Women's Sports

In the past year, one of the most exciting developments at Dartmouth has been the emergence of the women's athletic program. While not everyone is an avid fan of women's sports, anyone who is a Dartmouth fan should be proud of the fact that the College is doing its best to treat its women right.

It's encouraging to think that with only 350 girls on campus last year, the College was able to field six varsity teams: field hockey (2-2), basketball (1-3), squash (6-3), lacrosse (2-2), tennis (4-0) and skiing, a team that included members who also competed on the Eastern and National teams. (Many have expressed surprise that there were no swimming or track teams, but with too many teams, Dartmouth wouldn't have enough women to offer representative competition.)

Adding women's athletics to a department comprised of 97 per cent male staff wasn't quite as easy as adding women to an English or math class. Without a lot of effort and cooperation by all concerned, it would never have worked. Extra knowledge and time was required by coaches. Years of traditional practice times and use of facilities had to be altered; it wasn't easy to find space and coaches for six new teams to practice and train in facilities that already were crowded. But we managed. In sports where there weren't enough women for an intercollegiate team, the women were allowed to practice with the men so that they might keep their interest and eventually have their own team. Money was a big factor. Equipment, travel and officials had to be covered, and Dartmouth was one of the few colleges which didn't skimp in this aspect.

It's clear that the success of the first year can be attributed to a number of people. First, the administration and Trustees of the College had the wisdom to allow the program to proceed. Second, the members of the Athletic Council cooperated fully to make the transition as smooth as possible. Third, the students. The women who came out for teams were enthusiastic, energetic and dedicated to a greater degree than any other group of students I've dealt with. This feeling was encouraged by the men of Dartmouth who were intelligent and realistic enough to see that it wasn't going to hurt to have their women keep in shape.

The objective of the second year of the women's athletic program will be to develop quality of teams rather than quantity. Twice as many girls does not mean twice as many teams, but certainly the existing teams will have greatly expanded schedules. A gymnastics schedule has been arranged this winter and a women's crew will compete at Wesleyan this fall, pending continued interest of the girls who were active last year. Additional teams and events will grow as interest from students dictates the need.

The women's coaching staff will double, meaning that there will be two full-time coaches rather than one. Chris Clark joins the staff this fall and will coach tennis and basketball as well as instruct physical education classes.

What about girls on men's teams? There are really two aspects to this question: team sports and individual sports. In terms of physical strength, men and women were not created equal. There's nothing wrong with eleven women playing football against another women's team, but to have women playing football against men doesn't make much sense. Individual sports do not present the same problems of physical contact. The NCAA and the Ivy League have approved the participation by women on men's individual teams when women's teams are not operating in the same sports.

This is "separate but equal," but in this case it is necessary for the survival of women's teams. To have women eligible for men's teams would mean that in the interest of consistency, men would have to be eligible for women's teams. I hate to say it, but, in all fairness, more men would make it than women.

Recruiting is a major part of most athletic programs and a major headache. At two meetings of women's coaches this year, one involving only Ivy League coaches and the other including many other colleges, it"was agreed that recruiting should be outlawed from the start. The intention is to offer a comprehensive athletic program for those women students at Dartmouth who wish to participate. The strength of Dartmouth's women's teams will depend on the available talent of both students and coaches, coupled with the desire to win, ability to improve, and the willingness to work hard.

Soccer captain Jeff Badmington '74.

Agnes Bixler is beginning her second yearat Dartmouth as an Associate in thePhysical Education Department.