Gotta admit, I did not know that those states switched so recently, or that there were that many. I find that there were ten states in 2012 that ran shorter courses for girls, and it looks like many changed in 2015 or '16.
This is consistently voted down at NCAA coaching conventions. The biggest advocates AGAINST this are female coaches.
This has nothing to do with gender equity and inclusion because the women do have a race and are already included in the championship.
This is like arguing that women should play baseball instead of softball.
I think the only voices that should matter are those of the athletes and coaches. For me, as a fifty-year-old man, to sign this petition is to try to insert my voice into a matter where I should have no say.
Bro you’re really killing my armchair quarterback vibe
+1 Aren't women more likely to suffer stress fractures than men?
While it is true that women have a 10k race on the track, not every distance runner on the team needs to train for that 10k. Some might struggle with the increased miles. Increasing the distance of the women's XC race will be increasing the amount of training miles required for everyone, including those less able to handle it. Injuries will go up.
Stress fractures happen from not eating enough for energy output. Nothing to do with distance of a race.
I gladly and enthusiastically signed. The different distances are beyond vexing at this point. I suppose the coaches keep voting to keep the distances different but, for the life of me, I cannot understand why the men run 8k all season and then jump up to 10k for two meets. It also creates a recruiting issue for men's programs in which they have to go all in on mid distance or long distance but not both. The women's programs have plenty 1500m runners that succeed at both track and cross country while it's rare for a mid distance guy to succeed at cross country. The 6k distance also doesn't feel like a true, grueling cross country race, but mostly a sit and kick affair. I don't know, just think it would be better for the sport and the small slice of viewing public to have the same distance for both.
I don't follow your logic at all. Men's programs get 12.6 scholarships. Going all in on distance as opposed to mid distance makes no sense. Some programs go all in on distance, some put resources into sprints, hurdles, and throws, some spread it out, and some, put much into distance and mid distance.
"We request NCAA Division I, II and III Cross Country Committees and NCAA President Mark Emmert to take an important step forward for gender equity and inclusion by creating equal race distances for men and women at NCAA Cross Country Championships: 8km for all genders."
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