Girls' sports: skirts to shorts

The giddy girls shriek triumphantly, skirts flouncing as they bounce around the court and celebrate a Blazer victory. The girls, blouses neatly tucked and hair smartly styled, are neither cheerleaders nor adoring fans; they are Blair's 1967 girls' basketball team, reveling in their first win of the year.

Five years after the Blazers' win, Congress passed Title IX. By mandating that any education program that received federal funding must provide equal opportunity for both sexes, the legislation opened new doors for girls' athletics at Blair.

According to the Washington Post, the number of girls playing high school sports has increased ten-fold since '72. And Title IX guidelines have led to dramatic changes in the sports themselves.

In the beginning

In the 1950s and ‘60s, the rifle team was the only interscholastic sport offered to Blazer girls. Blair had traditional cheerleaders and majorettes who performed on sidelines and during halftime at boys' football and basketball games. However, these squads did not compete as they do now.

Girls also had the option of playing intramurals that included volleyball, bowling, basketball, softball, badminton and table tennis. Girls who played intramural sports every year of high school became members of the "B club" and were awarded letters similar to those displayed by male varsity athletes.

Eventually, some of the more popular intramural sports, such as basketball and softball, became sanctioned school teams in the late ‘60s. These teams competed against other schools but were deemed "honors teams," not varsity. They received none of the privileges offered to boys.

Then there was light

The passage of Title IX in 1972 ushered in a number of new girls' teams at Blair, including a tennis squad that went undefeated that year. Judy Novak, who had played on the boys' tennis team prior to Title IX, led the girls to a first-season 6-0 record. However, there were no county standings that recognized the girls' success.

In the winter of 1972, both boys' and girls' swim teams were introduced to Blair. According to math teacher Milton Roth, swim coach at the time, the girls' team made an impressive start, earning Blair fourth place at Metros despite the boys' dismal 0-8 record.

Roth admits that he had no experience with coaching or swimming prior to taking the job in ‘72. "They needed someone, and I got drafted," he explains.

Similarly, girls' field hockey, gymnastics, basketball and track and field struggled to find coaches, and they had to settle for teachers with little or no experience. According to Pat Berry, the county's athletic director from 1976 to 1995, girls' coaches received significantly smaller pay than boys' coaches. Berry explains that getting equitable pay for coaches was one of the biggest obstacles she faced in her career.

Leading the way

Girls' basketball has seen the most change since beginning at Blair. Originally, the girls played a six-man version of the game, with three players permanently on the defensive side of the court and three on the offensive. The girls turned to the customary five-on-five game after the passage of Title IX, but according to current girls' varsity basketball coach William Lindsey, it took many years for girls to gain the same recognition that the boys had.

According to Berry, when she was hired in 1976, the girls' teams lacked many of the fundamental privileges given to boys. Girls' basketball consisted of an eight-game season, compared to the boys' 20 games, and there was no post-season tournament. While the the boys had both JV and varsity teams, girls only had one squad.

In addition, the girls were forced to play in the smaller gym at the old Blair building on Wayne Ave until the 1980s. Lindsey recalls the gym as so tiny that the feet of the girls sitting on the bench stuck out on the court. He believes the procedure was unreasonable. "The girls had the right to play in the main gym," he says.

Lindsey explains that it was not until the girls' basketball team made it to the state finals in 1981 that the school gave them full respect. Lindsey was then in his second season as coach then and remembers that a pep rally was held specifically to send the girls to the tournament. It was followed by a second rally honoring their win.

Leveling playing fields

According to Berry, Blair has always supported girls' basketball more than have other county schools. However, she remembers that Blair was not as receptive of other girls' sports. For example, Blair was one of the last county schools to start a field hockey program. Berry describes Blair as "in the middle of the pack" in enforcing Title IX regulations.

Athletic Director Dale Miller believes girls' sports at Blair are now on equal footing with boys'. With the addition of both girls' and boys' lacrosse teams in 1997, Blair continues to develop a strong athletic program for both genders.

However, due to grievances from male athletic programs across the country that complain Title IX is reducing male athletes' opportunities, the law is currently under examination. According to Berry, the proposed changes to the law may threaten the equality women have struggled to gain. On Feb 26 the Bush administration gave a non-binding report to National Education Secretary Rod Paige recommending more lenient enforcement.

While most of the suggested modifications will affect college athletics, changes may trickle to the high school level. Berry worries that if high schools loosen Title IX protection, the progress achieved in girls' sports in the last decades could suffer setbacks.