Gwennette Ross
Mrs. Straub
A1A2,B1B2 AP Economics
January 12th, 2017
For years women and young adults like me choose a sport that we love. Soccer, Softball, Track, are just some of the sports that girls go into because we like it and want to pursue it as a possible career. Or in some cases it's just a sport we are forced into because that is what girls are “suppose to do”. In the most remote places where poverty is an issue young girls look and dream about there future and where will they be. The most common sports out there is soccer baseball and rugby.
When dreaming about their careers, job searching especially in sports can be difficult when you want to become an athlete. Finding the sport that you love and are able to stick with it is very hard because the different opportunity costs. We usually start in high school or even earlier than that when falling in love with that particular sport.
When it comes down to graduating and going to college you have to travel, and when picking a sport in college the opportunity cost is that you don’t really have the college experience and you don’t get to study quite as much like a normal student due to a lot of practices, workouts and conditioning and being mostly on the road throughout the states. Even the places where the poverty threshold sometimes is an issue for parents aren’t able to get their children into sports or the right equipment for that sport and that's why rugby is simple and easy because you don’t need pads or anything like that just shoes.
There are many women now that are choosing to play rugby after being in the sport when in high school. From personal experience when seeing the 2016 Summer Olympics when rugby was introduced it opened a lot of eyes. After seeing them play more and more young girls are trying rugby and they are seeing if it is the sport for them. The chart above shows that because of the growth in the sport from 2015 , in the 2016 Summer Olympics there were actually more women players than there was men.
In conclusion in the women’s rugby community, the olympics have opened a greater opportunity for them and young girls to see that rugby is a great sport. More and more they are seeing that there will be more women getting more jobs as a professional rugby athletes. If we increase the knowledge of the sport then maybe by 2020 there will be more women playing the game. Starting in the more remote areas like parts of Brazil and Kenya will get more girls interested not only to try something new but to get them out there and learning something as this can be a possible career.
Of course every person should have the opportunity to participate in sports, but there are ways to offset the costs of participation such as the school not charging a fee, or other grants. The difficulty in finding a job as a professional athlete however, comes from the fact there are very few athletes demanded. Also participation in college sports shouldn't take away from an individuals college experience, as they made the choice to dedicate their time to the sport, and having seen my sisters schedule at Madison, she has time to study, go to class, spend time with friends as well as train for her Iron Man. This is because of the amount of free time available. As for those living in poverty, they issue generally isnt the availability of athletics, but the lack of free time and education.
ReplyDeleteI think participating in a sport is a great way to get involved and meet new people even though it does take up a lot of time. For some, there are positives that greatly outweigh the negatives. One big incentive to play sports in college is the scholarships. Schools have to decide if it is worth it to give students the incentive to attend their school to better their sports team with a scholarship, or if the money could be better used in some other way like updating a building or offering more classes.
ReplyDeleteI think that everyone should have the experience of being involved in a sports team at their school and have the opportunity to work as a team in that sport. I believe it is fun and a great thing to do after school. It does get tricky when going to college and wanting to also be involved in a sport because of the tougher studying schedule of course. I agree that it is a difficult task to find a job in as an athlete because there are so many others that are great at the same sport and there is also a lower demand than some other jobs.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement about rugby being a great sport to get into especially for girls considering that it is a sport that is on the rougher side. Now days girls aren't, "Supposed to", play in a sport like rugby but I do believe that it is the sport that can eliminate that whole stereotype overall. What also comes to benefit with this sport as well is the amount of money that has to be put into it. Such a little amount, it is affordable for many families suffering from poverty while also giving many men and women the opportunity to make something great out of it.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do agree with you that playing sports in college is a good experience and that more people should play rugby, I do not agree with the argument that rugby is the main sport that is easy for families under the poverty threshold. In general all sports have fees that the athletes have to pay, and when you reach college all of the equipment you need is included when you pay that fee. So for those students who are living in poverty, by playing any sport in college they will get the same opportunities no matter what because they do not have to worry about being able to afford equipment.
ReplyDeleteI agree that sports play a bug part in peoples lives, and they some may not be able to afford everything needed for said sport. For those who struggle with money, schools are normally really good about giving the families a price they can work with. It doesn't matter what sport you are in, because they are all expensive mo matter what.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement of playing sports in college being a benefit and a good experience. I did not completely agree with the argument stating that you don't get the full college experience if you are playing a sport. I believe that in college even though you are playing a sport you're still offered a large amount of time to partake in studying and socializing with friends and truly get the full college experience while continuing to follow your dream of playing whatever sport you choose.
ReplyDeleteSports are a great outlet for staying active and being social and many people pick up a sport for those purposes, but some are very serious about their sport. There are sometimes some complications for people to try and cover the cost of these sports and the equipment that comes with them and although rugby may have a smaller price to pay than some sports because of the limited "necessary" equipment, as with any sport, if an athlete is truly dedicated, there will be more costs. As the athlete will want to grow and succeed in the sport, they will want more, new ways to practice as their skills grow and evolve. Drills for practicing that used to be beneficial may not be anymore because of how the athlete has grown, so I believe it's hard to say which sport is the most easily accessible in terms of cost.
ReplyDeleteI have always thought about how big of a role sports play in so many of our lives. Like the post says, for some sports is a hobby, while for others sports are forced upon them by their parents or guardians. Every sport, whether it be rugby, soccer or otherwise, plays some sort of big role in so many people's lives, and helps to create a sense of commodity among all athletes who participate in such a sport. I, for one, can't think of many other activities that manage to do such a monumental task. I'm glad that this post touched on that sense of community.
ReplyDeleteI agree that rugby is a fun and engaging, however I don't think that having more younger aged kids playing rugby will increase the chances of them finding a career in rugby. Currently there is no market for Women's rugby in the United States. I have never even heard of professional Women's rugby before and I know in the Men's sport that Rugby players are switching over to football because they are not making enough money. So with that I don't think Women's rugby is a good career to pursue because few make it, and even the few who do make it aren't made known to the public because it is a small market.
ReplyDeleteI agree that rugby has expanded throughout years and has become more known. I also do agree that playing the sport or being involves in the sport can open new doors and opportunities, but that is in all sports. I think having young people getting involved and spreading the work and the sport to others and engaging others is a great thing for the future because those young girls you mention are the future. All sport play big roles in life weather personal or not and to have people interested in a sport is a very good thing because the sports industry is huge and growing and getting the word out about different kinds of sports makes people determine to set a goal and achieve it. Getting a career is just as fierce as playing the game its competitive and that's what people love.
ReplyDeleteI think that although Rugby is a really cool sport, there isn't really an American market for it. Rugby is an international sport and is legendary and quite momentous in other societies, but with American's enjoying their daily doses of football, baseball, and basketball, getting new sports to gain popularity is a major challenge. In the recent past, soccer has begun to become the next big thing, but I feel like to initiate that for Rugby, its going to take a while.
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