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Original poster

Mixed gender race at sports day

297 replies

littlegreydevil · 12/07/2023 16:14

Hi, long time lurker but first post and I’m aware I am stepping in with a particularly hot topic but here goes…
Our primary school organised its annual sports day this week and for unknown reasons, decided to mix boys and girls for the sprints. Teams are usually mixed genders for the less competitive activities like the sack race, egg and spoon race, etc. but this is the first time they’ve mixed genders for the competitive races. Of course this has resulted in only 2 girls making the podium across all the year groups and both “only” hitting third place.
I’m really bothered by this as I thought sports day was about celebrating sporting achievements and encouraging kids to enjoy sports (I know this can be disputed but that’s a whole other debate) and today, I have watched a ream of very sporty, very talented female runners lose to their male counterparts and I can’t see how that fits in the ethos of sports day.
I am planning to speak to the head to question their motives in making this odd decision.
imo sport is gendered for a reason and it should be about equity rather than equality. You might be able to argue that younger age groups could be mixed as supposedly their physical ability is the same up to age 7 or 8 (need to find the references for this) but from year 2 onwards, it doesn’t work anymore. Girls start going through puberty from as young as 9 so by that point, it should be gendered.
For full transparency, I have 2 children, a boy and a girl, neither of which is talented in athletics (they are very good in other sports) and usually come in at a solid bottom 3rd place so this is not about my kids being slighted.
If you were me, what questions would you ask from the head and, seeing as they have a track record of being quite obstinate, what arguments would you produce?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
8
ErrolTheDragon · 12/07/2023 17:33

Why do we want to split children into two groups?

Because physical abilities are bimodally distributed according to their sex. It's not 'us' splitting the children into two groups - they naturally are in two groups. Humans are dimorphic and as the studies cited show, this is apparent from childhood.

What's 'regressive' is ignoring this fact to the disadvantage of girls.

Helleofabore · 12/07/2023 17:35

Here is another way to look at it.

By encouraging girls and boys to play sport at school, and fairness is part of that so that girls do actually participate, it helps with their studies. It is not a great study, but at least it is a start.

https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2022/02/11/sport-during-school-linked-to--academic-performance.html

Key findings from the review
The researchers found:

  • Sport participation had a small positive effect on academic performance.
  • Sport participation during school hours was even more beneficial for academic performance, compared to sport outside school hours.
  • Sport participation was most beneficial for academic performance when at a moderate dose (one-to-two hours/week), compared with no sport or at a high dose (more than three hours/week).
  • Sport participation was more beneficial for mathematics and science grades, compared to English and language grades.

Sport during school linked to academic performance

https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2022/02/11/sport-during-school-linked-to--academic-performance.html

Helleofabore · 12/07/2023 17:37

Daffodil92 · 12/07/2023 17:25

Come on. It’s a primary school sports day, not the olympics.

Where do you think future Olympians start?

I had a cousin who came up through school sports who reached national level at Primary school level.

She competed because she got picked for representing her school first.

Grandana · 12/07/2023 17:39

It's not fine in primary. We saw so many girls turn away from sport in Y6. Not all of them, but the few who do keep going don't mean there's no problem.

DuesToTheDirt · 12/07/2023 17:39

I won't comment on the running, but at my kids' sports day a few years ago they got points at various stations in a loop around the field. These included skipping with a rope, shooting goals etc. At most stations they counted their own totals. It was very noticeable that the proficiency at the different stations was stereotyped by sex, whether due to ability or practice - the girls did better at skipping and the boys did better at scoring goals. the boys were also more likely to cheat and report their skipping total as higher than it was (Results were by class, not individual, so I don't know if the overall results were affected).

justanothermumsy · 12/07/2023 17:39

This is totally the norm for a primary school. Puberty has made no difference to them and it's a lovely inclusive thing for them to do. It's random that the girls lost out this time. Plus it's sex not gender. And also it's not the Olympics it's primary school

Helleofabore · 12/07/2023 17:44

justanothermumsy · 12/07/2023 17:39

This is totally the norm for a primary school. Puberty has made no difference to them and it's a lovely inclusive thing for them to do. It's random that the girls lost out this time. Plus it's sex not gender. And also it's not the Olympics it's primary school

You are right that it is sex and not gender. But you are incorrect in that it makes no difference at that age. The studies are showing that even from 6 years old boys have a physical advantage over girls.

costacoughee · 12/07/2023 17:46

Our primary has had sports day today and it was not mixed

Point out to the HT that this gives girls the message boys are superior (after all they won all the races) Is this a message they want to give?

