me but I hated the shortened bases, bigger balls, and the all-around smaller field. I played third base up until they wouldn’t let me play anymore – high school came and baseball went. I wound up becoming the team manager just so I could play in practices. My experiences were not that long ago and today, my four year-old has a glove, ball, team t-shirts, and ball caps ready to go – her bat has already gotten some use on some fierce-looking bushes. Yeah, she’s going to play, just like her mom but this time she’ll have a much longer career!
The photo is of Emily singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” on our way to Camden Yards…
I was the only woman to join my college swim team in 1985. The next year 4 girls joined. The year after, 6 girls were recruited and in my senior year, 8 freshman joined the team. We did have fun! Swimming early mornings and afternoons. Meets, Florida winter training, meals together. The men were not so bad. Before every meet I always got to jump into the swim cap they enlarged by stretching it in the water.
Now days my children swim and the numbers are amazing. 159 girls and 99 boys. The awesome number of girls is a direct impact of Title IV! We are empowered, fast and successful!