It continued to make no sense for years and years. I don't know when it happened, but I would guess it was only in that last 5-10 years that women began to compete in the pole vault. Anybody know when?

This all comes from watching a bit of the women's heptathalon on CBC french telly this afternoon. And pole-vaulting is still very cool.

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I was blown away by such a fine display of strategic running. The winner who is 19 waited and then broke from the leader and kicked the last lap in under 60 seconds after 6 miles.

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I was really shocked last year in the UK when some male FIFA rep (or something like that) commented that female football players should wear more feminine, revealing uniforms so that people wou ld be more interested in watching. Then again, I also found it surprising how few women played football and the common perception that it's too rough of a sport for women.

I remember being incredibly angry in highschool when we in the girls gym class had to do gymnastics while the guys played rugby and aerobics while they played lacrosse. When I complained, I was told it was board policy and to shut-up about it.

Edited to add: Actually, my exclusion from sports because of my gender definitely had a lot to do with my awakening as a feminist. I didn't have any strong, feminist women in my life - only anger at being excluded from tackle football or having to play softball instead of hardball because I'm a girl. And this was long before puberty created any differences between my playing and the boys...for as long as I can remember I felt a strong feeling of injustice and anger over it all.

[ 07 August 2005: Message edited by: shaolin ]

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Originally posted by shaolin:

I remember being incredibly angry in highschool when we in the girls gym class had to do gymnastics while the guys played rugby and aerobics while they played lacrosse. When I complained, I was told it was board policy and to shut-up about it.

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Hey, does anyone know the only Olympic sport where men and women compete on equal terms?

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That's interesting, I remember when I took gym in highschool, which is going to be 5 years ago this school year, they had different sport curriculums for the all girl, coed, and all guy gym classes. The all girl classes were the only ones that got to play rubgy in gym, neither the coed or male classes did. There were a few other differences, that I don't remember, but that one surprised me.

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We didn't have an option of a co-ed gym class. It was always the girls in one class, guys in the other. Moreover, we had two gyms: one a nice, big, modernish thing and the other a small little shitty gym with a warped floor and faulty basketball nets. Guess who got the small gym...

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Originally posted by skdadl:
Isn't it the one where people ski and shoot and do other things all at one go? Is that the pentathlon?

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Originally posted by N.Beltov:
The organizers of women's hockey have probably been able to prohibit the self-evident stupidity of fighting from the start. Mind you, if my niece's hockey league is any guide, there's still lots of rough stuff and players will still take a run at each other if, in their opinion, someone is playing too chippy with the stick, etc. Girls will be girls. Ha ha.

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The organizers of women's hockey have probably been able to prohibit the self-evident stupidity of fighting from the start.

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I kinda thought that this was the answer (an historical one). Most of the literature suggests as much. But, there seems to be a measure of collegiality in professional women's hockey that no longer exists in men's hockey. It seems odd that men are taught that controlling the physical aspect of the game leads to victory, but in many other leagues and women's hockey, this does not seem to be the case.

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BleedingHeart: My sons (boys) played against all girl teams or mixed teams and girls are definitely better and meaner body-checkers.

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Why is that? Are they better coached? I wonder if that has anything to do with the apparent fact that, at a certain age and for a short time, girls grow faster than boys and the biggest girls are as big or bigger than the biggest boys?

The increasing popularity of women's hockey might have a very good influence on men's hockey in the long run. I mean here that if women's hockey can be successful and popular without fighting, then men's hockey might be influenced in a positive way. Of course the ugly traditions of men's hockey might just as much splash over and influence the other way.

Of course as the times have changed and athletes started wearing more and more clothes more and more women started to compete.

I competed in track and field over a 30 year period and was an official for some of that - we never questioned the reality of women NOT competing in certain events.

What about womens Triple Jump ?

One can also draw a paralell to athletes with a disability and their acceptance in to the world of non disabled athletics. It has taken years for that to happen. Wheelchair athletes have had exhibition status at the Olympics since 1984 and they still don't receive the same medals as all the other Olympic athletes.

The IOC and corresponding IAAF are two of the most conservative sports bodies on the planet, the average age is about 75. So if theings move forward at all they move very slowly.

[ 08 August 2005: Message edited by: rockerbiff ]

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Originally posted by skdadl:

Hey, does anyone know the only Olympic sport where men and women compete on equal terms?

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[ 08 August 2005: Message edited by: rockerbiff ]

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What about womens Triple Jump ?

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Originally posted by rockerbiff:
there are none

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