A CUP DE GRACE; WILLIAMS CUP SHOWS FUTURE OF GIRLS' SPORTS.Byline: Scott Magoloff Staff Writer WESTLAKE VILLAGE - Options are limited for female prep athletes who have the desire to compete in a contact sport. As the advent of the women's Olympic hockey team and the growth in women's boxing Women's boxing first appeared in the Olympic Games at a demonstration bout in 1904. For most of the 20th century, however, it was banned in most nations. Its revival was pioneered by the Swedish Amateur Boxing Association, which sanctioned events for women in 1988. have demonstrated, there is a burgeoning interest in the more combative com·bat·ive adj. Eager or disposed to fight; belligerent. See Synonyms at argumentative. com·bat  ive·ly adv. sports which had previously been reserved
for males only.
There are girls on prep football teams across the country, although there are no girls' teams. And then there's wrestling. Very few schools have a girls' wrestling team in the region, leaving one option: join the boys' team, which many do. On Saturday, there was a much-needed alternative in the first annual Williams Cup, held at Westlake High. More than 70 girls - many from the region and others from Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern and Nevada - competed in the first girls' wrestling tournament hosted by the Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. High girls' wrestling team. ``I know if (the boy) wins it's no big deal, but if they lose, they got beat by a girl,'' said Granada Hills junior Michelle Pallan, who finished third in the 109-pound division and has competed on the Highlanders boys' varsity since she was a freshman. ``A lot of girls were making me the poster girl for women's rights The effort to secure equal rights for women and to remove gender discrimination from laws, institutions, and behavioral patterns. The women's rights movement began in the nineteenth century with the demand by some women reformers for the right to vote, known as suffrage, and , but it's not about that. I love the game.'' It seems the love is infectious. While most of the girls said they didn't mind competing against boys, they also said a girls' meet offers a more productive environment. The Thousand Oaks girls' team has already advanced to that level. With a roster of about 20 wrestlers See
n. 1. A cavalryman armed with a lance. 2. A member of a regiment originally armed with lances. 3. lancers (used with a sing. verb) a. A kind of quadrille. b. girls' team coordinates dual meets with the boys'. The team calls the visiting school in advance to invite them to bring as many girls as they can. While some of their meets fizzled in their first season last year, they have meets lined up for the entire season this time around. ``They're getting good experience working with guys who are stronger and they're lucky for that,'' Thousand Oaks junior Elyse Schoenwald (third place, 123 pounds) said of the girls who must compete on boys' teams. ``We're also lucky. We're trying to separate the sport into separate divisions so it makes it a little more fair.'' The movement at Thousand Oaks was started by Shannon Yancey, a teacher and coach at the school who won four national championships in women's wrestling in the 1990s. Yancey competed against boys when she was in high school before discovering a women's tournament in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden in 1990. She won her weight class and qualified for the World Championships in Sweden, where she finished fourth. This success led to her national titles. With her hands-on approach at the Williams Cup - she held a clinic for the first hour of the meet to further the girls' knowledge before the competition - many of the girls sought Yancey out for autographs and photos after the meet. ``That just makes you feel good,'' Yancey said. ``All the hard work and effort was worth it because you're making an impact on their lives. . . . It's just to give them opportunities.'' Yancey expects more opportunities to present themselves with each passing year. She said next year's Williams Cup - which bears her maiden name maiden name n. A woman's family name before she is married. Used of a surname that is replaced by a woman when she marries. Also called birth name. as she recently got married - will be bigger and better. She has already started planning and is confident she can make a number of improvements. But who knows? By then the number of girls' tournaments could soar, diminishing the significance of the Williams Cup as an oasis of opportunity. That would have to please Yancey, who founded the girls' wrestling team at Thousand Oaks. ``It gives girls a good experience to wrestle other girls,'' said San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. junior Liliana Medina (third place, 145 pounds), who also played junior varsity junior varsity n. Abbr. JV A high-school or college team that competes in interschool sports on the level below varsity. Noun 1. football last year. ``It's turning into a coed sport; it's not just for guys.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1) Granada Hills' Sarra Schwartz grimaces while applying a hold to her opponent at the first Williams Cup girls' wrestling tournament Saturday at Westlake High. Michael Owen
(2) In a 99-pound division matchup, Pacific High of San Bernardino's Veronica Dinse has the upper hand against Agoura's Rachel Reiss. Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer (3) Granada Hills' Sarra Schwartz loosens up for a match. Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion