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"From what I understand, that will be changing in Michigan next year."
Maybe, maybe not. It is still in the legal system; currently before the full Federal Appeals Court in Cincy. And the MHSAA may take it to the Supreme Court if they lose in Appeals.
The whole process disgusts me (and it started in my home town). The legal premise is based on the assumption that a function of high school sports is to expose students to college scholarships; therefore female volleyball and basketball players are disavantaged by not competing during the collegiate seasons. It was started because the Michigan volleyball season interferred with the AAU/USA volleyball programs that are considered springboards to college scholarships. As one who is a purist in the belief that high school sports are a function of the high school educational process, I get angry everytime someone goes to court when their kid gets kicked off a sports team because they are being denied their just right to compete for a college scholarship!
Michigan has been a pioneer in girls sports. Long before Title IX we had high school competition and state championship play in several sports. Though Michigan is the 8th most populous state, we rank 4th in numbers of girls participating in HS sports. In the major sports of volleyball, basketball, and softball most schools have full varsity, JV, and freshmen teams and often have to cut to pare down to reasonable team sizes. And college coaches know how to find their way into Michigan as we have hundreds of girls every year moving on to Div I sports.
So we must be doing something right, but these plaintiffs somehow think that our girls are disadvantaged when seeking college scholarships.
Our female basketball players will be hurt the most if the seasons are changed. In the fall they own the gyms, the fans, the media attention, their own tournament. (All, of course shared with boy's football.) If they move to the winter they will have to compete with the boys for coaches, referees, scorekeepers, gyms for practice and games, fans, media, and tournaments. When coaches can not coach two teams anymore, which team will they choose? Some for referees? I have seen 1500 to 2500 seat gyms packed for girls district or regional tournament games; how many will be there when the boy's tournaments games are played the next night?
I'm sorry for the rant; maybe this doesn't belong on an umpire's board. But these people have lost the concept of what high school sports are about. Yes, Michigan's sport seasons are different than the other states; BUT - we have more girls playing HS sports than all but three states. And I think that we rank second in percentage of female participation. Being different isn't wrong - especialy if it works.
WMB
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