Take a look at how winter sports teams handle exams and the holiday break amidst a long competitive season
For most students, the weeks leading up to winter break can create a slew of changes to their routines and schedules. Final exams and assignments, the dramatic change in weather or even evenings getting darker earlier in the day can all cause a frenzy.
Almost all students can relate to a sense of change and stress during the weeks leading up to winter break. Though student athletes whose seasons take place during this time may have a different experience to others during exam season, as they often have to meet practice and competition expectations along with keeping up with school.
There are about seven winter sports at McMaster University, including basketball, curling and volleyball. Oftentimes, these sports begin their preseason in September, with competition running up until early April.
“We’ll start in September but we don’t have official league games until the end of October,” said fifth-year women’s basketball player Jenna Button.
The length of this season is much different than sports during the fall term, usually beginning in August with the preseason and concluding around early November. Winter sports also run for a much longer duration, contributing to the added exam and winter break stresses.
“It's obviously challenging to have a season that runs for so long and has so many games. Your body kind of gets tired by the end of it. But there are obviously upsides to it, so having that break during the exam schedule is nice to kind of reset and helps to be focused on academics,” said Button.
It's obviously challenging to have a season that runs for so long and has so many games. Your body kind of gets tired by the end of it. But there are obviously upsides to it, so having that break during the exam schedule is nice to kind of reset and helps to be focused on academics.
Jenna Button, women's basketball player
While the exam season can be daunting and difficult for some athletes, others use the break to adjust their game. Some platers also use their sport as a way to relax and destress during a busy academic season.
“Basketball is a really nice way for me to get away from school and [its stress] and be able to not think about that for a while. But it definitely can be overwhelming especially for first years, who may be in challenging programs,” said Button.
Along with time off for winter break, it seems as though it's advantageous for winter sports to use the break to participate in exhibition games and practices to keep in form. For instance, the women’s basketball team traveled to California during the month of Decemeber to participate in a winter training camp along with the nationally top-ranking University of Saskatchewan.
“We were [in California] for five days and we practiced and scrimmaged with [the University of Saskatchewan]... Previously we’ve gone to Halifax to scrimmage against Dalhousie. It’s like having a vacation, but also having that basketball side to play another game during that break,” said Button.
Having these sorts of activities seem to help in the transition back to competitive games in early January. For the women's basketball team, the smooth transition came in the form of a big win against York University in their first game back from the break.
“This past December we were able to get scrimmages in, so it was only a week before we played York. I don’t think we felt it was a big jump being back. I think if we had that month off with no games that first game back would be challenging,” said Button.
This past December we were able to get scrimmages in, so it was only a week before we played York. I don’t think we felt it was a big jump being back. I think if we had that month off with no games that first game back would be challenging.
Jenna Button, women's basketball player
The balance of academic responsibility and athletic commitment for winter sports athletes presents some unique challenges. As these student athletes navigate this demanding period, it seems as though exhibition games and the much-needed mental break away from their sport help to prepare them to return to competition focused and rejuvenated.
C/O Jeffrey F Lin, Unsplash
The inequalities are rooted in systemic issues within sports culture
For centuries, women were perceived as fragile beings in constant need of protection from any physical exertion. It was America in the 19th century that idealized a special definition of modesty — one where the livelihoods of women would supposedly be threatened by otherwise common practices such as entering the workforce and engaging in sports activities.
These practices persisted for a long time and it was the norm for elite women to have their (female) servants do everything that was in violation of the supposed modesty they had to uphold.
A few racially restricted sports were made acceptable, which included tennis, archery, croquet and bathing-beauty swimming (whatever that means). Of course, nothing too harsh that would allegedly threaten the fertility and feministic qualities of a woman were allowed.
A few racially restricted sports were made acceptable, which included tennis, archery, croquet and bathing-beauty swimming (whatever that means). Of course, nothing too harsh that would allegedly threaten the fertility and feministic qualities of a woman were allowed.
HADEEQA AZIZ, OPINIONS STAFF WRITER
These sports activities for women, if you could even call them that, were handpicked to be acceptable, largely due to the elaborate outfits that accompanied them.
It stamped on the assurance of femininity, creating a female sport culture that was only interesting if the women were beautiful and delicate. Heaven forbid they were aggressive or even had a desire to be competitive . . . in competition.
I think this is a good place to pause just to appreciate all the irony we’ve encountered in our history lesson so far.
During the very same 19th century, America promoted white male masculinity in capitalism, warfare, baseball, beer and basketball. Once again in an effort to preserve femininity, these activities were restricted for women, masked under false claims of women's inability to endure as much pain, injury and overall labour.
No one questioned the physical effort and endurance it took to carry a child and give birth, but athletic performances were quickly condemned as immodest and degrading.
That was back then and a few may find it silly that I’m going on about something that has evolved so much since then. While in many ways, it has, in numerous other ways, it hasn’t.
That was back then and a few may find it silly that I’m going on about something that has evolved so much since then. While in many ways, it has, in numerous other ways, it hasn’t.
HADEEQA AZIZ, OPINIONS STAFF WRITER
With the debut of “Women’s Olympics” in 1920, and the slow but steady modernization of female sports since then, you could raise a claim that women don’t face these issues anymore.
It’s easy to say that from an outside perspective, but 40 per cent of women in the sports industry would tell you something different. They’d tell you how the athletic world still belongs to men and the constant discrimination they face at every possible gateway into the industry — whether it’s at the level of a professional athlete or getting ridiculed for wanting to play middle school girls’ basketball.
Like all kinds of discrimination, it's very important to acknowledge the intersectionality of gender discrimination. Race, culture, economic status and personal identities play significant roles in the differing experiences faced by women.
The reason I gave you a brief history lesson in the beginning was to show where these ideologies are rooted from. The idea of placing men’s sports on a pedestal while ignoring women’s sports comes from previous ideas of the sports industry belonging exclusively to men.
When issues about equal pay come to light, people are quick to point out the media and entertainment gap between men’s and women’s sports. Though this is very true, no one has bothered to take a look at why.
When issues about equal pay come to light, people are quick to point out the media and entertainment gap between men’s and women’s sports. Though this is very true, no one has bothered to take a look at why.
HADEEQA AZIZ, OPINIONS STAFF WRITER
Sure, you can probably count on one hand how many WNBA players can dunk a basketball, but no efforts are made to appreciate the talent and hard work the players put in to get to the level they’re at. Where females may lack in physical strength and endurance (when compared to equally trained males), they make up for in technique, passion and resilience.
Yes, sports will innately look different when it's played by different sexes, but failing to put forth an effort to appreciate these differences is certainly not out of society’s control. For so long, the male-dominated society ruled women by their reproductive systems, believing that they must save and expend all their energy in reproduction.
Today, imagine if women athletes didn’t have to expend so much of their energy fighting for legitimacy and equal treatment and be able to focus solely on playing their sport.
