Equality in sport.......or not.

golfaddick

I'll probably get flamed for this but here goes.

There is currently a golf tournament going on in The Netherlands. Innovative as it mixes both men & women competing in the same competition, which is unusual for most sports  (all team sports are single sex after all). This is a proper European Tour Tournament so not some invitational or "just for jolly" event.

Although I'm an avid golfer I dont watch much women's golf (usually only watch it for the course they are playing as they often play courses I've played) and haven't been watching this weeks event because 1) Its in the Netherlands & so not played there  and 2) mixed events dont really do it for me.

So, to my point. I just switched channels whilst the Cricket were taking a drinks break to see this event was reaching its climax. Leader was 8 shots clear which in Golf is quite rare. Watched it for 5 mins to see that the leader was a woman and I had to watch it a bit longer to see her tee off, because I was hoping that my suspicions would be unfounded. But no, her (male) playing partner teed off on the par 5 as normal (533 yards) whilst she was standing 100 yards ahead & then teed off on the ladies tee, still playing it as a par 5 at 430 yards.

I mean wtf  ??? 

MrOneLung

Yeah I am sure Michelle Wie when she played some mens events played off same tees as the men 

Gribbo

Are they trusted to drive the buggy n all?????

PS - Didn't know you were into your golf @golfaddick?

Karim_myBagheri

Mate you dont wanna know what happens in tennis tournaments. 

Karim_myBagheri

Not only do they get paid the same and the game is shorter but also the net is smaller

SouthWest_Addicks

True equality only exists in non physical activity ‘Sports’. Darts is the most true equality sport out there. Don’t follow Darts enough to know whether correct, but assume that a women could train to be the best in the world and not be impossible due to physical restrains.

Lincsaddick

 there may be equal pay, equal 'rights', equal media exposure (with the BBC there is a lot of women's and not much men's sport on the TV) .. I enjoy watching women's tennis (best of 3 of course, not 5) and athletics, however, I would NOT pay or even cross the proverbial road to watch a women's cricket, rugby or football match as i m o they are all just pale  imitations of the men's game, fist pumping, knee sliding and all .. 

golfaddick

Karim_myBagheri said:

Not only do they get paid the same and the game is shorter but also the net is smaller

But they're not playing each other. 

If Williams was playing Murray & she was allowed to serve 5 yards further forward & not restricted to the service lines then I'm sure something would be said.

Lincsaddick

Karim_myBagheri said:

Not only do they get paid the same and the game is shorter but also the net is smaller

errr not so, the tennis net height is the same for both genders ..  I think there is a different height for volley ball 

Gribbo

SouthWest_Addicks said:

True equality only exists in non physical activity ‘Sports’. Darts is the most true equality sport out there. Don’t follow Darts enough to know whether correct, but assume that a women could train to be the best in the world and not be impossible due to physical restrains.

Pretty sure women are allowed to qualify for some of the top snooker tournaments?

charente addick

I assume all players knew what they were signing up for so don’t see it as much of an issue for a one off. I’m more angry about the LIV golf to be honest.

Stig

golfaddick said:

...all team sports are single sex after all...

Apart from Tennis, as mentioned above, there are mixed relays in Athletics and Swimming. Road Cycling has a mixed time trial whilst Mountain Biking has a mixed relay. Dodgeball, softball, tag ruby and wheelchair rugby all have mixed events. Sailing has historically had lots of mixed events whilst the various 'synchronised' sports thrive on their mixed element.

I suspect what you might have meant was 'all the team sports I watch are single sex'.

golfaddick

charente addick said:

I assume all players knew what they were signing up for so don’t see it as much of an issue for a one off. I’m more angry about the LIV golf to be honest.

I agree  about LIV but thats a totally different issue.

And yes, the golfers all knew the rules when signing up....and more fool them too. I wouldn't have done so, even if the winner got €135000.

SoundAsa£

One thing that pro clubs (who operate a women’s team), need to contemplate is the possibility that in the not too distant future women footballers ‘will undoubtedly’ attempt to get salary parity with the mens game.
Now that’s gonna be one hell of a mess……but sure as eggs are eggs there will be an attempt made to bring it about.
If I were a club owner, in some way or another, I would set about finding a way of distancing myself and the club from being held responsible for that eventuality.
The figures just wouldn’t stack up.
My sincere apologies to you ladies out there but it could lead to disaster if applied…….stranger things have happened.

SoundAsa£

.

SoundAsa£

Gribbo said:

SouthWest_Addicks said:

True equality only exists in non physical activity ‘Sports’. Darts is the most true equality sport out there. Don’t follow Darts enough to know whether correct, but assume that a women could train to be the best in the world and not be impossible due to physical restrains.

