Finally: Mixed gender sports in Palaro

For the first time in the history of Philippine sports and Philippine volleyball, mixed-gender competition was held at the Palarong Pambansa in Dumaguete City last week for both elementary and high school students. It was, according to Dr Perry Mequi, former chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission, bronze medalist in the 4 x 400 relay in the 1958 Asian Games  and one of the prime advocates of gender equity in sports, an eye-opener for skeptics.

This ground-breaking initiative proved to be exciting, challenging and fun-filled for both the players and the Palaro administrators who will earn unique places in the history of Philippine sports in general and Philippine school sports in particular for daring to explore the unknown.

Mequi, Dean of the College of Physical Education in Foundation University (FU), and your columnist had long been advocating this shift in mindset in order to put more life to the principle of equal access to sports and gender equity. Mixed-gender sports has boys and girls competing against each other and with each other by having opposing teams field boys and girls at the same time. The Palarong Pambansa 2013 in Negros Oriental had one volleyball squad with boys and girls going up against another team across the net also with boys and girls.

A lot of credit goes to DepEd Secretary Br Armin Luistro, FSC, who readily took on the challenge to blaze the trail in mixed-gender sports. This enlightened approach will definitely assume even greater proportions once the Presidential Proclamation on the Decade of Children’s Right to Play is issued. The implementation of the Proclamation will trigger further the changing of mindsets and practices towards gender equity, children’s and youth sports and arriving at a truly sports for all program for the country.

Mequi, who has introduced radical but meaningful initiatives in both FU’s sports and wellness program and curriculum and assisted the city’s attempts at harnessing community involvement in sports by combining wellness and respect for the environment, adds that the Palaro innovation is one of the many steps to be taking in counteracting the abuse of social media. Mequi rues that social media denies face-to-face interaction among young people fostered by texting, email, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

Our basic belief is we must utilize sport both for social interaction and health and wellness as an alternative to the sedentary lifestyle that computers, tablets, cellphones and other electronic gadgets engender.

What better way is there to interact than to let both boys and girls interact in sport as early as the elementary years?

By interacting with each other at an early age, boys and girls get to know each other’s unique needs and personalities at an early stage and get to appreciate diversity early in life.

Boys and girls react in different ways and there are indeed differences in their reactions in various fields like sports. In chapter eight (Boys and Girls: Similarities and Differences in Sports) of the book “Whose game is it anyway?”, authors Richard D. Ginsburg, Stephen Durant and Amy Baltzell quote one cross-country coach who stated, “I can really ride the boys in practice. I can raise my voice if necessary, but if I do the same thing with the girls’ squad, they take it personally and sometimes give up.” The three authors quote a coach of a girls’ basketball team, “Gee, girls just play much better team ball. They are unselfish. My boys’ team has such a hard time playing together. They’re just interested in their individual performance.”

While the authors state that it is unwise to generalize about the differences between boys and girls using some anecdotes without any scientific analysis, it can be said that often, preadolescent boys and girls get involved in sports to have fun. They add these kids don’t tend to worry about their ability to excel because they are happily caught up in moving their bodies and being with their friends. Confidence becomes an issue when parents, coaches or an older sibling promotes the attitude that only winning counts. This teaches children that only when they win do they matter as human beings.

The authors stress that unfortunately such an attitude is now striking children at earlier phases in their development. When the kids get the message that sports involvement requires trying to beat our friends and determine whether their parents or coach will find them worthy of attention, trouble hits.

By introducing mixed-gender sports, the country follows the path created during the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympic Games (YOG) when the swimming events in the 4 X 100 freestyle relay and the 4 X 100 medley relay featured mixed-gender competitions. Mixed –gender sports was one of the reasons why the U.S. opted to participate in the YOG despite what they said was the lack of top caliber opposition and the fact the YOG overlapped with the Pan American Games. The Philippines will therefore not be wanting in company and support when, it pursues, as it should, efforts to promote the principle that promotes inclusion.