Dust off those bats, girls. Baseball and softball aren't "comparable sports" -- the IHSAA has said so:
Faced with a lawsuit it sees little chance winning, the Indiana High School Athletic Association has ruled baseball and softball are not comparable sports and that girls may now try out for their school's baseball team.
Under IHSAA rules, girls may participate on boys' teams in baseball, basketball, football, soccer and wrestling when a comparable girls program does not exist at the school. But following the lawsuit filed against the IHSAA in November on behalf of a Bloomington South freshman, the association's board recently voted 18-9 to let girls try out for baseball even if their school has a softball team.
IHSAA Commissioner Blake Ress said he thought the rule was correct as it was, but he will not fight the change.
Apparently, when the issue goes to court in other states, the girls win more often than they lose. The sports seem more similar than not to me. The fields and balls are different sizes, but each is played the same way with a bat and a ball and hitters and fielders and outs. But then I'm not a judge or otherwise a sports expert.
So, the girls can also try out for football if the school doesn't have a comparable sport? I notice there aren't any girls clamoring to try out for the football team. Does that mean the girls are being smart, or is soccer counted as a "comparable" sport? Just wondering.
