Leading off today: Administrators at a Massachusetts school district have announced that its girls high school field hockey team will forfeit two upcoming games because the scheduled opponent has a boy on its team.
Dighton-Rehoboth Regional, located 40 miles south of Boston, will forfeit its league games against Somerset Berkley next Tuesday and on Oct. 8, the first time it is implementing a district policy put in place in July that allows players and/or coaches to opt out of contests in which the opponent includes a member of the opposite sex.
The policy was formulated following a field hockey game last November in which a Dighton-Rehoboth player was injured by a deflected shot off the stick of a male player. The girl's injuries required hospitalization and extensive dental work, The Boston Globe reported.
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association abides by the state's equal rights amendment, under which boys can join girls teams if there is not a male equivalent to the sport. The MIAA voted to create a seven-on-seven boys field hockey league in 2021, but there was a lack of interest among boys to sustain it.
The Globe reported Somerset Berkley, which won back-to-back state Division 1 titles beginning in 2018 with two prominent male players on its roster, has one male on the current team. Somerset Berkley was 17-0-1 a year ago and has won its first two games this month.
"We understand this forfeit will impact our chance for a league championship and possibly playoff eligibility, but we remain hopeful that other schools consider following suit to achieve safety and promote fair competition for female athletes," Dighton-Rehoboth Superintendent Bill Runey said.
In a statement to the paper, Somerset Berkley Superintendent Jeff Schoonover said his district follows all MIAA regulations. "Somerset Berkley supports the rights of all students to access and participate in athletics for which they are eligible," he said.
A 2023 statement from the MIAA said members cannot cite student safety in mixed-gender policies "due to the lack of correlation between injuries and mixed-gender teams," the Boston Herald reported.
The Dighton-Rehoboth decision attrracted the attention of former NCAA swimming star Riley Gaines, who has become prominent in supporting Title IX and opposing the participation of transgender competitors in women's sports.
"Safety and fairness should take priority over inclusion. Schools shouldn't participate in the farce," Gaines posted on X.com. "I know it's easier said than done, but all schools should follow Dighton-Rehoboth's example."
Said Dighton-Rehoboth school committee member Katie Ferreira-Aubin: "This is not about sexuality or trans children. It's about biology. Nothing more, nothing less. I am proud this policy gives our athletes and coaches a voice and a choice and a personal decision on this issue. I am hopeful other districts will follow and allow their athletes and coaches the same choice."
Today's extra points
• Not surprisingly, there will be a strong presence of out-of-section teams Saturday at the
Queensbury Invitational cross country meet. That course will be the venue for the NYSPHSAA championships on Nov. 16. Some of the locals already very familiar with the course will pass up the opportunity, as is often the case on state-meet courses.
• Organizers Kate and Perry Novak said the past weekend's eighth annual NYSSCOGS tournament scattered primarily across venues in Section 2 attracted a national-record 64 girls soccer teams over three days of competition.
