high school bans shirtless running

I coach Girls XC in the Fall and boys track the rest of the year.

To the poster that said they are trying to protect the kids from the coaches. I don't think that is the reason! Good grief, most of us look on you girls as our daughters and not as objects!!!!

In the Summer an Fall when it's hot I let the girls go in sports bras when we are at a park or on school grounds but not when we are out on the roads. The girls agree with me. We also use the buddy system so nobody is left behind. We actually have had quite a few incidents of guys trying to abduct women out running in our area by different people over the past few years. It's hard to believe because we live in a nice area but they typically come from far away.

They actually stake out the routes and plan their attack. All of that was revealed when they get caught. In one case they found ropes and duct tape in one the guy's car. I'm trying to keep it so the girls are not a target.

There have not been any incidents of men or women staking out and and attacking high school boys who are out running. If you don't believe me then you are not dealing with reality. The bias is with the attackers.

With the girls we are in the parks a lot anyway so I allow them their freedom for the most part.

With the guys I allow them to go without their shirts but our administrators at the High School scold we quite often about it. So I we do what one of the other posters was saying and put shirts on while on grounds. I can't believe this is an issue. They allow wrestlers to grapple with each other in tights but a kid can't go running out in shorts with no shirt.

So shirts on grounds for the guys and shirts for the girls out on the roads.

Yes, the same thing happened at my school... I was the one complaining because the girls had to wear shirts but the guys didn't. I wasn't mad that the boys weren't wearing shirts... ;) but it wasn't cool that we had to. Anyway so then, some community member complained that there were high schoolers on the track without shirts. So now it's everyone wearing shirts all the time.

So, we drape them around our neck and they fly back like a cape. Somehow the coach is cool with this.

Also, now we have to take a separate guys and girls bus and have separate tents at track meets. It's the most ridiculous thing... Seriously? We have never had any problem with this before. What do they even think we're going to do?! ahh. frustrating.

I think our AD just doesn't understand that runners have a different sense of modesty. They can talk about chafing and pre-race bathroom stops and sore groins. They can change in public places and run around without shirts on. It isn't sexual, it's just how runners do it! hmph. Oh well.

Are we talking about Westwood (MA) High School?

If you think that's bad, check this out:

http://www.wreg.com/news/wreg-sports-bras-could-be-banned-20120319,0,6561728.story

They want running in sports bras to be banned for everyone because they claim it's underwear. They compare it to people wearing saggy pants where their underwear shows. I don't consider sports bras to be underwear any more than swimsuits. WTF?

As for high school, if shirtless running was banned when I was in school, I probably would have either quit or passed out from heat stroke. It's one thing if they don't allow it on campus, but who cares if you're off campus? Of course then we get into the theory that no one should be allowed to run off campus....ugh. I'm just glad I'm out of high school.

HannahBrookeXD wrote:

Yes, the same thing happened at my school... I was the one complaining because the girls had to wear shirts but the guys didn't. I wasn't mad that the boys weren't wearing shirts... ;) but it wasn't cool that we had to.

You made this an issue and that is why the ban is in place. It had nothing to do with anyone else complaining.

People, just leave it alone. Don't ask questions or make demands. Just pull off your shirt and run. No one will say anything.

Do you think that the football players have to keep their shirts on when they are done with practice? No. Are they complaining to the AD about what they can and cannot do with their shirts? No.

You brought this on yourself.

I'd have to ask myself "what exactly IS a shirt" And then get creative from there.

Well, no, because there was actually a rule that girls weren't allowed to take their shirts off but guys were. We got in trouble if we took our shirts off, so I was complaining that it was an unfair rule. When I'm out in the country, though, coach doesn't have to know!

Totally agree with this post.

When we are on campus all boys and girls are shirts on. Call it "decency" call it whatever you want but it kills potential problems.

When we are on the trails and parks on hot days shirts can come off / sports bras are allowed. This is considered common running attire in the sports community.

