Is Title IX out of step with girls?

The folks at Marshfield HS are wondering what hit them. They thought they were offering equal athletic opportunities to all their students, but the Title IX Proportionality Police don't agree. Read more here.

The pursuit of women's rights implies respect for women's choices. If some girls want to dance, should the federal government invalidate their choice? Must every female athlete participate in one of the us-against-them confrontations that men and boys traditionally have classified as 'sports"?

Maybe Title IX, which has achieved so much for women's rights, needs to be brought into step with young women.

Quote of the Day

A lot of parents pack up their troubles
and send them off to summer camp.



Raymond Duncan

Polls

Results from the recent poll on ASCA membership:

Does ASCA membership meet your needs?

34% - Rarely
29% - Never
19% - Sometimes
9% - Absolutely
8% - Most of the time
2% - What's ASCA?

The new poll asks the same question about membership in the high school coaching association, NISCA.

Quote of the Day

You can't use tact with a Congressman!
A Congressman is a hog! You must take
a stick and hit him in the snout!



Henry Brooks Adams

Quote of the Day

If one does not know to which port
one is sailing, no wind is favorable.



Seneca

Quote of the Day

I would rather wake up in the middle
of nowhere than in any city on earth.



Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen

Quote of the Day

You must lose a fly to catch a trout.



George Herbert

Quote of the Day

The 'how' thinker gets problems solved effectively
because he wastes no time with futile 'ifs'.



Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

Title IX: Over the Hill at 39

Read an article by Carrie Lukas over at the Independent Women's Forum here.

As IWF has written before, the problem has rested in how Title IX's been enforced. Colleges have three ways that they can prove that there are in compliance with Title IX, but the only sure fire way to avoid a lawsuit is to make sure that the gender breakdown of the school's athletes matches the gender breakdown of the entire student body. That's become increasingly difficult at many schools since women account for about 6 out of every 10 undergrads.

Schools that don't have the money to start new teams for girls, or simply can't recruit enough women to join existing teams, have instead eliminated men's teams to make the numbers work. That means that thousands of would be male athletes have denied the opportunity to play sports because of Title IX.

Quote of the Day

Most women set out to try to change a man, and
when they have changed him they don't like him.



Maria Magdalene "Marlene" Dietrich

ASCA Poll Update

I'm a bit surprised by the vote distribution in the current poll. I honestly thought it would go a bit more favorably for the ASCA folks than it has.

Are there things they could do better? Of course!

Doesn't that go for just about any organization, though?

In addition to the great World Clinic they put on each year, I like ASCA's print and website info.

If you can't make it to the clinic, the Yearbook is excellent.

The Job Service link is useful, as are the Workout Wednesday and Free Stuff links.

Think about it: Where else can you find these valuable coaching resources?

How does that Swedish proverb go?

Don't throw away the old bucket until you know whether the new one holds water.

p.s. I am a member of ASCA, but am in no way being compensated for this or any other posts/links.

Quote of the Day

The beautiful thing about learning is
nobody can take it away from you.



Riley "B.B." King

Another Inductee

Time for another induction ceremony for the Comment Hall of Fame. Read about the original member, Deer Slayer, here.

Anonymous hit the nail on the head this morning.

From Colorado Time Systems Responds:

At 10:37 AM, Anonymous said…
The reality is, the auto take off system doesn't need oversight. The auto take off system should be the oversight for the relay take off judges.

Exactly! The automatic relay take-off system was supposed to correct human error. If an incorrect call is made, use the computer to save the relay.

Quote of the Day

I've seen - both in myself and my competitors -
how satisfaction can lead to a lack of vigilance,
then to mistakes and missed opportunities.



Garry Kimovich Weinstein, a.k.a. Garry Kasparov

Colorado Time Systems Responds

Earlier this month, Brent Rutemiller called for swimming organizations to suspend use of automatic relay take-off judging systems.

Read a response from Colorado Time Systems here.

We understand that fail safe systems need to be implemented and that's why an employee of Colorado Time Systems told the NCAA that they should use a minimum of a semi-high speed video camera to provide backup for the RJPs. A number of the major USA Swimming meets and NCAA meets are using relay judging and some are also currently using video cameras with a speed of about 100 frames per second.

So, why in the world would we continue using these systems without either a human element or a video back-up?

Colorado Time Systems agrees that fail safe systems need to be implemented in those rare cases that technology malfunctions. However, to completely eliminate RJPs would be hindering the advancement of the sport and opening the door to even more controversy if humans took over.

