The topic of my paper was “Title IX and Its Effects on Women’s Athletics.” I chose this subject because I have loved to play sports all my life, and I wondered why girls stop playing sports the older they get. I also wondered if there were things that could keep girls involved in sports as they get older. After I learned about Title IX, and how it required that women get the same opportunities as men to receive equal facilities and coaching and scholarships, I felt that I would focus on a project that would encourage more girls to play sports, or at least be more physically active. After doing some research, I decided to build a sand volleyball court at the Statesville Boys and Girls Club. I was surprised that even though most people think that Title IX was about women in sports, it actually was a much broader law about equal opportunity for women in general. Women used this law to ensure their employment and that they would be treated fairly in their jobs. I now know how to use this law if I thought that I was being treated unfairly by another male employee at my job.
For instance, if I were scheduled to work fewer hours than a male employee that I have been there longer than, and I have the same qualifications as I could cite Title IX to my boss. Further, I never knew that women were being discriminated against in sports when they attend college. So, now I know that, if offered money for an athletic scholarship, I should investigate if the amount of scholarship money that I am offered is the same for males at the school where I attend. Before I started my project, I had played some outdoor (grass) and beach volleyball, so I knew about the court size, lines, nets and balls. However, I did not know how the land had to be prepared before sand could be added to the court. Also, I was surprised at how much sand it took to fill the court. It was easy for me to find a place that wanted the court.
The Boys and Girls Club has a large area outside the building where kids run around. They were eager to let me develop a more structured area for play. They helped me mark off the area, dig up the grass, and make sure the area was level. However, if I had to do this all over again, I would just have installed a grass court. It would have been so much easier. Janet Jones was a really nice mentor who helped me in many ways. Without her, I do not think that the process would have gone as smoothly. She helped me develop a plan for soliciting donations and she put me in touch with someone she knew with a backhoe. It was difficult for me to get over my shyness when asking for money and donations. Most people saw how serious I was, and how much it would benefit the kids, so they were eager to help. I know that this project will allow girls to continue to be athletic and maybe one day they will have the opportunity to play in college on a scholarship. My research showed me that there is a need to keep girls active in sports past the required amount of physical education classes. If girls can have access to places to play for fun and also develop their skills, they can become life-long athletes. I think that the sand volleyball court that I built will give many girls a reason to play.
It is fun and is a lot better than sitting around playing on their electronic devices. I developed my math skills through this project as I had to do a lot of measuring for the volleyball court and how much sand was needed. I had to learn how to dig and pour footers to install the poles for the nets. I had to do more research on how high the nets had to be for certain age kids. Mostly I had to learn how to be flexible because when it rained, I could not do any work and I have to do a lot of rescheduling. In my future, I plan to play volleyball in college. I do not know if I will play beach volleyball or volleyball indoors. I hope to see some of those boys and Girls club girls playing in the future as well