From britdisc-owner@csv.warwick.ac.uk Tue Apr 28 22:25:46 1998 Received: (from daemon@localhost) by pansy.csv.warwick.ac.uk (8.8.7/8.8.8) id WAA26265 for britdisc-outgoing; Tue, 28 Apr 1998 22:12:44 +0100 (BST) Received: from praseodumium (praseodumium.btinternet.com [194.73.73.82]) by pansy.csv.warwick.ac.uk (8.8.7/8.8.8) with SMTP id WAA26232 for <britdisc@csv.warwick.ac.uk>; Tue, 28 Apr 1998 22:12:41 +0100 (BST) From: laurapearce@btinternet.com Received: from mail.btinternet.com [195.99.62.232] by praseodumium with smtp (Exim 1.70 #1) id 0yUHfJ-0004Wr-00; Tue, 28 Apr 1998 22:11:50 +0100 X-Mailer: Microsoft Internet Mail and News for Macintosh - 1.1 (34) Subject: Women's Ultimate To: britdisc@csv.warwick.ac.uk Mime-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Message-Id: <E0yUHfJ-0004Wr-00@praseodumium> Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 22:11:50 +0100 Sender: owner-britdisc@warwick.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Just when it looked like the discussion on women's ultimate was about to get going, it seemed to die a very early death. In the hope of resurrecting it, I would like to put forward some points. Apologies for the length, but I believe this is an important issue that cannot be covered in a few lines. I hope this gives people something to think about and that the discussion can start again. There are naturally differences between the sexes, factors such as speed, strength and height (although NOT skills) which become more accentuated as Ultimate develops and becomes more competitive. The introduction of the Tour has given all teams the opportunity to be more competitive and this is not a privilege just to be enjoyed by the top teams. Few can argue against the fact that the men's game has and is getting stronger, but as this happens there is a danger the women's game will get left behind. For female Ultimate players (in general), there are only two options which would improve the standard of women and the women's game: 1. To split some or all of Ultimate by sex eg. Tour, Nationals, 2. To play co-ed Ultimate, including at major events/tournaments where ALL teams have to adhere to a compulsory gender specification (eg. 5-2, 4-3 split) HOWEVER, as the situation in GB stands at present, the second option is not viable because as the level of competition is improving in the men's game, it is a step backwards in its development to then play co-ed ultimate instead. This leaves the first option. The only way to improve women's ultimate is to have more of it. This is happening to a certain extent with the women's tournaments that have taken place, but this is only the tip of the iceberg and more needs to be done. More points about separating ultimate by sex: 1. In the vast majority of sports, especially team sports, women do not compete against men in the same way as in ultimate in GB, because it is not realistic. When ultimate was first 'born', by its very nature it challenged the traditional beliefs associated with men and women and sport. It is true that the fact that women have the chance to play against men is one aspect of the sport that makes it different and arguably special. However, it is possible that this very aspect is holding back its development. In order for Ultimate to develop (assuming that this is the aim), it needs more people to take it seriously. It seems unlikely that non-players will take it seriously as a sport when there are aspects which make it come across as more of a recreation than anything else. 2. An argument put forward for women to play 'open' ultimate is that they can push themselves harder against men or that there is not enough women's competition. If the women's game was stronger, it would not only mean increased competition for existing players, but would also be more likely to attract sportswomen from other sports, which could then also raise the level. 3. While the national team is not the only consideration for women's ultimate, the national team (for any sport) can only be as good as the structure below it. The ideal scenario would be to get to a stage where a women's tour could be run alongside the men's tour and where women would choose to play in the women's tour, rather than in the men's/open tour. Unfortunately, this cannot be achieved overnight. 4. Playing in and against women's teams gives players more all-round experience of women's ultimate. It also improves players' confidence and ability at club level which they can then bring to international level (Worlds and World Clubs) rather than trying to improve confidence and ability at national level training or in games against 'open' teams. A women's tour could then also lead to Nationals and men's and women's nationals could be held alongside each other (this would require Nationals to be split into men's and women's). A women's tour would not benefit from having one stacked team, but using the last two women's tournaments as examples (indoor nationals and Spring into Action) the stronger, more experienced players have been spread over several teams and this would need to continue initially. It is important to stress that the success of having men's and women's ultimate would depend on running alongside each other and not separating them completely. 5. Mixed Ultimate need not be abolished and it is important that those players who want to play co-ed ultimate (as opposed to open) still have that opportunity. That might mean ensuring some tournaments outside Nationals and the tour are co-ed (ie 5-2/4-3 split). This gives women a chance to play on teams with men, but be generally playing against women. It is up to those people to put in the groundwork in organising co-ed events. To finish: More women's ultimate means better women's ultimate so lets try and find ways to make it happen. Laura Pearce