by Courtney Hill, Elizabeth Shaheen, Corinne M. Daprano, Peter Titlebaum  - University of Dayton  

The 2008 Beijing Olympics provided millions of people their first glimpse of China; the usual fervor over the Olympic Games was magnified as people clamored to see what life was really like in the world's largest country.

The Beijing Olympic Games saw more people tuning into the opening ceremonies than ever before and television ratings soared throughout the two-week event. For a few weeks the entire world was riveted by the grandeur of the Olympic Games and the athletic prowess of the world's best athletes. The world was also afforded a brief glimpse at the sights, sounds, beauty and unique history of China.

 Underneath the televised surface of the Beijing Olympics were many other important stories. One such story is of women athletes and their fight to gain equality in the world of sport. These Olympic Games were truly historic and marked the first time in which nearly as many women participated as men. An astonishing 42% of the participants were female and women competed in 137 separate events in Beijing (Beijing Organizing Committee, 2008) . Women from both China and the United States brought home as many medals as their male counterparts.

 It is clear that women, at least in these two countries, are able to claim their share of athletic glory on the international stage. Despite some parity on the Olympic stage, there are drastic differences in the sport systems of China and the United Sates. The question then becomes what differences between female athletes' sport participation in China and the United States emerge and what do these differences mean for each country's elite athletes?

Historical Comparison

 China and the United States are historically very different countries. The United States with its Declaration of Independence in 1776 became the first independent nation to arise from colonialism. In contrast, China did not declare itself an independent nation until 1912 when the Republic of China was formed (Brownell, 2005) . This 132 year time difference, and the vastly divergent government structures of the two nations, means that the relationship to sport in these two countries is very distinct. It is this difference that has led to today's place and status of women in the athletic arenas of both countries.

 Western sport was introduced to China long after the United States, and other industrialized nations, began to participate in the Olympic Games. Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, saw the Olympics as a way to emphasize friendly competition among nations. While Chinese citizens had their own history of sport participation (such as the emphasis on martial arts), Chinese sports did not fit into the global ideals of competition and were attacked by reformers as “too traditionalist.” These traditional sports were eventually replaced by Western sports in schools and communities across China (Brownell, 2005) .

 As Western sport took hold in China, the government began to emphasize sport as a form of nationalism; a way for citizens to bring global honor to their country. In 1910 China held its first national athletic meet in Janjing in which male and female athletes from across the country came to be judged against one another. This gave Chinese officials and citizens a glimpse of what type of athletes its country had to offer (Morris, 2004) . From this point forward the government began to create state-sponsored athletic facilities in which both males and females trained from an early age to become competitive athletes. The goal of these programs was for athletes to win medals for his or her country.

 In this way, sport in China became a national source of pride and a showcase to the world. It is because of this nationalist emphasis that female athletes in China were quickly afforded equal facilities and opportunities for training. In 1980 The People's Republic of China sent its first delegation to the Olympic Games in Lake Placid. From this point through the next two decades Chinese sportswomen performed better than their male counterparts in international sport competition (Brownell, 2005) . The standout Chinese women's national volleyball team became a source of national pride as they won five consecutive world titles in the 1980s.

 Today female athletes continue to play a central role in Chinese sport culture. In four of the last five Summer Olympic Games female athletes have outnumbered their male counterparts on the Chinese national team. In the 2008 Olympic Games the Chinese national team numbered 600 athletes; 312 of those athletes were male and 288 female. In addition, female athletes' Olympic achievements were celebrated throughout the Games. Despite controversy over the women's gymnastics team, the country rallied behind their athletes and supported the team's efforts. The Chinese Olympic Committee even developed a website devoted to Chinese Female Athletes of the past and present. The website outlines the achievements of women in Beijing and past Olympiads and emphasizes the important role women have played in Chinese sport history (Women's Foreign Language Publications of China, 2008) .

