High school coach calls for equal rules for both girls & boys runners

A local track and field coach says some of the guidelines for school sports competitions in Ontario are sexist and outdated and he wants them changed.

Pierre Mikhail, who’s from Huntsville, is pushing the Ontario Federation of School Athletics Associations for a more equal playing field.

Shannon Marshall has been competing in cross-country running for four years and the grade 12 student says it’s unfair that high school girls race shorter distance than the boys.

“The fact that I’m running the same distance as a midget boy who is just coming into high school is a little offensive because I’ve been training for four years already… which really isn’t fair,” adds Marshall.

According to the OFSAA, midget girls run 3,000 metres while the boys run 5,000. Junior girls run 4,000 metres and boys 6,000. And for senior students, girls run 5,000 and the boys run 7,000 metres.

But at the Hoya Hills Invitation meet in Huntsville this week, organizers decided to have the boys and girls run the same race. It’s something that Mikhail has petitioned OFSAA for years to do.

“There is no reason girls can’t run the same distance as boys. It’s an archaic sexist process, there is no reason for it,” says Mikhail.

OFSAA says they has reviewed the distances several times with its high school associations but the association has maintained the status quo, saying it’s not an equality issue.

“It’s just that there is a difference in the distances, the fact that girls can compete is equality. We have 19 associations and are not getting that feedback. If we move towards equal distances that would be great,” says OFSAA Special Projects Coordinator Peter Morris.

Individual associations can have equal distance races if they choose; in fact the National Capital Secondary School Athletic Association in Ottawa has done so this year. However the status quo will be maintained at provincial competitions.

“The thing is we’re also trying to promote cross country and the feeling is we would lose girls,” adds Morris.

A concern Mikhail isn’t buying, he’s hoping OFSAA will implement what’s being done in Ottawa and this week in Muskoka.

“At the Olympics they run the same distance, there’s no reason for it. Even primary schools are equalized,” says Mikhail.

OFSAA says the option to have high school boys and girls race the same distance is always on the table. The matter will be up for consideration when OFSAA meets with its school associations after the provincial championships are held later this fall.