For the 2023-24 sports season, there are 24 sports teams at Camas High School (CHS). Split unevenly with 14 girls sports and 10 boys, there are disparities in the number of teams with sports that have both girls and boys teams and which ones cut athletes, regardless of the sport type.
This difference is so apparent due to the Title IX rule from the federal government.
In an article, the Department of Justice said, “No Person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
Washington State interpreted this ruling to mean that there needs to be an equal number of participants in boys and girls sports programs under their jurisdiction.
“The state says that we have to have as many boys and girls participating as each other within 5%. Last year, we had 4.7% of a difference, so [more boys participated] than girls,” CHS Athletic Director Stephen Baranowski said.
This contributes to many disparities between the two gendered categories, the equality of their sports and the number of teams. For the Camas Softball team, there was a situation where it was neither a cut nor no-cut sport but somewhere in-between.
“I think establishing the ‘cut rule’ would benefit the athletes because no player’s time would be wasted and the teams would further progress,” JV and varsity athlete Sam Miller said.
If more athletes tried out for the Softball team, then it would be necessary to have a C team, and a lot of the politics within the sport would be solved by adding a few girls. Also, it would alleviate some of the percentages regarding the Title IX rule.
Soccer has a vast difference in the number of boys and girls teams. Girls soccer has four teams, and boys soccer only has two, limiting the number of players on the boys’ side.
“We have middle school programs bursting with soccer right now, so we have a lot more girls coming [into CHS] to try out,” Baranowski said.
This means that while soccer is a highly inclusive sport for girls and boys, getting a spot on the roster is very competitive. This year, there is a chance for boys soccer to have an additional team.
For the noncut sports, there do not seem to be many issues that athletes have to deal with regarding rosters, cuts and the number of teams.
“I run both track and swim for CHS, and both are really fun,” CHS athlete Bella Azpeitiamacias said.
The Title IX ruling positively and negatively affects students of both genders at CHS. Although softball and soccer appear to be impacted the most by these rulings, many cut and no-cut sports are involved.
The Camas Athletic Department’s goal is to have the number of participants as equal as possible between girls and boys. It affects the athletes of CHS heavily, but the school must adhere to national and state regulations.
