Basketball blues
Sick of my sisters’ hand me downs, I was finally allowed to purchase my own pair of basketball shoes. Walking into Sport Chek as a young teenager I knew exactly what I wanted; good ankle support, some sturdy laces, and perhaps even my school colours (which was purple, so I wasn’t expecting much). I told this to the sales representative and he led me to the male section of shoes. I was confused as to why there were no female basketball shoes to which he responded, “There just isn’t any demand for them.” This was my first glimpse into the inequality in numbers of female basketball players compared to male.
When I came to Trinity Western University I heard about Titans teams and just assumed a Titans Women’s Basketball team would be on the roster, which, to my surprise, there wasn’t. I began playing in the intramural league and was disappointed with the lack of female players; each of the three female teams seemed to struggle every week to have enough players coming out. This year, the turnout is much more impressive, which is a step in the right direction, but looking for women’s leagues around the area for a Titans team has proved difficult. It seems as if basketball is just not a sport that women are interested in continuing in the long run. There are many more “pretty” sports to play or more socially acceptable sports for girls. The basketball world typically caters to males lacking any feminine enticement leaving leagues and players tough to find. Even our women’s Spartans basketball games are poorly attended. I encourage any closet female basketball players to get out on the court each week in Intramurals or even using the “cage” behind Northwest to keep up their basketball skills. Night class gets in my way for playing this semester, but ladies, I’ll see you on the court in the spring!
Brianna Vyn
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