With the advent of Libby Lenton's 51.91 WR in the 100m free. I propose a swim off and battle of the sexes.
Paul "the evil" Smith (45) representing Bobby Riggs
vs.
Libby Lenton (20) as Billie Jean King.
My money rests on the female.
John Smith
Parents
Former Member
Originally posted by aquageek
In another thread someone said boys swimming is declining because of homophobia about wearing speedos yet provided no proof of this assertion.
I wouldn't cite "homophobia" but there is evidence that boy do feel more comfortable in jammers versus "speedos". In New England, boy participation in HS swim meet increased with the popularity of jammers. When I spoke to several people involved in MA high school swimming they confirmed their belief that jammers made swimming more "comfortable" for boys.
On an different tangent...at the 2005 NE LCM Open we had more heats of boys versus girls for most events. Most of the swimmers were 15+ but we did also have a fair number of 13-14 years old (and 1 12 year old girl who did a 2:16 for a 200 meter back!).
Finally, it is true that in smaller meets with younger kids far more girls than boys. One other reason, in my opinion, is that boys mature much later than girls and are really not ready to compete at younger ages. Summer rec leagues or some other kind of water activities are probably more appropriate for most boys until they get older (11?).
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Former Member
Originally posted by aquageek
In another thread someone said boys swimming is declining because of homophobia about wearing speedos yet provided no proof of this assertion.
I wouldn't cite "homophobia" but there is evidence that boy do feel more comfortable in jammers versus "speedos". In New England, boy participation in HS swim meet increased with the popularity of jammers. When I spoke to several people involved in MA high school swimming they confirmed their belief that jammers made swimming more "comfortable" for boys.
On an different tangent...at the 2005 NE LCM Open we had more heats of boys versus girls for most events. Most of the swimmers were 15+ but we did also have a fair number of 13-14 years old (and 1 12 year old girl who did a 2:16 for a 200 meter back!).
Finally, it is true that in smaller meets with younger kids far more girls than boys. One other reason, in my opinion, is that boys mature much later than girls and are really not ready to compete at younger ages. Summer rec leagues or some other kind of water activities are probably more appropriate for most boys until they get older (11?).
