Even though we seem to go to a school where male and female athletes appear to have the same opportunities when it comes to sports, it is simply not equal.

Sports like badminton have been added to schools to help “equalize” the ratio of girls to boy sports.

To help keep the balance between girls and boys athletics, most of the sports have both a girls team and a boys team such as soccer, volleyball, basketball, and golf. Other sports, like swim and dive, have combined both of the teams, making the sport coed.

Girls are not typically known for their participation in football, however Perry female freshmen Trinity Kaufman defies that stereotype as the kicker for the freshman team.

Even here at Perry, where it seems as though there is no rejection, badminton, a runner up in state, receives poor funding and little support. Though it is not one of the most popular sports, they are one of the most competitive sport teams at Perry.

Before 1972, girls playing high school sports was unheard of – however Title IX provided a paradigm shift. The law states “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination of, under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

Title IX has been active for over forty years and has created a plethora of opportunities for girls and boys to participate in high school athletics. But let’s face the facts: girls are still at a disadvantage when it comes to athletics at any level of competition whether it be the uniforms they wear to the fields they play on. Hopefully we, as a high school who prides ourself in our athletes, will one day have equal funding and support no matter the gender.