Why don't more sports have men and women competing equally

quickbeam

The only ones I can think of are horse racing and showjumping.

Obviously, sports which require strength will never be possible to have the genders competing together as it's not sexist to say that the average male will always be stronger than the average female. So I can understand why they don't compete together in boxing, soccer, rugby, tennis, athletics, etc.

But surely they could compete together is less physically demanding sports: snooker, golf, darts, curling, etc. Maybe even things like motor sports, or cricket.

So, is it time to merge some sports so we can all compete together?

Ruu

Reanne Evans lost out to Ken Doherty for a place in the World Snooker Championships earlier this year. It'll happen sooner or later.

brevity

Anyone else thinking of that american football type game that they played at the start of Starship Troopers?

NachoBusiness

Cause they're not as good :P

eviltwin

Women aren't as into sport as men, look at most grassroots sports and its mostly boys, girls don't seem to be as interested so it stands to reason the boys will be better and more consistent as they age.

Arsemageddon

brevity wrote: »

Anyone else thinking of that american football type game that they played at the start of Starship Troopers?

That could only happen in a film, in real life if there were mixed teams the ladies would all start singing like this midway through the match....

ch750536

We need to stop persuading girls they are weak & feeble from a young age, then they may engage more.

enfant terrible

Venus and Serena Williams, aged 17 and 16 respectively, had claimed that they could beat any male player ranked below 200, so Braasch, then ranked 203rd, challenged them both. The matches took place on court number 12 in Melbourne Park.[30] Braasch first took on Serena and beat her 6–1. He then played Venus and won 6–2.[31] Braasch said afterwards, "500 and above, no chance." He added that he had played like someone ranked 600th in order to keep the game "fun.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19980127&id=kqJjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mggGAAAAIBAJ&pg=3506,5011601&hl=en

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

quickbeam wrote: »

The only ones I can think of are horse racing and showjumping.

Obviously, sports which require strength will never be possible to have the genders competing together as it's not sexist to say that the average male will always be stronger than the average female. So I can understand why they don't compete together in boxing, soccer, rugby, tennis, athletics, etc.

But surely they could compete together is less physically demanding sports: snooker, golf, darts, curling, etc. Maybe even things like motor sports, or cricket.

So, is it time to merge some sports so we can all compete together?

Men are physical faster and stronger than women. Look at world records and average winning times in any olympic athletic or weightlifting event. This is not sexist, it's a statement of fact.

The ideas you list, require horses - not just athletic prowess

I agree that the sports should be the same (5 sets instead of 3 in grand slam tennis, for example) and prize money should be the same.

BoJack Horseman

Pseudo-sports already have cross-gender competitions.

Its not feasible for actual sports though.

Drexel

Tennis?

Beach volleyball??

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

enfant terrible wrote: »

Venus and Serena Williams, aged 17 and 16 respectively, had claimed that they could beat any male player ranked below 200, so Braasch, then ranked 203rd, challenged them both. The matches took place on court number 12 in Melbourne Park.[30] Braasch first took on Serena and beat her 6–1. He then played Venus and won 6–2.[31] Braasch said afterwards, "500 and above, no chance." He added that he had played like someone ranked 600th in order to keep the game "fun.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19980127&id=kqJjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mggGAAAAIBAJ&pg=3506,5011601&hl=en

In fairnes, he was 29 when these matches took place, the sisters were 18 and 20.Three years later, I think you;d have gottne a different result.

RedemptionZ

I don't know enough about the sport but surely strength plays a part in golf? Though I suppose accuracy is probably more important. I still feel men would have an unfair advantage in the game.

Snooker definitely is one that women are capable of achieving elite status in, just obviously traditionally the interest hasn't been there.

Kilboor

enfant terrible wrote: »

Venus and Serena Williams, aged 17 and 16 respectively, had claimed that they could beat any male player ranked below 200, so Braasch, then ranked 203rd, challenged them both. The matches took place on court number 12 in Melbourne Park.[30] Braasch first took on Serena and beat her 6–1. He then played Venus and won 6–2.[31] Braasch said afterwards, "500 and above, no chance." He added that he had played like someone ranked 600th in order to keep the game "fun.

