What exactly do you mean when you say your chapter has a strict policy on safety? How do you expand on the NFHS or PIAA policies on safety? In our match last night my players "packed" three of our opponents. Would you have expected us to stop hitting because our hitters were too strong for them and put them at risk for an injury?
I'm sure that I have a much different view on this subject than the officials in your chapter. As well as being a PIAA official for 20 years, I have coached high school girls volleyball for the past five seasons and coached high school boys volleyball for the 14 years prior to that. When I coached boys in the spring I officiated girls in the fall and now that I coach girls in the fall I officiate boys in the spring.
During the time I coached boys we always had managers who played on the girls' volleyball team. Not only were they not afraid to jump in and join in a drill with the boys, they chomped at the bit to do it! They expected no quarter from the boys and they received none. They loved it. Oh yeah, in all those years and all those practices I don't ever recall one of them getting hurt. And if you think the height of the net had anything to do with it, you haven't seen enough quality boys volleyball.
Around here it is quite common (and encouraged by the girls' coaches) for girls to play along side and against boys. In fact, one local coach, whose school does not have a boys team, has always felt his arch-rival school has an unfair advantage over his team because they DO have a boys team. The girls and boys work and train together which helps the girls develop quicker reflexes.
The difference between volleyball and field hockey, basketball, soccer, etc is that the teams are separated by a net in volleyball. They're not muscling each other for position or for the same ball-unless there is a joust at the net. And there is just as much disparity in height among girls. I have a 5'4" right side blocker who will attempt to block our chief rival's 5'11" outside hitter. Can I ask your officials to ref that match and tell her she can't jump because she has an unfair advantage
? That girl can hit as hard as I can and it might be a safety issue.
If the PIAA would adopt USAV rules instead of NFHS rules I would be all for it! I'd love to see co-ed volleyball. I have a bunch of boys at my school who would love to play volleyball but our A.D. is dead-set against it. They're not interested in taking the spots of any of the girls who do play but I'm sure they'd try out for a co-ed team.
I think your chapter's old guard needs to re-evaluate their condescending attitude toward female athletes. I see the same thing from alot of guys in our chapter who look at the high school girls they officiate as dainty, little princesses who are afraid to break a sweat. Trust me, they sweat and hustle and bleed like boys do. I've coached many girls who are every bit the warrior as the boys I've coached. The difference is that the girls go home after practice or games to take a shower, fix their hair, and change clothes to go out afterward. Boys just go out afterward, although they do (sometimes) change clothes first.