We rarely run roads, only for a 3 mile shake out run now and then. I totally agree with the reasons to wear a shirt here. Always run in a pack, that rule should be for both boys and girls for the sole reason of safety.

HannahBrookeXD wrote:

Well, no, because there was actually a rule that girls weren't allowed to take their shirts off but guys were. We got in trouble if we took our shirts off, so I was complaining that it was an unfair rule. When I'm out in the country, though, coach doesn't have to know!

Gotcha.

Still, was it really enforced prior to all the complaints? I mean, would your coach turn you in? I am actually curious. I am not simply trying to defend my previous comment.

Good Christians are ashamed of the human body. Now get out there and murder some Iraqis and Afghanis in Jesus name!!

The high school in my town just got a new AD and he banned running without shirts and took it a step further and made it a requirement that every runner on the team must wear a reflective vest when running on the roads. That includes during the spring/early summer when the temperatures will be in the 90's and it will be broad daylight.

happened at our school too

pussification of america wrote:

The high school in my town just got a new AD and he banned running without shirts and took it a step further and made it a requirement that every runner on the team must wear a reflective vest when running on the roads. That includes during the spring/early summer when the temperatures will be in the 90's and it will be broad daylight.

Just like the army. Maybe he is an army guy.

That's a bizarre attitude. They aren't more likely to get abducted when they're wearing sports bras. You're suggesting that first, wearing sports bras makes them a target- as if certain men will be driven into a wild lust and abduct them, merely at the sight of them in sports bras- and secondly, if that is true, that the onus is on the girls to dress uncomfortably, compromising their ability to exercise freely, to avoid getting abducted.

Having them run with buddy's is a good idea. I get that they are probably more likely to get harassed (eg. catcalls/whistles etc.) wearing more revealing attire, but they shouldn't be blamed for that.

This suggests to me the sort of attitude of fundamentalists who try to force women to cover their faces or bodies, 'in order to protect them', when really they should be punishing/sanctioning the people who they (hypothetically) think will harass/abduct women if they dress in a certain way.

That's a bizarre attitude. They aren't more likely to get abducted when they're wearing sports bras. You're suggesting that first, wearing sports bras makes them a target- as if certain men will be driven into a wild lust and abduct them, merely at the sight of them in sports bras- and secondly, if that is true, that the onus is on the girls to dress uncomfortably, compromising their ability to exercise freely, to avoid getting abducted.

Having them run with buddy's is a good idea. I get that they are probably more likely to get harassed (eg. catcalls/whistles etc.) wearing more revealing attire, but they shouldn't be blamed for that.

This suggests to me the sort of attitude of fundamentalists who try to force women to cover their faces or bodies, 'in order to protect them', when really they should be punishing/sanctioning the people who they (hypothetically) think will harass/abduct women if they dress in a certain way.

sorry double post~

You have to compete with a shirt on. And you are complaining that you have to train with a shirt on? Ask mommy and daddy to get you 5 or 6 dri-fit tank tops for the week.

Point well made about competing with a shirt on. Having coached, our team was subject to this rule. If you are going to have this policy, it needs to be enforced for both boys and girls teams. If girls can't train in running bras only, then boys can't be shirtless. The kids who would bitch the most were the ones who wore nothing but cotton shirts on 95 degree days. I kept telling them to go down to a discount store and buy a few athletic singlets. You really don't have to spend big bucks to buy a few shirts made of a wicking type fabric. They wouldn't do it. They wanted to wear those cotton shirts from their school groups or clubs.

typical warmongeringrepubstoog wrote:

Good Christians are ashamed of the human body. Now get out there and murder some Iraqis and Afghanis in Jesus name!!

Mmm, I won't write for all Christians, but as a Catholic I understand that Catholicism teaches the goodness of not only the body, but the goodness of all creation. One should not confuse traditional Christianity with the philosophy of the folks at, say, Planned Parenthood, who believe that fertility is so undesirable that it should be subverted with lifestyle drugs, devices, and interventions and that these measures should be fobbed off as "health care."