Gender mixing is a great way of ensuring motivation for sport in both main sexes. Sports are still divided into male and female and for that purpose I need to express that in both sexes.*
The headline reads Hackney Aquatics at Winter Nationals 2018, there are only boys in the picture.
The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo will feature mixed relays in swimming and athletics. See article.
Hm, it’s just that Hackney Aquatics did not send one female swimmer to the Swim England Winter Championships and the only team swimming was purely male.
I welcome the mixed relay strategy as it motivates clubs to encourage male and female alike to make it to the top-level of their sport. Yet Swim England did not entertain any mixed relay races at the recent short-course winter champs either.
Madison is losing the drive for performance. Not only does the steroid injection give her a pounding headache, there is also little encouragement to get in with the girls so to speak.
I don’t know whether it is an expression of status for girls in Hackney, to show that it was the girls who picked up the award from London Swimming for volunteering club of the year, as all recipients, with exception of head coach Rick Hall, were female. Rick of course accepted the trophy for the outstanding contribution to swimming in London.
Is it the classic old-fashioned boys and girls do this and that atmosphere?
Yet the volunteering award shows the girls. I don’t really want to stereotype but the thought simply comes to mind.
Madison’s whole attitude is changing from wanting to be at the top of the sport to wanting to become a volunteer. As I have heard, Sport England very much supports that scheme. And I really hope they read this.
I do not want to take away from the achievement of either the boy swimmers or the girl volunteers but instead would like to emphasize that a mix is a better result than purely just boys or girls achieving in either category.
Spriint 