Annual age cohort groupings promote relative age effects (RAEs), which often, inadvertently, create participation and attainment biases between relatively older and younger players within the same age cohort. In a globally evolving sport, women's rugby team selection practices may potentially bypass qualified players as a result of maturational…

The relative age effect (RAE) suggests that athletes may be provided with greater opportunities for success depending on the position of their birthdate in a sport's selection year. While the effect has been well established in men's sports, less is known about women's sports. This study examined the RAE in developmental girls' hockey in Ontario.…

Mixing methods has recently achieved respectability as an appropriate approach to research design, offering a variety of advantages (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003). The purpose of this paper is to outline and evaluate a mixed methods approach within the domain of coaches' decision making. Illustrated with data from a policy-capturing study on…

Comparison of women's athletics programs in the United States and Canada since the inception of Title IX indicates that such intercollegiate programs in both countries have seen considerable growth but have also faced financial and other problems. (CB)

Examined the relationship between gender, physicality, and embodiment among Canadian adolescent girls who played ice hockey. Interview data indicated that the girls emphasized the importance of being aggressive (fearless in use of the body). Players understood that contrasts between men's hockey (more physical and aggressive) and women's hockey…

This paper presents a discussion of events within national sport organizations that have recently addressed the problem of homophobia in sports; in particular, the social, professional, and political harassment of lesbian women who are career athletes. A brief overview is given of the stance of feminists, both liberal humanist and radical, on the…

Examines the influence of significant others on continuing involvement in sport by 376 female Canadian secondary school students. Finds that the socializing influence of parents and peers accounted for 11 percent of the variance in intramural activity, 20 percent of the variance in interschool sport, and 10 percent of the variance in…

Survey of 100 young female gymnasts examined injuries over a 40-month period. Injury rates were similar to those found in other studies of female competitive gymnasts, but there were several notable findings regarding injury patterns. Prevention methods to reduce injury include modifying mat design and prescribing strengthening and stretching…

Examines the construction of community on a women's ice hockey team, using data from fieldwork and interviews with one Canadian team. Results indicated that the locker room provided a space where players came together as hockey players and women. A common focus on hockey united the diverse group. (SM)

"Planting the Seeds: Growth in Rural Education [Two]... A Series of Choices" outlines nine effective practices in programming for small and rural schools. The nine projects are described and additional resources, contacts, and references are provided for each. The nine projects include an outreach school partnership, the use of a mobile…

The Gender Equity in Recreation Services Policy for the City of London (Ontario, Canada, November 1996) was the first municipal policy of its kind in Canada. It followed the development of the Sport Canada Policy on Women in Sport and the Ontario Policy on Full and Fair Access for Women and Girls in Sport and Physical Activity. It resulted from…

Cites the decreased participation rates of women in sports as they age. Contends that sports historians, by focusing on women and sports, can dispel myths about the subject and provide women with positive role models. Provides informational sources for women in sports and discusses notable Canadian female athletes in history. (RW)

The reports from this conference deal with the sources, manifestations, and influences of sports and physical education over time, geography, and cultures. Written in a non-technical manner, the twenty-eight articles deal with the relationship of sports to (among others) politics, art, dance, mythology, religion, economics, sociology, and…

Developments pertinent to women's rights and women's studies at colleges and universities are reported. The following areas are covered: the status of women's college sports programs and alleged sex discrimination involving college faculty and school organizations; the impact of litigation in promoting equity for women; approaches for handling…