It might also hinder revenue growth for companies selling platforms...

Quote of the Day

Fighting spirit one must have. Even if a man
lacks some of the other qualifications, he
can often make up for it in fighting spirit.



Brigadier General Robin Olds

Quote of the Day

When you put something positive into the world,
something positive comes back to you.



Clarence Anicholas Clemons, Jr.

Quote of the Day

I'm not a dictator. It's just
that I have a grumpy face.



Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte

Quote of the Day

Once a guy starts wearing silk
pajamas it's hard to get up early.



George Edward "Eddie" Arcaro

Quote of the Day

I hope our wisdom will grow with our
power, and teach us that the less we
use our power the greater it will be.



Thomas Jefferson

UIL Swim/Dive Board Meeting Minutes

Thanks to a couple of readers for this heads up.

The board meeting minutes are here.

Q. Update on the NF Rules Committee Meeting (Traci Neely)

Traci passed out minutes from the NFHS Rules Committee meeting she attended.

Relay protocol for state: Frank sending it in writing for posting on Swim page (arbiter)

Rule 6: Redefined in the rules that the state association will be able to support people like Frank
making decisions for the meet and Gloria’s preparation of the files for meets.

It usually takes 2-5 years to make a rule change at the national level so there will be discussion on relay protocol for a few more meetings at the nation level.

Swimmers with disabilities was another issue of discussion at the national meeting

The Swimming division will have preseason board meeting and will have 2 diving members at that time.

Discussion by board: If relay take off pads are used there should also be two people. Will take two out of three (pads, human, human)

**Protocol should be supplied to the UIL for posting on the swim page. (Frank writing up and sending to the group. Will then be posted on the site AND emailed to the officials)

It looks like things are moving in the right direction. Wording of any new rule will be interesting.

The UIL Legislative Council was to have met Tuesday. Anyone have any news on that meeting?

p.s. Lots of talk about money, including this motion (which passed):

Funds left from 10-11 season from TISCA ~3500.00 be put in the UIL Swim general fund.

Quote of the Day

As long as people will accept crap, it will
be financially profitable to dispense it.



Richard Alva "Dick" Cavett

If I'm reading this correctly...

...schools without football lose the least?

How can that be? Athletic directors keep telling us how important it is to keep pumping resources into that money-maker Mama Boucher calls foosball. They wouldn't be doing that if it meant wasting millions of dollars, would they?

Turns out there are only twenty-two (22) institutions that generate enough revenue to offset expenses. That's right, twenty-two. Think of all the D-I men's swim programs that have gone extinct because of "budget" issues.

The median net surplus at those 22 institutions was about $7.4 million (ranging from $211,000 to $41.9 million), compared with the median net deficit for the remaining Football Bowl Subdivision schools of about $11.3 million. That gap – almost $19 million – is significantly higher than the $15.6 million separation in 2009.

Read more here.

We've been told that sports like wrestling and men's swimming are being cut due to budget problems. Of course, football generates income and is therefore immune to cuts, right?

Could there be another reason "non-revenue" sports are being cut?

Hint: Look between Titles VIII and X...

Quote of the Day

Question how much freedom your path
affords you. Be utterly ruthless about
it. It's your freedom that will get
you to where you want to go.



Hugh MacLeod

Top Five High School Sports Stories

The Dallas Morning News highlighted five high school sports stories from the 2010-11 school year.

Care to take a guess what one of them was?

Electronic swim timers fail

At the UIL state swim meet in February, the Southlake Carroll girls team lost the 5A title when its 400-yard freestyle relay was disqualified for an early exchange. Video footage showed that the swimmer didn’t leave early, and officials watching the lane ruled that the exchange was good.

But the electronic timing system ruled that it wasn’t legal, and its ruling stood, despite its imperfections. At the state meet, the timing systems that calculate finishes and splits and relay exchanges malfunctioned at least 28 times. A Highland Park relay team was also disqualified for an exchange that looked legal in photographs.

“It’s not going to go away if we don’t sit there and solve the problem,” Highland Park swim coach Jesse Cole said. “Unfortunately, a couple of teams have had to take some big hits to make that happen.”

Quote of the Day

You might as well fall flat on your
face as lean over too far backward.



James Grover Thurber

Quote of the Day

The sad truth is that excellence
makes people nervous.



Shana Alexander

Quote of the Day

We play the hands of cards life gives us. And
the worst hands can make us the best players.



