In case you missed it...

Just doing some post-weekend catching up on stories.

Dr. Alice Dreger wrote a very good piece in the NYT about the biology of sex--inspired, of course, by the story of Caster Semenya.

A 74-year old woman received a gold medal in judo--50 years after winning the YMCA competition. Rusty Kanokogi, who was legitimately part of a judo team when she was in her 20s and took the position of an injured teammate, was disqualified after she won the competition when officials discovered she was a woman. Apparently in her gear she appeared somewhat androgynous. The outrage she felt at being stripped of her gold medal fueled her activism on behalf of women's judo.

Netball is coming to the United States! What is netball, you ask? Well it is one of the most popular women's sports in the world. And it is going to be played at the Staples Center September 11. It will be an exhibition game prior to the Sparks last regular season home game. Here is a description of the sport: Netball is similar to basketball although there is no dribbling, the ball and basket are slightly smaller, there is no backboard and players are designated to certain areas of the court. The game is fast, fun and can be played by women, men, boys and girls of all ages, sizes and skill levels. Netball is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and a strong push is underway for it’s inclusion as a participation sport.
And apparently it is growing in the US after years and years of popularity in countries such as England and New Zealand.

Comments

Anonymous said…
And technically it was invented in the US anyway. If netball becomes more widely known in the country of its birth it might just change that bit of the narrative of American women's basketball history which criticizes the early female basketball rules that didn't allow women to run with the ball or travel the full court. Netball is those rules taken in different direction from those that basketball took and which therefore became a different sport. Not necessarily a lesser one. Katharine Sinderson
September 01, 2009 11:31 AM
Anonymous said…
Actually this event sounded really interesting. I would love to have been there. I just wish the person who wrote the press release understood the use of the apostrophe. KS
September 01, 2009 11:43 AM
Anonymous said…
Well I attended the event and it was truly an amazing night - not just a netball game but a full production with entertainment and celebrities.
It was also the largest ever live netball event ever - a demonstration in front of a crowd of over 14,000 people. The largest stadium where they play netball is in Melbourne and only holds 10,000 people. Now hopefully netball will get going with the Americans - good work Netball America.
September 14, 2009 11:45 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why trans athletes?

In a continuation of my last post in which I crib from GLAD lawyer Jennifer Levi's thoughtful social media posts, I offer here an explanation of why and how trans athletes became the target of the right. First, I keep seeing left of center posts/headlines/discourse that highlight how few trans girls/women are competing in sports. I don't love this framing. The underlying premise of inclusion and access does not have a tipping point.  Perhaps what it is meant to show is how the right is weaponizing this issue. This is both reasonable and true but not really very profound in its assessment. Look at some of the groups and people doing the work of banning trans athletes and you will also see agendas which are racist, and anti-Semitic, and Islamophobic, and anti-LGB as well.  If I have not already recommended Judith Butler's Who's Afraid of Gender? (though I am pretty sure I have), go read it. Some of what Butler says is what Levi echoed in a recent posting contemplating the...
Read more

The trans athlete ban: Part 3a: NCAA hypocrisy

 [this is cross-posted with Title IX Blog where I will also post something about the announcement that NIL is not subject to Title IX] The NCAA's new policy banning transwomen from competing in women's sports arrived (seemingly) minutes after the administration issued its executive order banning transwomen and girls from participating in school-sponsored sports teams.  The NCAA did include verbiage though which is worth looking at.  This is the synopsis at the top of the press release:  Men's category open to all eligible student-athletes, women's category restricted to student-athletes assigned female at birth, schools directed to foster welcoming environments on all campuses. But it is not accurate.  The women's category--for competition purposes--is open to people students assigned female at birth who are not taking testosterone. What we see here is a different standard. Testosterone levels matter only for some people. Taking it knocks you out of the women's...
Read more

The trans athlete ban, Part II: Capitulation

 The same day as the president signed the executive order banning transwomen in school-sponsored sports (which WILL have more widespread effects--i.e., recreational sports for youth and adults), the NCAA issued its own change on transwomen in collegiate sports which, for the purpose of "consistency" will also prohibit transwomen from competing in women's NCAA sports.  [I wrote about the effects the EO will have on Title IX compliance which is something that NCAA purports to care about, at Title IX Blog .] I would have been surprised (in a good way), if they had not. They give in to outside pressure regularly (with positive and negatives effects). But this policy is another example of their failure to protect athletes. [Lack of penalties for schools that shield predatory coaches and doctors as well as athletes who commit sexual assault; their exploitation of Black men who help them make their billions every March; their laughable adherence to an ahistorical definition of ...
Read more