There have been many debates, articles written and research found regarding the positives and negatives of mixed-gender sports. Whilst these arguments bring up the issue of genetics and hormones which leads to the statements of how men have an advantage over women physically. Though to an extent this is true and more so regarding specific sports such as weightlifting, it doesn’t mean that intergender sports can’t work to a certain degree.
Some sports have already adopted gender mixing, these sports include tennis, where a mixed doubles open was played in 2015 as well as badminton which has also featured mixed doubles in the competition. Other sports that have adopted mixed gender participation is Olympic figure skating and ice dancing which both have the pairs competition, the equestrian competitions also have included teams that include men and women as well as the bobsleigh recently giving their approval to mixed gender teams.
With this information it shows that there is certainly a starting point in place for mixed gender sports to grow. Olympic historian Bill Mallon has commented on the matter and stated that “The barriers are coming down.”
These changes in sports are becoming more common in youth level sports. For example, in the Youth Olympic Games, mixed relays have been included. Also, rugby has included the option at youth level, though backed by a strict set of guidelines which states that participants can only play in mixed gender teams till they’re 12 years old, and cannot then participate when they turn 15. This is due to health and safety reasons, however it’s a good start to get youth players comfortable with being in a mixed gender team, as it will help their teamwork skills and make them more comfortable as they could be in a mixed gender team in the future.
With regards to mixed gender coming to squash, it is a huge move that many players, coaches, and spectators will be interested to see implemented.
This decision comes after years of feedback not only from players, but coaches, captains and supporters of the sport. With this feedback, England Squash have announced that girls aged under 19 in all age groups will now be able to compete in inter-county boys’ competitions. The choice to implement mixed gender matches was also implemented in correlation with England Squash’s new programme that targets the development of a participant’s ability, not their gender.
England Squash also relayed important information to those interested in this matter, stating that the push for girls to be included in the Boys Inter-County competition was due to a couple of reasons, these being; There not being enough boys to complete a team, thus allowing girls to participate would fill that gap.
As well as girls being needed to complete a team, a county having a talented player who are girls can now field them which in turn will allow the county to play their strongest possible team which will include both genders.
Furthermore, England Squash have allowed this to work both ways, so if the male participants wanted to or were needed, they could play in the girls’ tournaments with no issue.
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