SEPTEMBER 27, 2006

       Anything boys can do, girls can do just as well.  Not so, in the case of two Winnipeg sisters who launched a human rights challenge after feeling discriminated against because of their gender.

       Jesse Pasternak and twin sister Amy, won the right to try out for their school’s boys’ hockey team but learned earlier this week they didn’t make the cut after tryouts.

       The girls filed a complaint with the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association after it denied them the opportunity to try out for a boys’ team at their school in 2004.  The MHSAA has a policy that allows only girls to play on girls’ teams and boys to play on boys’ teams if there are already teams for both genders at the school.  In the case of the Pasternak sisters, West Kildonan Collegiate has both teams.

       The precedent-setting case worried some who thought it might be the end to gender separation in sport.  Questions like, “Is the level of competition going to be fair when genders are mixed?” or “What about a boy who wants to play on a girls’ team?”

       Boys at West Kildonan Collegiate said they had to leave the dressing room when the girls would come in to use the facilities after a practice.  Boys also said that they wouldn’t feel right bodychecking a girl in a game.  One boy trying out for the team said, “How degrading is it if a girl gets the puck from you?”   The sisters describe the girls’ team as “a joke,” and want the challenge of playing with the boys.

       Is the question really of gender equality or just overly confident girls who want to challenge boys in sport?

       It’s always encouraged when children play in sports to play for the love of the game and to have fun.  If you enjoy being on the ice, what does it matter what gender you are playing with?  Hockey is hockey.  Just like soccer is soccer and basketball is basketball.

       In physical education classes, both genders and people of different abilities are able to play and enjoy the game together.  There may be some competitiveness to a point but at least the purpose of the game is to be active and have a good time.

       For the twin sisters to say the school’s girls’ team is “a joke”, suggests they think they are better than other females of the same age.  If that’s the case, why not mentor those players and try elevate them to the level the sisters believe they are at?

       There are some instances when keeping genders divided is OK.  If it’s not, before you know it we’ll have unisex locker rooms at gyms and swimming pools and there won’t be a need for separate clothing departments in stores.

       The message here isn’t that one gender is better than another, it’s that they are different and sometimes it needs to stay that way for the comfort of all people.