If you have any sort of classification category event, you'd better make damn sure that you nail the detail of the category, or you will have problems. "is a woman/is not a woman" is no more going to hack it than "is a bit spacky/isn't a bit spacky" would.
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I think the PC term is a bit Joey/a lot Joey.
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You also need to decide whether the classification matters at all. One US state banned trans kids representing their gender in kids sports purely to troll one kid who who wanted to play girls hockey. At that level, it doesn’t fucking matter.
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In adult women's sport, there has to be a classification. Otherwise, there's no adult women's sport.
Regarding the kid and hockey - it kind of depends on the kid and is probably best quietly left to the discretion of the teacher/coach. But, unfortunately, that's not the world we live.
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The thing is it does, my middle one doesn't play football anymore after getting nailed twice in a co-ed session. Boys are stronger, faster and more combative. Wilfully ignoring this to suit your values isn't really helpful.
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Was it just she's a bit shit though?
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Only I suppose in the way that all girls are a bit shit seeing as they are slower and weaker?
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Any decent female footballer will play with the boys for as long as possible because they are quicker, bigger and stronger. The boys groups are so much better than equal age female teams. So Ingo is right.
It then just depends what you/your child wants from it.
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She was 5 so I'm mostly coming at it from a development, participation and healthy habits angle. I don't believe she was in it to win the FA Cup so obviously no dice under Mince's regime, I'll be sure to call her a failure later though.
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Sports, sports, sports. Daughter rides up in the front seat today because she's a good guy at sports.
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I have been put off football at every ‘level’ I have played it on account of people being much more physical about things than me. Some kids will be rougher than other kids. The teacher needs to determine and enforce the appropriate level of roughness, and kids who still don’t fancy it need to play something else.
There’s no particular physical disparity between boys and girls at that age. If girls and boys can’t play together then it’s a social problem.
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If we're projecting then do you know how hard it is being a lumbering sweeper when no one wants a sweeper and everyone is faster than you? Do you? Nope.
Could you expand on how one would go about grading 'roughness' in a contact sport though? The level of contact is set by the rules. As with the boxer genetics are a significant factor in the severity of that contact.
There is a physical difference throughout childhood, it just doesn't fit your narrative. It's nice ideal but ignoring the reality reduces girls access to team sports. Should boys and girls play rugby together?
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Up to age 11, boys and girls play rugby together.
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I imagine that isn't a global ruling, so in a similar vein I'm not aware of many teams under 11 that are mixed in football academies.
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That's complete cobblers I'm afraid. I know several people who coach in the women's (girls) game at that level. Some time ago an active concern (and debate as to how to handle) was that of a trans girl in that age group girls team. Running around clumping girls hard very much like a hyperactive boy. The physical and psychological development markedly different. To the extent of genuine concerns about the impact on the welfare (physical and mental) of the girl members of the training squad.
I appreciate that people mostly want simple answers to complex problems, but unfortunately that sells everyone short. Being well meaning and (incorrectly) blithely concluding there is no difference will kill women's sport for actual women. Entirely negating the point of the classification in the first place.
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There are plenty of girls sides now at junior level, but are much harder to find the younger they are.
My 7 year old boy had a game today for his Villa development side at the Swindon Town academy, I was sure they had a girl playing for them but it turned out it wasn’t.. It does seem that girls don’t play with boys in the any of the professional club youth set ups.
