(3 of 10)
Such statistics are impressive, but they merely reinforce the most significant aspect of the explosive growth of women's sport: the new, refreshingly unapologetic pride of the female athlete. Atlanta's Carolyn Luesing, 36 and the mother of two, has been running seriously since 1973, and the sport has become an indispensable part of her life. "I have this compulsion to see what my potential is. I don't do it for anyone else. I do it for myself." Luesing will never make the Olympics, but her feelings, and those of thousands like her, parallel the thoughts of someone who has: Kate Schmidt, 24, who took a bronze medal in the javelin in Montreal. Says she: "I love to see myself getting strong, being competent and taking care of myself. That's probably the most motivating part of being an athlete."
Sport has always been one of the primary means of civilizing the human animal, of inculcating the character traits a society desires. Wellington in his famous aphorism insisted that the Battle of Waterloo had been won on the playing fields of Eton. The lessons learned on the playing field are among the most basic: the setting of goals and joining with others to achieve them; an understanding of and respect for rules; the persistence to hone ability into skill, prowess into perfection. In games, children learn that success is possible and that failure can be overcome. Championships may be won; when lost, wait till next year. In practicing such skills as fielding a grounder and hitting a tennis ball, young athletes develop work patterns and attitudes that carry over into college, the marketplace and all of life.
Yet in America's past this opportunity has been largely limited to males. After a brief period grace, when she would be called a tomboy and allowed to play second base, a girl has traditionally been subjected to heavy social pressure to withdraw from athletics. "Sports was the laboratory where they turned boys into men," says Penn State Psychologist Dr. Dorothy Harris. "As for girls, they were supposed to stand out in the hall, quaking in their tennis shoes. The penalty for daring to take part was to be labeled unfeminine, a social deviant. What is considered healthy psychological development in a man—aggressiveness, independence, ambition, courage, competitiveness—was viewed as unhealthy in a woman. Yet it is precisely those qualities that are found in every athlete, male or female. Whatever it is that works for little boys also works for little girls."
The crusade for women's sport has been helped by a number of court cases, scattered across the country, that have prodded reluctant athletic directors and league organizers into letting girls join boys' teams if there were no similar teams set up for the girls.