The PIAA Board of Directors, at its Thursday, June 19 meeting, unanimously adopted a new By-Law which governs the participation of boys and girls participating in the same sports. The action was the first taken on this subject since the 1975 Commonwealth Court decision that restricted boys and girls from playing sports together. Since that decision, a number of girls have participated in football and wrestling, as well as occasional other boys’ sports. That participation has not negatively impacted on boys’ opportunities or competiveness in the boys’ sports. For some time, many schools, legislators, parents, administrators and coaches have expressed concerns as to the increasing level of boys who are playing sports designated for girls. That participation has resulted in diminished opportunities for girls, increased risks of injuries for the girls and competitive advantages for the teams that have used boys. Nevertheless, PIAA felt constrained in addressing the issue due to the 1975 order.
In the fall of 2013, the Commonwealth Court clarified the 1975 decision by noting that that case was brought on behalf of a girl seeking to play a boys’ sport and the injunction should only be read to apply to girls playing boys’ sports. Over the past nine months, PIAA conducted an extensive review of the issues, looking at the interests of both boys and girls, at the issues involved in mixed gender participation, in the objectives of high school sports generally, and in how mixed gender participation impacted on levels of participation, sportsmanship, fairness and competiveness. Ultimately, the Board crafted a policy which, while it will no doubt not satisfy all, attempts to address the competing interests in a way that is fairest to the largest number of our member schools and participating athletes.
PIAA Executive Director, Robert Lombardi, stated that the new By-Law focuses on three critical factors: opportunities for female participation, the risk of injuries to girls, and the possibility of significant competitive advantage if boys are allowed to participate in girls’ sports. With some additional guidance, high school principals will be given discretion to assess and apply these factors when boys desire to play on a girls’ team.
Where teams have both boys and girls playing, they will be considered mixed gender teams. Because PIAA currently sponsors only playoffs for boys’ and girls’ classifications, and not a mixed gender one, the Board decided to classify mixed gender teams as boys’ teams. This was felt to be appropriate in light of the number of girls already playing on boys’ teams and the competitive advantage that an overwhelming percentage of the membership believe mixed gender teams have when competing against girls-only teams. For playoff purposes, mixed gender teams will play in the boys’ playoffs. To facilitate this decision, the Board also took jurisdiction over boys’ field hockey, with the hope that the sport will grow and have enough all boys and mixed gender teams to have boys’ playoffs in the future.
Dr. Lombardi stated that “This is a watershed day in the history of PIAA. The Board has taken unanimous action to address a complex and challenging issue in a way that protects the ideals of fair competition and the health and safety of our student athletes”. The new by-law is attached and will go into effect July 1, 2014 and be in effect for the upcoming 2014-15 school year.
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