Think about the differences between men’s and women’s sports for a second.
They’re usually not too far off from one another. For example, take a look at men’s and women’s basketball. There are very little, if any differences between the two. The goal is the same for both genders - take the big orange ball and put it through the hoop. Boom.
How about baseball and softball? Yes, men play on a bigger field and the pitchers throw differently, but for the most part, it’s the same game. Get as many people to touch home base as humanly possible. There isn’t too big a difference.
Now think about the differences between men’s and women’s lacrosse.
In men’s lacrosse, each team has 10 players on the field at a time (not including the goalkeeper). They wear a decent amount of padding, including helmets and are allowed to hit their opponents to make a play for the ball.
Women’s lacrosse, however, is a very different game. Different enough that it could be considered a completely different sport.
In women’s lacrosse, there are 12 players on the field at a time, no helmets, just mouth guards and face guards, and physical contact is not promoted in the women’s game.
“It’s just two different sports. Two different sticks, two different sets of rules; it’s just different,” said Elaine Jones, head coach of Longwood’s women’s lacrosse team. “When women’s lacrosse started, you weren’t going to put the helmets on, and that’s what differentiates the women from the men and that the men do wear the pads, and there is more hitting involved.”
You look at a rougher sport like ice hockey, however, and the differences between the men’s and women’s game are minimal. So what gives? In a world where gender equality is so important, one could fairly assume that both men’s and women’s lacrosse would be played approximately the same way, but that’s not the case.
“I guess that does put a different perspective on it when you think about it like that,” said Longwood senior midfielder Sarah Butler. “I’ve always just grown up playing the women’s game, obviously, and my brothers grew up playing the men’s game, and we were always like, ‘Women’s is the best, boys is the best.’ It doesn’t really feel like, ‘Oh, well that’s unfair because I’m a girl.’ ”
To Butler, a resident of New Zealand, it feels natural for her to have a different spin on the game she’s played for most of her life. A game she plays not only for Longwood, but for New Zealand’s national team. It’s what she’s used to.
As a member of her national team, Butler could be a part of New Zealand’s Olympic women’s lacrosse team. There’s just one small issue:
Lacrosse isn’t included in the Olympics.
According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a lot has to happen for a sport such as lacrosse to be entered into the games:
“To make it onto the Olympic programme, a sport first has to be recognised: it must be administered by an International Federation which ensures that the sport's activities follow the Olympic Charter. If it is widely practised around the world and meets a number of criteria established by the IOC session, a recognised sport may be added to the Olympic programme on the recommendation of the IOC's Olympic Programme Commission.”
Lacrosse is a sport constantly growing in popularity, especially at the high school level in the United States. So, what is keeping it from being included in the Olympics?
“It’s the differences between the men’s and women’s game,” said Butler. “That’s one of the reasons that I’ve heard that lacrosse isn’t in the Olympics because the men’s and women’s game is so different, so that’s what I’m thinking about. I’m thinking about the Olympics, not about the ‘Oh, well it should be the same because we’re equals.’ My sport isn’t the same and that’s why we’re not allowed to be in the Olympics.”
If men’s and women’s lacrosse were played the same way, Longwood University could have an Olympian on its campus. Instead, both variants of the game are vastly different, which, in turn, keeps both Butler and the game itself out of the Olympics.
Even though the game is so different between men and women, the women’s game has plenty to offer that is harder to find in the men’s game. While men’s lacrosse is more physical, women’s lacrosse is more technical. Without the contact, strategy and pinpoint calculations are what set the women’s game apart.
To Butler, that’s enough to make her happy, plus she doesn’t have to wear all the equipment that comes along with the men’s game.
“I like how technical the women’s game is,” said Butler. “I wouldn’t want to wear all the pads,the helmet. No way, I don’t want that on my head.”
