An Opinion on Women’s Hockey in the Olympics
Posted on February 27, 2010 | 3 Comments
Congratulations to the Canadian women for winning their third hockey olympic gold medal in a row. Congratulations also to the team from the USA – they lost this time, but they’ve won the last two World Championships. They are the yin to Canada’s yang, the other half of one of the best rivalries in sport.
There has been a lot of talk over the last couple of weeks about the suitability of women’s hockey as an Olympic event. The complaint is that there are effectively only two teams vying for the top prize. When Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, was asked what he thought, he said “I would personally give them more time to grow, but there must be a period of improvement. We cannot continue without improvement.”
It’s clear that there’s not a lot of parity in women’s hockey. Canada and America are clearly far above all other countries in this young event. But the catch-22 is that if the IOC removes women’s hockey from the Olympics now, the parity they desire will never develop.
I would encourage the IOC to adopt a policy of gender-equivalence. If the men’s version of the sport has well-balanced competition, we should expect that the women’s event will eventually become balanced as well.
What do you think?
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3 Responses to “An Opinion on Women’s Hockey in the Olympics”
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February 27th, 2010 @ 12:09 pm
This is an olympic sport in it’s infancy. Countries outside of North America are beginning to develop their programs and some are beginning to receive funding. THere were teams in this olympic games that haven’t been there before. There has been growth and it needs time to support further growth. Four years ago Sweeden put the US in the bronze medal game and took silver. Check some of the scores from the beginning of olympic competition in men’s hockey and you will find a very similar pattern. The difference is in the rate of funding and attention the male hockey players got in their home countries and the rate at which the female players are. It is 2010 and we still have to sue for equal ice time (Leaside Girls Hockey Association vs City of Toronto)and still receive lesser status and funding here in Canada. Imagine the barriers that players in countries like Slovakia face. Get real IOC of course it should continue to be an olympic sport.
February 27th, 2010 @ 12:30 pm
Jennifer said, “The difference is in the rate of funding and attention the male hockey players got in their home countries and the rate at which the female players are. It is 2010 and we still have to sue for equal ice time (Leaside Girls Hockey Association vs City of Toronto)and still receive lesser status and funding here in Canada.”
That’s a pretty sexist remark!
The truth of the matter has nothing to do with less funding, or less attention(media). There is simply a more audience interrest in men’s hockey, and it’s more viable to support something that will generate income than to put funding into something that people are not interrested in watching as much.
There is not as much interrest or fan base for women’s hockey as there is for men’s hockey, and no one is to blame for that other than the fact that men’s hockey is more exciting to watch to more people.
I think women’s hockey should continue to be an olympic sport, but it lacks the lustre of it’s male counter part at this time. Women shouldn’t expect just because they are particapating in a popular sport that they should deserve the same attention. You have to earn it, and men’s hockey has been around for many, many years, and they had to earn it just as well.
Men’s hockey didn’t start off as popular as it is now. It was through blood, sweat, and tears that got men’s hockey to be a world event.
Rather than some women thinking they should atomatically deserve the same statis, and cry foul because it isn’t, they should continue to work hard, put in their blood sweat and tears.
I can see women’s hockey one day being a world event, but don’t think it’s automatically deserved, or should be handed to you just because your female. Most women know better than to try and ride the coattails of men. Those women go on to accomplish great things because they deserved it, not because they felt it was their equal rights.
March 2nd, 2010 @ 12:58 pm
hockey is our sport