 This philosophy of equal access for male and female athletes throughout modern Chinese sport history contrasts with the struggle of American female athletes to receive the same treatment and recognition as their male counterparts. Historically, sport in the United States (U.S.) has been seen as an inherently masculine pursuit and consequently women have not been able to participate in sport the same way as men. For example, though women have participated in each Olympiad since 1900, it took decades for American women to be permitted to compete in Olympic sports other than those deemed “socially acceptable” such as archery and tennis (Worsnop, 1997) .

 Throughout the mid-nineteenth century the types of sport American women played and their general participation in sport was determined by socio-economic status. Only American women with money and the ability to attend college were able to participate in sport (Costa, 2003) . It was on the collegiate level that American women were first introduced to team sports, such as basketball, that had previously been deemed appropriate only for men.

 As women's athletics in the U.S. began to grow at the collegiate level, other outlets for women emerged in the industrial sector. Companies began to organize women's sport leagues to foster a sense of community in their workforce. These leagues included team sports such as bowling, basketball, and softball, among others, and allowed women to enter the sport arena as never before. From these industrial leagues basketball gained popularity among working class women so that women throughout the U.S. began playing the game. Women began to participate in sports in larger numbers but were often limited in their participation because of concerns that athletic activity was detrimental to women's health (Costa, 2003) . Despite doctors' warnings, however, women continued to create and participate in their own sports leagues.

 In 1943 the first women's professional baseball league, The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), began holding games. Many young men had left the U.S. to fight in World War II (WW II) and there were few athletes left on the home front to play baseball; with the help of Philip Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs, women began to fill this void (AAGPBL Players Association, 2005) . The AAGPBL continued for twelve years until funding and the league's popularity diminished as many Major League Baseball players returned from the war. Despite its ultimate dissolution, the AAGPBL remains one of the most successful women's leagues in U.S. history.

 After WW II, women in the U.S. were encouraged to leave the workforce and return to their homes. This meant less women participating in industrial sport leagues and less interest in women's professional leagues as men began returning to the world of sport. Once again, women took back stage to men in the sport arena and were relegated to watching rather than playing many sports. It was during the Women's Rights Movement of the 1960s in the U.S. that a revolution in women's sports began in earnest.

 During this time U.S. women and their coaches began to take responsibility for women's achievement in sports. Unlike the state funding and resources provided to athletes in China, it was generally left to U.S. athletes to find training facilities and outlets for their athletic achievements. Facilities and coaching for women during the 60's and 70's were typically subpar in comparison to those available for men. The Women's Rights Movement marked the first time that female athletes began to demand equal participation in sport.

 In 1972 the U.S. Congress passed Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act which declared,

“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance” (U.S. Department of Justice, 2001, p. 7)

 This federal law encompassed all areas of education; however it soon became closely aligned with equity in athletics. The application of Title IX to athletics was perceived by some to be a threat to male-dominated sports and its legality has been challenged numerous times before the Supreme Court. Despite unanticipated setbacks, such as a decrease in job opportunities for female coaches and athletic administrators, the number of female athletes' competing in high school and collegiate sport has grown dramatically since Title IX's inception in 1972 (Acosta & Carpenter, 2008).

 Today, female athletes in the U.S. are experiencing growing recognition and opportunity at all levels of play (Daprano & Titlebaum, 2002). Young girls join local basketball, soccer, softball and other leagues at close to the same rate as young boys. Title IX continues to assure that women have equal access to sport in educational settings and young girls are growing up with prominent role models in women's athletics. There are still struggles but the U.S. has come a long way from deeming sport unhealthy for women to participate in; only 100 years ago doctors declared women too fragile for competitive sport.

 Professional leagues have continued to grow in number for female athletes as well. The Ladies Professional Golf League (LPGA) is growing in popularity among viewers and consequently among sponsor companies. The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), boasting 12 years of competitive play, is the only sport in which the women's league and the men's league (The National Basketball Association) have close to racial and gender equality between leagues (Costa, 2003) . Women in the WNBA have access to the same facilities, equal coaching staff, media representation, officiating staff and medical attention as men in the NBA. This is a huge step in the direction of creating equality in men and women's sport in the U.S. and can serve as a model for where U.S. women's sports will head next.

