Gender integration has become a staple to our modern-day society. It is seen in workplaces, schools, and a variety of other places. However, sports generally remain mostly gender segregated while immersed in a world progressing towards gender integration. This is also the case for high school level sports.
A main argument against coed high school sports is that men are inherently more physically fit than their female counterparts. However, this assumption does not prove true in all cases. Researchers at the University of British Columbia proved this claim wrong when they found that women were less tired after muscle exercises than men of a similar age and athletic ability. This shows that women have more stamina and muscle endurance than men. Though women excel in stamina and endurance, it is important to note that men do have more muscle mass, denser bones, and are typically built larger than women. Therefore, women and men athletes both have their individual strengths and weaknesses when it comes to physical activity. Due to this, it is fallacious to claim that men are inherently more fit to play all sports and would outperform the female in every sport. By mixing the strengths of both female athletes and male athletes into a coed team, a strong, diverse, and skilled team is cultivated.
Not only do coed sports diversify a team with various skills, they also encourage mutual respect between the genders, they cultivate more of a variety of skills among teammates, they allow players to develop a new perspective of the sport, they will possibly be a lower cost for schools, and they can be an opportunity to meet other athletes with similar interests.
Based on this information, co-ed sports would, without a doubt, be beneficial to all athletes here at CHS.