Pretty sure women are allowed to qualify for some of the top snooker tournaments?

Correct……but noticeably they haven’t.

charente addick

Laura Davies stating quite clearly on Sky that women wouldn’t be competitive off the men’s tees.

golfaddick

charente addick said:

Laura Davies stating quite clearly on Sky that women wouldn’t be competitive off the men’s tees.

Quite.

So they have a tournament where the women play off the ladies tees, which in a European Tour even will be 60-100 yards ahead of the men's tees. And then they compete for the same prize money.

And dont forget, this is a sport where if you take a drop an inch nearer the hole you can be disqualified. 

SuedeAdidas

A woman didn’t win it last year though. Maybe she was just too good this week?

Algarveaddick

What about transgender players?


*Puts down dog-whistle and grabs popcorn* 

MrOneLung

Ok just read the report and this is a mixed event that has been part of the tour since 1991. 

Leuth

Maybe the men should play off the ladies' tees. Make the greens smaller and turn it into a game of pure skill. Speed it up too. 

Algarveaddick

MrOneLung said:

Ok just read the report and this is a mixed event that has been part of the tour since 1991. 

Dinosaurs move very slowly? 

Stig

Leuth said:

Maybe the men should play off the ladies' tees. Make the greens smaller and turn it into a game of pure skill. Speed it up too. 

Lightning golf: you've got thirty seconds to sink the ball or you're out. Or better still, lightning golf-boxing: you've got 30 seconds to sink the ball or someone gives you a smack in the mooey. That would make it more interesting.

shirty5

SuedeAdidas said:

A woman didn’t win it last year though. Maybe she was just too good this week?

26 birdies and an eagle over 4 rounds and 14 shots better than the next woman on the final leaderboard would say that the young lady played superb golf.

The same event last year on the same course this years winner was 16 shots worse off than her score from this year 

Well played Linn Grant 

seth plum

I see horses don’t start with equal weights.
Is that a significant factor to inform this discussion?
Not that I am keen on horse racing, but acknowledge it.
I would say that other horse sports can be equal, also what about shooting and archery, bobsleigh, formula one, motorbikes?
There are probably other equipment based things that can be equal.
Skateboarding?

LenGlover

seth plum said:

I see horses don’t start with equal weights.
Is that a significant factor to inform this discussion?
Not that I am keen on horse racing, but acknowledge it.
I would say that other horse sports can be equal, also what about shooting and archery, bobsleigh, formula one, motorbikes?
There are probably other equipment based things that can be equal.
Skateboarding?

Talking of horse racing Rachael Blackmore and Hollie Doyle compete respectably with male jockeys.

Women also compete in bowls with men.

Katherine Rednall competed against the men in in world indoor bowls championships back in January.

sam3110

Stig said:

golfaddick said:

...all team sports are single sex after all...

Apart from Tennis, as mentioned above, there are mixed relays in Athletics and Swimming. Road Cycling has a mixed time trial whilst Mountain Biking has a mixed relay. Dodgeball, softball, tag ruby and wheelchair rugby all have mixed events. Sailing has historically had lots of mixed events whilst the various 'synchronised' sports thrive on their mixed element.

I suspect what you might have meant was 'all the team sports I watch are single sex'.

But in all of those you list above, they are mixed teams competing against mixed teams, which is slightly different to a women's tag rugby team taking on a men's tag rugby team, which I think it's what @golfaddick was getting at

SporadicAddick

The BBC is the bastion of inappropriate equivalence. The Today programme is particularly good. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve listened to the football updates, surprised that I didn’t realise I’d missed a thriller on Match Of The Day, only to be informed that Tracey scored a hat-trick.  

The rise of women’s football is remarkable and the quality has improved immeasurably, but it doesn’t have the equivalence yet of tennis or rowing or athletics or any number of sports where the woman’s game is genuinely comparable in terms of broad appeal. 

It’s a weird one, and maybe my perception and appreciation will increase over time.

seth plum

One mystery is why hasn’t there been a woman world chess champion yet.

sam3110

SporadicAddick said:

The BBC is the bastion of inappropriate equivalence. The Today programme is particularly good. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve listened to the football updates, surprised that I didn’t realise I’d missed a thriller on Match Of The Day, only to be informed that Tracey scored a hat-trick.  

The rise of women’s football is remarkable and the quality has improved immeasurably, but it doesn’t have the equivalence yet of tennis or rowing or athletics or any number of sports where the woman’s game is genuinely comparable in terms of broad appeal. 

It’s a weird one, and maybe my perception and appreciation will increase over time.

I don't think it will ever reach the level of appeal the men's game has. Certainly not in my lifetime anyway, and I'm only 31