David "Doc" Searls

Mid-Week Haul

In addition to helping this guy land a hammerhead the other day,



Leon also pulled in this ling:



Here's the ling along with some king fish, Spanish mackerel, and a jack:

Quote of the Day

Never underestimate the determination
of a kid who is time rich and cash poor.



Cory Doctorow

Proportionality 101

Pay attention, freshmen, I'm fixin' ta learn ya.

Today we'll look into the evils of proportionality.

As Helen Boucher once said, "Proportionality is the tool of the devil!"

The story:

Your institution of higher learning has a golf team. This year, no women opted to play on the team.

The athletic department noticed that there were a higher percentage of women attending school than there were playing sports.

Fearing a Title IX lawsuit, the department decided to drop a men's team.

Once the spring semester ended, the athletic department dumped golf and revived men's and women's tennis.

Don't believe it? Read more here.

Pera said he spent the past week arranging transfers for his younger players, including nonstarters and redshirts.

"That's the main thing, get these kids an opportunity," said Pera, the 1974 state champion while at San Jose City College and a '77 All-American at San Jose State. "Who knows? Maybe something pops and they move forward from there."

Your homework:

What will happen next year if no women want to play tennis?

Cluedo

Get the shirt here.

Quote of the Day

Man is the only creature who
refuses to be what he is.



Albert Camus

Background Check

Quote of the Day

Education is when you read the fine print.
Experience is what you get if you don't.



Peter "Pete" Seeger

Quote of the Day

I broke his hand on my head
and he was out eight weeks.



Donals Stewart "Grapes" Cherry

Quote of the Day

Every year we find something new, we go faster,
and that's what Formula One is about.



Michael Schumacher

Quote of the Day

We have asked government to do more for us,
and all the government asks for in return
is a little bit more of our liberty.



Kenneth Thomas "Ken" Cuccinelli II

Quote of the Day

Modesty in an actor is as fake
as passion in a call girl.



John Herbert "Jackie" Gleason

Quote of the Day

Somebody once said I had a face for
radio and a voice for newspapers.



Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer

Dallas Morning News Updates

On his Dallas Morning News high school sports blog, Mark Dent has posted a short update on the automatic relay take-off judging issue. Read it here.

He's included links in case you need to catch up on the story.

Quote of the Day

Everyone wants to be on a winning team,
but no one wants to come to practice.



Robert Montgomery "Bob" Knight

STOP THE MADNESS!!

I think that's what Swimming World Editor Brent Rutemiller is trying to say. He's calling for the suspension of electronic relay take-off platform use. Read more here.

Around 2007, when manufacturers convinced officials that relay takeoff platforms could measure the exchanges accurately and efficiently—without the need for human observation and manpower—governing bodies accepted the manufacturers' claims, thinking that the technology was fail-safe.

Now, when automatic judging equipment is in use, the system race printout provides the only information to judge relay exchanges when a differential is between -0.09 and +0.09 seconds. Human input is explicitly not considered within this range, unless officially approved integrated back-up timing cameras are in use, to challenge or confirm the automatic system's results. If there is a conflict between the cameras and the automatic equipment, then a referee will have to determine which of the two confirmation processes will be accepted.

In other words, if a championship meet uses electronic relay takeoff platforms and cannot afford expensive backup timing cameras, the electronic printout makes the final call every time.

Despite the claims of manufacturers, the automatic judging system is not fail-safe, as seen by a number of controversial disqualifications both at the NCAA and high school levels. First-hand human observation and common sense video have repeatedly shown that significant errors in the automatic system occur.

Want a quick summary?

Until human judgment is put back in the process for judging relay takeoffs, the use of automatic judging equipment must be suspended.

We can afford this:

Outgoing Rutgers president Richard McCormick will earn $335,000 annually to teach history at the university. Read more here.

The agreement, approved by the Rutgers Board of Governors, said if McCormick should ever return to teaching at Rutgers his salary could be "no less" than the highest paid faculty member on campus. So, when McCormick announced he was stepping down to become a professor again, the university was legally obligated to pay him more than Norman Samuels, the former Rutgers-Newark provost now earning $320,000 a year as a political science professor.

We can also afford this:


Unfortunately, we can't afford to keep men's collegiate swimming.

Looks like they're using the Barone Sanitation business model...

Quote of the Day

I want to be a Texan 24 hours a day.



James Byron Dean

Quote of the Day

I never lose sight of the fact
that just being is fun.



Katharine Houghton Hepburn