From: webel@guvax.acc.georgetown.edu
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.racing
Subject: Re: NCCA - Let's Fix It
Date: 24 Jan 93 02:19:59 -0500
Organization: Georgetown University
Reply-To: webel@guvax.georgetown.edu
Followup-To: rec.bicycles.racing
Distribution: na

In article <16B5F9A1C.97994779@wsuvm1.csc.wsu.edu>, 97994779@wsuvm1.csc.wsu.edu  
writes:
>  
> Hmm let's see here. You say that it is quite logical for the men's and women's
> teams to compete together for a combined title. Well, please tell me in what
> other sport this occurs.  In what sport do the men and women fight for a
> combined trohpy but never actually compete at the same time in the same
> arean!
I guess perhaps there are no other sports where this occurs, and maybe 
this is not such a good thing.  why can't we have a sport that is 
unique in this respect?  there are certainly sports where teammates never actually 
compete on the same field at the same time
>  
> I think maybe a solution to this problem is to have a Men's National
> Champion, a Women's National Champion and am Overall National Champion.
> (I am speaking of team not individual here.)
This would be a compromise, as I don't see a particular problem with 
the current situation, I wouldn't see it as necessary.

>  
>>The biggest practical reason I can see for the current situation is
>>that it provides an incentive for men to recruit women into the sport,
>>and vice versa.  Cycling is a very elitist sport, with a lot of
>>knowledge to be passed from experienced to inexperienced riders and I
>>think one of the good things about collegiate cycling is that it gives
>>a powerful incentive for this transfer to occur.
>>I get the feeling that some think that it is unfair, that a group of
>>good male riders, or a group of good female riders, is held back from
>>nationals due to their lack of more members of the opposite sex.  If
>>this is one team, however, this doesn't make any sense.  In any team sport
>>there are plenty of great athletes who may never get to compete for a
>>championship because the rest of their team is not up to the task.
>>Collegiate cycling is a team sport, so there will be good riders who
>>don't make it because of the rest of the team, but I don't understand
>>why the rules should be changed to accomodate this.
>  
> We are not talking about a great running back on the football team that
> sucks. We are talking about the Women's Basketball team being denied
> a championship based on the results of the Men's team. It is the
> exact same thing!! If we want to have a combined title let's have
> combined races!!!
we do have combined races, every collegiate race weekend I ever went 
to had both men's and women's races.  It is not the same as 
basketball.  Show me basketball programs where  the men and women are 
training together nearly all the time and have their games at the same 
times.
what we are talking about is a good part of a team being denied a 
championship because of the rest of the team not being so good.  An 
offensive player in football will probably never set foot on the 
defensive side of the ball, but they still depend on that defense to 
win the game.  I don't see any big difference just because in this 
case one side of the equation is male and one side female, this may be 
idealistic, but I can see worse sins.  And besides, there is still the 
practical question of bringing more people into the sport.

Baird
webel@guvax.georgetown.edu
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.racing