A recent trend in certain Galileo sports has found that there has been a decline in girls’ participation. Some explanations for this deficiency could be due to various reasons such as lack of confidence or the physically demanding nature of the sports. Having less girls allows for more close-knit connections to form, but there could also be disadvantages for the teams.
One example of the lack of girls participation in a sport is the swim team, where there are approximately 5 girls to 17 boys. When asked about possible reasons for this stark contrast, swim team member junior Micole C. shared, “I believe that the proportion of girls who are on the swim team compared to boys is much smaller because of the fact that there are more club swimmers at Galileo who are boys.” She also added an additional factor to consider, which is that swimming can be a new and possibly frightening sport for students, especially since a fear of water is common amongst people.
In terms of how the team may be negatively impacted by the lack of girls, Micole explained that without a specific number of girls, they aren’t able to form a relay team. In the past, they’ve put posters up around the school and held informational meetings in an attempt to recruit more girls, but the efforts have ultimately been futile.
Another water sport, Galileo’s Dragonboat team, faces similar challenges. The Celestial Dragons used to be female-dominated in the ‘22 to ‘23 school year with a high number of 36 girls competing, but now it has been reduced to a mere 19, with only around 10 of them showing up to practice on a regular basis. Junior Hebe S., the fundraising chair of the team, noted that the rigorous and physically straining nature of the sport could potentially come off as intimidating to girls, and therefore some may deem themselves incapable of joining. Another member of the team, junior Juan C., said that, “We need a minimum of 20 girls on the team to take part in a mixed race, and the girls are unable to race a womens’ race.”
While there are enough girls to field 2 teams (varsity and JV) the girls’ basketball team has significantly lower numbers compared to the boys’ team. For varsity, there are only 8 girls, and junior varsity is made up of 10 girls. Manager, sophomore Vivi L., said that there have been attempts made to recruit more girls through events and Instagram posts. However, senior Betsy D. provided a more optimistic view, saying, “Having a smaller team makes us all closer to each other, and we have a more tight-knit bond.”
In contrast though, the boys’ basketball team has a total of 28 players. The reason for their popularity could be attributed to the championship that the JV team won last season. Following that victory, the reigning champs received an influx of tryouts from boys interested in joining JV back in October, with around 30 people. Senior Darryn W. has also noticed that male basketball fans can be found all over the school. Coach Lee noticed that this has been a problem at Galileo for many years now. “When I coached girls’ basketball back in 2014, there was already a limited number of girls, but since the pandemic, it’s been even harder to attract girls into playing basketball. Basketball is a game that needs to be started when you’re younger, so it would be more difficult to start getting into it once you’re older.”
On the flip side of things, some girls’ teams are thriving. The girls’ soccer team was teeming with girls interested in joining the sport. According to junior Zeina S., there were a total of 45 girls who tried out. She believes that being on the team is a great and easy way to cultivate social connections, and it provides her with a sense of belonging.
When asked about what methods could be used to fuel the increase of girls’ participation in sports, athletic director Coach Keough said, “I have tried to hire more female coaches for more representation, but I also think that the student body could take part in encouraging more girls to get involved in certain sports.”