I suspect they are way down the ideological shit path already. Teacher seem to buy into it must readily

almostoverthehill · 12/07/2023 17:46

Primary school sports day should be be fun it’s not the Olympics!

MargaretThursday · 12/07/2023 17:49

My experience from doing not athletics but another sport it isn't so much the boys being noticeably better, so much as they're more competitive.
So during the practice they're much of a muchness.
Then you do the real thing and suddenly the boys seem to be much better.

So maybe when they were practicing, there wasn't much between them, but then the real thing there was iyswim.

Pallisers · 12/07/2023 17:50

It's random that the girls lost out this time.

Yeah, next year, OP, there will be 19 girls on the podium and 3 boys. Honestly. Just wait.

KnickerlessParsons · 12/07/2023 17:52

Many national and international sporting governing bodies are now agreeing that the categories should be based on natal sex, and not some future self decided "gender", so why does the school think they know better?🤷🏼‍♀️

ErrolTheDragon · 12/07/2023 17:52

MargaretThursday · 12/07/2023 17:49

My experience from doing not athletics but another sport it isn't so much the boys being noticeably better, so much as they're more competitive.
So during the practice they're much of a muchness.
Then you do the real thing and suddenly the boys seem to be much better.

So maybe when they were practicing, there wasn't much between them, but then the real thing there was iyswim.

Or maybe the girls actually were trying hard in the practices while the boys were phoning it in? That would fit better with what tends to be the case in schoolwork I'd have thought.

KnickerlessParsons · 12/07/2023 17:52

The word "natal" is superfluous in my post above. Please ignore 😳

Helleofabore · 12/07/2023 17:53

Primary school sports days should be 'fun' and not the 'Olympics'?

Right. So have a mixture of sports and activities. Why do sprints if you are doing them mixed sex and it is not fair to girls?

But why have events that it is unlikely that the girls win? What message are you now sending your girls?

That they shouldn't expect to win because they just aren't good enough to beat the boys? That the girls should be expected to beat the boys because somebody said that 'puberty hasn't hit yet, they will be alright!", when the evidence is very much showing that boys have a physical advantage.

But, yeah..... the girls shouldn't care.... just a bit of fun, eh!

What an eye opening thread!

ErrolTheDragon · 12/07/2023 17:55

almostoverthehill · 12/07/2023 17:46

Primary school sports day should be be fun it’s not the Olympics!

Equally fun for both sexes.

Having separate races doesn't make it less fun.

Museya15 · 12/07/2023 17:56

My tiny for her age daughter was put in with 4 boys for her group races, lost every single one, came last in all. Cried her eyes out later at bedtime but showed no disappointment at the time.

Weal · 12/07/2023 17:56

“Why do we want to split children into two groups? “

^We don’t. Biological reality does.

My kids primary does mix sex races but I’ve not noticed a difference in podium places. However in someways I think why not separate by sex from early on given they will have to separate in secondary anyway and towards the end of primary you can see differences.

costacoughee · 12/07/2023 17:57

almostoverthehill · 12/07/2023 17:46

Primary school sports day should be be fun it’s not the Olympics!

What's fun about being last behind a lot of bigger, taller boys?

AutieNOT0tie · 12/07/2023 17:57

I've been attending sports day at our school for 20 years. It's always been mixed gender.

dcbc1234 · 12/07/2023 17:58

I expect your school has been 'stonewalled'.

Helleofabore · 12/07/2023 17:58

This also disadvantages girls who have early puberties. Because they then are more at risk of injuries, particularly ligament injuries from trying to compete against boys at specific times of the month. Plus their cycle will impact their performance on specific times of the month too.

But... no worries.... all just a bit of fun, innit.

GoodChat · 12/07/2023 17:59

lanthanum · 12/07/2023 16:32

Possibly they didn't want to have to run a "non-binary" race as well. If that's the problem, perhaps the solution is to have mixed races, but awards for fastest two boys and fastest two girls.

Then where would you place a non-binary child who finished in the top 4?

Hypothetically, of course!

nosyupnorth · 12/07/2023 17:59

Mixed in primary school is fine and normal and ime generally produces a balanced mix of winners. Girls placing third in a few events on one day in one school doesn't meant those events were unfair.

There are legitimate considerations to be made about sex seperation and sporting fairness in adolescent and adult competitions but to get all wound up about it for young children isn't some feminist victory, all you're doing is teaching girls that even at an age where they are physically equal and have every chance at winning they should settle for being segregated off into some lesser caterogy with lowered expectations just because they're girls.