Was coming here to post this

raze_them_all_

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

Men are physical faster and stronger than women. Look at world records and average winning times in any olympic athletic or weightlifting event. This is not sexist, it's a statement of fact.

The ideas you list, require horses - not just athletic prowess

I agree that the sports should be the same (5 sets instead of 3 in grand slam tennis, for example) and prize money should be the same.

IIRC the only time the number 1 in the world beat the number 1 guy in the world was long distance swimming in the 70's??


Men are more competitive and physically better built for it. While there will be the very rare freak female athlete they will be so far and between it'll not really count

stefanovich

You are all sexist and immoral.

Victor

You mean like sex? The problem is a lot of the men will come first anyway.

---

eviltwin wrote: »

Women aren't as into sport as men, look at most grassroots sports and its mostly boys, girls don't seem to be as interested so it stands to reason the boys will be better and more consistent as they age.

Part of that is down to the talking down of females in sport and the relative lack of role models.

Son Of A Vidic

quickbeam wrote: »

So, is it time to merge some sports so we can all compete together?

No. For fappage reasons it will never be practical.

osarusan

RedemptionZ wrote: »

I don't know enough about the sport but surely strength plays a part in golf? Though I suppose accuracy is probably more important. I still feel men would have an unfair advantage in the game.

Snooker definitely is one that women are capable of achieving elite status in, just obviously traditionally the interest hasn't been there.

In golf men will drive the ball many many yards further.

RedemptionZ

jonny666 wrote: »

Tennis?

Beach volleyball??

Nope and nope. Especially beach volleyball. That's an extremely athletically demanding sport where size is very important. I'd say something like 6'4 is the average height for male teams in the Olympics.

salmocab

cricket? cricket is a sport that relies on a lot of power. I have wondered in the past how there aren't more women in top motorsports and other games that are almost exclusively about skill darts and snooker being the obvious ones. Then things like shooting would surely be able to have mixed comps, maybe they do?
Maybe in the likes of darts and snooker boys are more likely to have played it a lot when they are younger so more likely to have reached higher standards.

Carlos Orange

RedemptionZ wrote: »

I don't know enough about the sport but surely strength plays a part in golf? Though I suppose accuracy is probably more important. I still feel men would have an unfair advantage in the game.

What is unfair about being better?

RedemptionZ

osarusan wrote: »

In golf men will drive the ball many many yards further.

That's what I'm saying

enfant terrible

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

In fairnes, he was 29 when these matches took place, the sisters were 18 and 20.Three years later, I think you;d have gottne a different result.

The best women players would lose to the best male college players, never mind professional male tennis players.

RedemptionZ

psinno wrote: »

What is unfair about being better?

I think you're misunderstanding the way I used term unfair. If women weren't given their own golf tournaments surely there would be very few if any taking place in a major tournament. Why? Because men are physically stronger and more suited to the sport and therefore have an unfair advantage, should women be forced to compete with them.

osarusan

RedemptionZ wrote: »

That's what I'm saying

Yeah, I'm agreeing.

Even the accuracy of later shots (or luxury of affording more of the shot to accuracy and less to distance) will depend on how close you are from the green in the first place.

salmocab

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

Men are physical faster and stronger than women. Look at world records and average winning times in any olympic athletic or weightlifting event. This is not sexist, it's a statement of fact.

The ideas you list, require horses - not just athletic prowess

I agree that the sports should be the same (5 sets instead of 3 in grand slam tennis, for example) and prize money should be the same.

The OP actually said its not sexist to say that men are stronger and faster in general

eviltwin

Sport has always been about men showing off, it's about being strong, fast and other things men excel at. That's the disadvantage for women. Women already are involved in motor sports, some of the test drivers are female. It's just a matter of time until one competes professionally.

riffmongous

quickbeam wrote: »

The only ones I can think of are horse racing and showjumping.

