Winner Of High School Golf Tournament Denied Trophy, Because She's A Girl

[skimomma]

Anyone else see this?

 

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/26/560210230/winner-of-high-school-golf-tournament-denied-trophy-because-shes-a-girl?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2053

 

Thoughts?

 

My initial thought is that while it kind of sucks for the girl, the rules cannot fairly be changed after the fact.

[Butter]

They should change the rules (going forward) so girls can be entered individually, too, probably making it just a golf tournament rather than a boys' golf tournament (it didn't say if there's a girls' golf tournament - I'm guessing not since girls can be entered as part of the team in the boys' tournament).  It sounds like the boy who got first place doesn't feel like he really won so it's kind of sucky all around.

 

ETA: NPR updated the article about an hour after I read it and added more information that changes my answer (responded with my new thoughts later in the thread).

Edited October 26, 2017 by Butter

[Catwoman]

I was very impressed by the young man who offered his trophy to her. He didn't have to do that, and I think it shows a lot of character. I am also impressed by the young lady for graciously refusing his offer.

 

I think the rules are ridiculous and unfair, but the young lady and her father handled the situation in an extremely sportsmanlike manner.

Edited October 26, 2017 by Catwoman

[Arcadia]

Her coach was aware of the rules but she was surprised. Her coach should have make sure she was aware of the rule so that she could choose to protest the rule before participating or choose not to participate. The tournament name “Central Mass Division 3 Boys' Golf Tournament†has the word Boys in it so I feel the coach is more at fault than the tournament organizers especially when the rules were explicit (and not ambiguous) up front.

 

From the article

“That was a surprise to her, although her coach was aware of the rule.

 

"I wasn't aware that if I won I wouldn't get the title or the trophy," she told local TV station WPBF. "I feel like it's a bit unfair."â€

[HomeAgain]

It happened near here.  I have a couple of thoughts.

 

1. What happened wasn't fair.  To be allowed to compete, but not allowed to win, is not fair.  She should have been briefed on the rules as they stood, and made a decision to go forward or not. 

 

2. The children involved have shown great integrity.  The boy who was given the trophy knew he didn't come by it honestly and offered it back to her.  The girl was poised and refused to blame anyone or be angry about it when interviewed.  It was just, 'it happened and now we know."

 

3. I personally think the rule should be dropped, but all players should play from a single tee spot.  I'm not sure if she played from a ladies' tee, but it can set up a case for playing two different games.

 

[SKL]

Good sportsmanship all around among the participants.

 

I understand the wish to change the rules, but then it would have to go both ways, i.e. boys would have to be allowed to compete in the girls' tournaments (or they could not have separate sex tournaments).  I guess the sports folks need to have a pow-wow and decide what is most important.

 

I think the worst thing is that she was not informed she could not win.  I hope the coach has apologized for that.

 

Though, ultimately she got good publicity that she would not have gotten had she been allowed to win a trophy.

[Catwoman]

It happened near here. I have a couple of thoughts.

 

1. What happened wasn't fair. To be allowed to compete, but not allowed to win, is not fair. She should have been briefed on the rules as they stood, and made a decision to go forward or not.

 

2. The children involved have shown great integrity. The boy who was given the trophy knew he didn't come by it honestly and offered it back to her. The girl was poised and refused to blame anyone or be angry about it when interviewed. It was just, 'it happened and now we know."

 

3. I personally think the rule should be dropped, but all players should play from a single tee spot. I'm not sure if she played from a ladies' tee, but it can set up a case for playing two different games.

I agree.

 

The article said she played from the same tees as the boys.

[Arcadia]

They should change the rules (going forward) so girls can be entered individually, too, probably making it just a golf tournament rather than a boys' golf tournament (it didn't say if there's a girls' golf tournament - I'm guessing not since girls can be entered as part of the team in the boys' tournament).

There is girls golf tournaments according to MIAA website http://miaa.ezstream.com/index.cfm?ChnID=321&SubID=600&chncd=321,600&Org=MIAA&CFID=33939517&CFTOKEN=40568023

 

The school did not have a girls golf team according to the NPR article that OP linked.

“Lunenberg High School doesn't have a girls' golf team, WPBF reports. And the boys' team, despite the boost from Nash's performance, didn't qualify for a spot at states.â€

[snowbeltmom]

It happened near here.  I have a couple of thoughts.

 

1. What happened wasn't fair.  To be allowed to compete, but not allowed to win, is not fair.  She should have been briefed on the rules as they stood, and made a decision to go forward or not. 

 

2. The children involved have shown great integrity.  The boy who was given the trophy knew he didn't come by it honestly and offered it back to her.  The girl was poised and refused to blame anyone or be angry about it when interviewed.  It was just, 'it happened and now we know."

 

3. I personally think the rule should be dropped, but all players should play from a single tee spot.  I'm not sure if she played from a ladies' tee, but it can set up a case for playing two different games.

The article said that she played from the same tees as the boys did.  I think it was ridiculous, but not surprising, that this stipulation was ever written into the rules.

[Catwoman]

Her coach was aware of the rules but she was surprised. Her coach should have make sure she was aware of the rule so that she could choose to protest the rule before participating or choose not to participate. The tournament name “Central Mass Division 3 Boys' Golf Tournament†has the word Boys in it so I feel the coach is more at fault than the tournament organizers especially when the rules were explicit (and not ambiguous) up front.

 

From the article

“That was a surprise to her, although her coach was aware of the rule.

