Changes

The bean-counting approach of [[Title IX]] favors sports with large squad sizes for women, and reducing or eliminating small-squad women's teams like gymnastics and many men's teams. The resulting distortion is disastrous to our Olympic team.

The bean-counting approach of [[Title IX]] favors sports with large squad sizes for women, and reducing or eliminating small-squad women's teams like gymnastics and many men's teams. The resulting distortion is disastrous to our Olympic team.

The March 2001 General Accounting Office (GAO) report bears this out. In the 1980s and 1990s, women's sports with large squad sizes have ballooned.<ref>See United States General Accounting Office (GAO), "Intercollegiate Athletics, Four-Year Colleges' Experiences Adding and Discontinuing Teams" GAO-01-297 [hereinafter, GAO Report] 12 (Mar. 2001).</ref> Rowing (crew) is an example. It features the largest average squad size for women, an enormous 46.3 members per team.<ref>Id. at 9-12.</ref> The number of these teams increased by 184% during this time period, despite little to no interest at the high school level.<ref>Id. at 12.</ref> The University of Massachusetts women's rowing coach, Jim Dietz, bluntly admitted, "The reason we're here--everybody knows it--is for gender equity."<ref>Jessica Gavora, Tilting the Playing Field 66 (2002).</ref> Women's water polo, another large-squad-size sport, increased for women by 3,600%.<ref>GAO Report at 12.</ref> Women's equestrian, boasting an average squad size of 26.2, exploded with a 486% increase as athletic directors seek numerical balancing.<ref>Id. at 9-12.</ref> These increases result not from a boom in high school demand for these opportunities, but from colleges' attempt to boost women's participation numbers.

The March 2001 General Accounting Office (GAO) report bears this out. In the 1980s and 1990s, women's sports with large squad sizes have ballooned.<ref>See United States General Accounting Office (GAO), "Intercollegiate Athletics, Four-Year Colleges' Experiences Adding and Discontinuing Teams" GAO-01-297 [hereinafter, GAO Report] 12 (Mar. 2001).</ref> Rowing (crew) is an example. It features the largest average squad size for women, an enormous 46.3 members per team.<ref>Id. at 9-12.</ref> The number of these teams increased by 184% during this time period, despite little to no interest at the high school level.<ref>Id. at 12.</ref> The University of Massachusetts women's rowing coach, Jim Dietz, bluntly admitted, "The reason we're here--everybody knows it--is for [[gender equity]]."<ref>Jessica Gavora, Tilting the Playing Field 66 (2002).</ref> Women's water polo, another large-squad-size sport, increased for women by 3,600%.<ref>GAO Report at 12.</ref> Women's equestrian, boasting an average squad size of 26.2, exploded with a 486% increase as athletic directors seek numerical balancing.<ref>Id. at 9-12.</ref> These increases result not from a boom in high school demand for these opportunities, but from colleges' attempt to boost women's participation numbers.

Meanwhile, an historically popular sport for women suffered the consequences of planning-by-the-numbers. Gymnastics fell by 53% during this time period.<ref>Id. at 12.</ref> During a time when Title IX required massive expenditures on women's sports to increase opportunities, women's gymnastics was cut from 190 teams to only 90. This reflects the small squad size of a gymnastics team, making it unattractive in the numbers game. The small squads of fencing and archery, other women favorites, also fell sharply.<ref>Id.</ref> As a result, nearly all of the women on the Olympic gymnastics team developed their skills in private clubs rather than Title IX programs. In the 2000 Olympics we failed to win a single women's gymnastics medal, and in 2004 the only gymnastics medals were won by private club, non-Title IX athletes.

Meanwhile, an historically popular sport for women suffered the consequences of planning-by-the-numbers. Gymnastics fell by 53% during this time period.<ref>Id. at 12.</ref> During a time when Title IX required massive expenditures on women's sports to increase opportunities, women's gymnastics was cut from 190 teams to only 90. This reflects the small squad size of a gymnastics team, making it unattractive in the numbers game. The small squads of fencing and archery, other women favorites, also fell sharply.<ref>Id.</ref> As a result, nearly all of the women on the Olympic gymnastics team developed their skills in private clubs rather than Title IX programs. In the 2000 Olympics we failed to win a single women's gymnastics medal, and in 2004 the only gymnastics medals were won by private club, non-Title IX athletes.