Obviously, sports which require strength will never be possible to have the genders competing together as it's not sexist to say that the average male will always be stronger than the average female. So I can understand why they don't compete together in boxing, soccer, rugby, tennis, athletics, etc.

But surely they could compete together is less physically demanding sports: snooker, golf, darts, curling, etc. Maybe even things like motor sports, or cricket.

So, is it time to merge some sports so we can all compete together?

Cricket is actually pretty physically demanding, you might not have body to body contact but the ball can break bones or with some bad luck, kill

raze_them_all_

eviltwin wrote: »

Sport has always been about men showing off, it's about being strong, fast and other things men excel at. That's the disadvantage for women. Women already are involved in motor sports, some of the test drivers are female. It's just a matter of time until one competes professionally.

one did in rally, won like 4 points but never made it big.

salmocab

think there is a test driver in F1 thats female

donspeekinglesh

eviltwin wrote: »

Women already are involved in motor sports, some of the test drivers are female. It's just a matter of time until one competes professionally.

That's F1, there's plenty competing professionally in other branches of motorsport. Two raced in the Indy 500 a few weeks back. There's plans for an all female team to enter the race next year.
Women have won championships in drag racing.

eviltwin

donspeekinglesh wrote: »

That's F1, there's plenty competing professionally in other branches of motorsport. Two raced in the Indy 500 a few weeks back.
Women have won championships in drag racing.

I only watch F1 Good to see women coming up the ranks.

raze_them_all_

donspeekinglesh wrote: »

That's F1, there's plenty competing professionally in other branches of motorsport. Two raced in the Indy 500 a few weeks back.
Women have won championships in drag racing.

to be fair with drag racing it's literally reaction/keep the car straight, the real winners in drag are the builders

enfant terrible

Hungry Hyena wrote: »

He was past his peak and they were close to their peak.

I don't think it was serious anyway, they train with males players and know they would have no chance.

It was just a bit of fun.

stefanovich

raze_them_all_ wrote: »

to be fair with drag racing it's literally reaction/keep the car straight, the real winners in drag are the builders

Driving in a straight line sounds complicated. I'm not sure I could even do that sober.

Dirty Dingus McGee

The only sports they would have any chance in are sports that involve almost no athleticism like snooker and darts.

Also the standard in womens sport is a good deal lower than men's sport so even the best women athletes are nowhere near as good comparably as their male counterparts.

A fair few of the Irish women's Rugby team converted fairly quickly from playing GAA. My sister never played rugby until about 3 years ago (and having not played competitive sport for about 5 years before that) and she's been training with the Connacht womens rugby team this year.You wouldn't be able to do that in the male equivalent

Women's sport should be emphasized more as a participatory sport rather than as spectator sport as it will almost always compare less favourably to the male equivalent and unfortunately they will never win that battle.The most important thing for womens sport is to get as many women playing rather than trying to get spectators.

Having said all that I did always wonder how Cora Staunton would do in a mens football match she was a class player.

steddyeddy

ch750536 wrote: »

We need to stop persuading girls they are weak & feeble from a young age, then they may engage more.

We need to get rid of the men should always lift heavy objects toss.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

raze_them_all_ wrote: »

IIRC the only time the number 1 in the world beat the number 1 guy in the world was long distance swimming in the 70's??


Men are more competitive and physically better built for it. While there will be the very rare freak female athlete they will be so far and between it'll not really count

You;re thinkging Bobby RIggs v Billy Jean King? RIggs was a top player in the 50s, but not the 70s.

In 92, Connors played Narratilova and beat her 7-5 6-2.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Sexes_%28tennis%29

Hammar

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

The only sports they would have any chance in are sports that involve almost no athleticism like snooker and darts.

Also the standard in womens sport is a good deal lower than men's sport so even the best women athletes are nowhere near as good comparably as their male counterparts.

A fair few of the Irish women's Rugby team converted fairly quickly from playing GAA. My sister never played rugby until about 3 years ago (and having not played competitive sport for about 5 years before that) and she's been training with the Connacht womens rugby team this year.You wouldn't be able to do that in the male equivalent

Women's sport should be emphasized more as a participatory sport rather than as spectator sport as it will almost always compare less favourably to the male equivalent and unfortunately they will never win that battle.The most important thing for womens sport is to get as many women playing rather than trying to get spectators.