 

"I wasn't aware that if I won I wouldn't get the title or the trophy," she told local TV station WPBF. "I feel like it's a bit unfair."â€

I agree that her coach is the one who was at fault here, because he should have told her about the rules. The only reason I can think of for not telling her is that this team competes in that tournament every year, so the coach mistakenly assumed everyone understood the rules -- but I don't think that's a good excuse, just that there's a possibility that not telling her was an innocent mistake on the coach's part.

[SparklyUnicorn]

dumb...they need to change the rules

 

 

[Bluegoat]

I don't know much about golf, but I know there are sometimes bigger issues with boys and girls streams with sports.  If the girls have a tournament, it might not be ideal to have boys in that one.  In which case I think it would be better not to let the girls enter the other, even without a rule change.  

[snowbeltmom]

My guess is that the girl would have participated even if she knew the rule ahead of time, especially since she was also contributing to her team's score.  The girl has the satisfaction of knowing that she won the tournament. I doubt the actual trophy really matters to her.

[FaithManor]

Hopefully everyone learns from this and better decisions are made for next year. I think that the coach should have informed himself of the rules, and the organizers too should have seen her entry as a single and not on a team, and stopped her before the competition. Head things off at the pass, not at the finish line.

[skimomma]

I agree that the coach should definitely have mentioned this to the golfer beforehand.  There is a chance the coach did not consider the possibility that she would win and therefore did not think it was important info?

 

Her school does not have a girls team so this is the only way she could compete.  What would happen if it were a boy that wanted to play a sport than the school only offered for girls, like volleyball?  It seems to me that it has to go both ways to really be fair so perhaps the tournament rules should be changed so no girls can compete.

 

I agree with others that all of the athlete involved behaved with grace.

[snowbeltmom]

Hopefully everyone learns from this and better decisions are made for next year. I think that the coach should have informed himself of the rules, and the organizers too should have seen her entry as a single and not on a team, and stopped her before the competition. Head things off at the pass, not at the finish line.

I don't know how this tournament was run, but in my neck of the woods, the individual tournament and the team tournament is the same event.  The team score is calculated from the individual scores.  The lowest scoring individuals move on to the next level along with the lowest scoring team.

[skimomma]

Deleted for privacy.

Edited October 27, 2017 by skimomma

[Daria]

They should change the rules (going forward) so girls can be entered individually, too, probably making it just a golf tournament rather than a boys' golf tournament (it didn't say if there's a girls' golf tournament - I'm guessing not since girls can be entered as part of the team in the boys' tournament).  It sounds like the boy who got first place doesn't feel like he really won so it's kind of sucky all around.

 

It actually does say that there's a girl's tournament in the spring, that she's eligible, and that the decision about which girls advance is made based on that. 

 

I can see how this could happen.  It seems like there are 4 categories of play in the school district/division.

 

Girls individual (Spring Sport) 

 

Boys individual (Fall Sport) 

 

Girls team (Spring Sport) 

 

Boys team (Fall Sport) 

 

The team and individual competitions are held simultaneously.  So, a student's score contributes to their teams score/advancement, but they are also competing for the individual title.

 

The law says that if a school only offers a team sport for one gender, they have to allow students of the other gender to compete (hence girl football players and boy field hockey players).  So, since her school doesn't offer girls team golf, she's allowed to play on the boys team.  

 

But her school does allow her to compete for the girls' individual competition.  So, she'll have a chance in the spring to  compete, and will likely advance to the next round in the girls' tournament.

 

I can see how it's frustrating that she's not allowed to move to the next level in the boys individual tournament.  At the same time, I'm not sure that allowing her to compete in both boys individual and girls individual is fair.  Would they waive that rule (that you can only be in one) for just her?  Or would they need to allow the boys in the girls tournament?  Or would she need to pick just one? If she picked the boys, she'd miss the second tournament altogether, and she'd probably be less likely to win at the state level than if she competed as a girl, so my guess is that she wouldn't pick it it was offered, but maybe that choice should be up to her.  

 

I just don't know that this is as simple as "of course she should get to be in the individual tournament".   

[Butter]

It actually does say that there's a girl's tournament in the spring, that she's eligible, and that the decision about which girls advance is made based on that. 

 

LOL I was very sure they didn't say that in the article I read, so I went back to check and it says they updated the article about an hour after I read it and added a LOT of information.  Given the additional information, other than the coach should've informed her of the rules ahead of time, I don't think what happened is a problem.  This was her chance to play on a golf team and, as a team, they didn't qualify to advance.  She'll get to compete as an individual in the spring.  Seems the kids involved were all gracious about the rules and circumstances.  It was just the coach's oversight in explaining the rules that make it a bit awkward.

Edited October 26, 2017 by Butter

[skimomma]

LOL I was very sure they didn't say that in the article I read, so I went back to check and it says they updated the article about an hour after I read it and added a LOT of information.  Given the additional information, other than the coach should've informed her of the rules ahead of time, I don't think what happened is a problem.  This was her chance to play on a golf team and, as a team, they didn't qualify to advance.  She'll get to compete as an individual in the spring.  Seems the kids involved were all gracious about the rules and circumstances.  It was just the coach's oversight in explaining the rules that make it a bit awkward.

 

That additional info changes things significantly.  If she does indeed have the opportunity to compete as an individual in the spring at the girls' competition, then there is no need for her to be allowed to compete as an individual in the boys' competition.