Having said all that I did always wonder how Cora Staunton would do in a mens football match she was a class player.

She would get killed. Terrifically skillfull as you say,but the size difference alone would be far too great.

csallmighty

Physicality is the biggest factor in the majority of sports, women just can't compete in that regard.

Other sports I assume there just isn't a big enough interest for women that's why you don't see many at the top.

Carlos Orange

RedemptionZ wrote: »

I think you're misunderstanding the way I used term unfair. If women weren't given their own golf tournaments surely there would be very few if any taking place in a major tournament. Why? Because men are physically stronger and more suited to the sport and therefore have an unfair advantage, should women be forced to compete with them.

Arguably having different tournaments for women is unfair to the men who could make living professionally in a combined tournament (with more prize money but not better competitors) but can not in a male only tournament.

We don't have separate tournaments for short people or weak people. There isn't really a reason to have one for women just because people presume they couldn't compete with men.

eviltwin

steddyeddy wrote: »

We need to get rid of the men should always lift heavy objects toss.

It's probably a bit of both. Boys are encouraged to play sport, girls not so much. Boys playing sport are celebrated, girls often get slagged off for it. Young girls don't want to do sport so it's inevitable that they won't be as good at it as men. They haven't put the hours in.

raze_them_all_

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

You;re thinkging Bobby RIggs v Billy Jean King? RIggs was a top player in the 50s, but not the 70s.

In 92, Connors played Narratilova and beat her 7-5 6-2.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Sexes_%28tennis%29

no it was long distance swimming where throught the year the woman was ranked number 1 in the world in both male and female

Nwm2

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

Men are physical faster and stronger than women. Look at world records and average winning times in any olympic athletic or weightlifting event. This is not sexist, it's a statement of fact.

The ideas you list, require horses - not just athletic prowess

I agree that the sports should be the same (5 sets instead of 3 in grand slam tennis, for example) and prize money should be the same.

Why should prize money be the same?

What about wages? That too?

Should female soccer players in the UK be paid the same as male premiership players?

The money ultimately comes from the size and composition of the audience (through broadcast rights, advertising etc) - the wages/prize money must really be based on that to make any commercial sense (these are businesses after all). That's why premiership soccer players make more than first division soccer players, or rugby players.

ThinkProgress

Men and women are different. (Shocker)

Only delusional people or angry bitter feminist types challenge this simple fact of life.

Not sure why anyone would want men and women to be exactly the same?

DoYouEvenLift

They could compete in chess and some motorsports and shooting etc. Just no physical sports.


Glad to see there aren't delusional morons on here making outlandish suggestions that I've seen made elsewhere like have some female American football players compete with the men at the NFL level, that'd basically be manslaughter since some players are >6'5 300lbs.

razorblunt

I wouldn't mind seeing a golf tournament where the Ladies tees are in use. Probably wouldn't work on most of the US courses which are ridiculously long but somewhere like St Andrews would make things interesting.

The Backwards Man

There's a game with a crowd of wimmins kicking a ball around a field on tonight.


And later on the Woman's World Cup starts too. :P

Kilboor

DoYouEvenLift wrote: »

They could compete in chess and some motorsports and shooting etc. Just no physical sports.


Glad to see there aren't delusional morons on here making outlandish suggestions that I've seen made elsewhere like have some female American football players compete with the men at the NFL level, that'd basically be manslaughter since some players are >6'5 300lbs.

They do compete in chess I believe, but mens brains are wired in a way that makes them better at the game

DEFTLEFTHAND

There's a few instances of it. Ladies world champ Reanne Evans was invited to play in the mens World Snooker Championship this year, she lost in the first round of qualifying. Anna Dobromyslova was given a card on the PDC tour a few years back, when she wasn't making any headway she dropped back to ladies darts in the BDO. Anika Sorestam and Michelle Wie have both been invited to play in mens golf tournaments, both missing the cut each time.