Different Systems, Same Results

 It is obvious that China and the United States have vastly different sports systems in place. The Chinese government controls the access to and training of elite athletes throughout the country. The United States, on the other hand, allows athletes to self-select their sport of choice and to fund their own participation. While each country obviously operates a very different sport system, the question that arises for many is whether or not one system is better than the other. Many sensibilities would say that the United States system of free choice is the better of the two. However, the other side could be argued as well; China continues to produce highly competitive athletes. It seems, though, that in the end both systems are working well for the purpose they serve: to produce elite female athletes who can compete on the world stage.

 If the goal is to produce top female athletes who can compete in international competitions, such as the Olympics, then both countries are doing very well. Remember, overall female participation in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, reached an all-time high of forty-two percent. The United States national team was comprised of a total of 285 women, only 26 short of the number of male athletes on the team. Chinese women brought home the same number of medals as their male counterparts, and estimates are that by the next Olympiad, females will make up a full 50% of competitors during the games.

 No sport system is perfect; they each deal with the imperfections of human strengths and desires. However, it is important to realize that while countries may get to the end goal differently, each is a valid system worth exploring. Some may think that the government of China has created an oppressive sport system that allows athletes little to no choice in terms of sport participation. However, they may not be considering the role of American parents in the choice of sports their children play. It could be argued that the role of parents in this choice is much the same as the role of the Chinese government; choosing which sport they think their children will be good at and pushing them into that sport. There is even a new service that can be utilized by parents to test their child's DNA to determine which sport they are best suited to play (Macur, 2008).

 One should keep an open mind when examining the cultures and customs of other countries. Each country may achieve the end goals in a different manner, but no one system is perfect. This discussion is simply a cursory view of two very different sport systems and their impact on the lives of female athletes. Female athletes and their supporters in both countries still have work to do before total gender parity is achieved, but as each system continues to produce world-class athletes gender equality is becoming more of a reality.

References

AAGPBL Players Assocation. (2005). All American Girls Professional Baseball League: League history . Retrieved December 31, 2008 , from http://www.aagpbl.org/league/history.cfm

Acosta, R.V. & Carpenter, L.J. (2008). Women in intercollegiate sport: A longitudinal, national study-thirty one year update 1977-2008. Retrieved November 11, 2008, from http://www.acostacarpenter.org/

Beijing Organizing Committee. (2008). Overall medal standings. Retrieved November 11, 2008, from http://results.bejing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/GL/95A/GL000000.shtml.

Brownell, S. (2005). Challenged America: China and America--Women and sport, past, present and future. International Journal of the History of Sport, 22 , 1173-1193.

Costa, M. D. (2003). Social issues in American women's sports. In E. I. T. Pfister (Ed.), Sport and women: Social issues in international prospecitve (pp. 143-160). New York, NY: Routledge.

Daprano, C. & Titlebaum, P. (2002). Women's sports: Opportunities and challenges. Retrieved November 11, 2008, from http://www.sports-media.org/Sportapolisnewsletter9.htm

Macur, J. (2008, November 29). Born to run? Little one's get test for sports gene. New York Times , p. A1.

Morris, A. (2004). Marrow of the nation: A history of sport and physical culture in Republican China. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

U.S. Department of Justice (2001). Title IX legal manual. Retrieved November 11, 2008, from http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/cor/coord/ixlegal.pdf

Women's Foreign Language Publications of China. (2008). Women in the Beijing Olympic Games and China's former women athletes. Retrieved December 31, 2008, from http://www.womenofchina.cn/Olympic_Games/News/

Worsnop, R. L. (1997, April 18). Gender equity in sports. CQ Researcher , 7 , 337-360. Retrieved November 11, 2008, from CQ Researcher Online, http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1997041800.

2. To date do you feel that either China or the United States has been able to achieve gender equity in sport participation?

3. Does the portrayal of female athletes by the media make it difficult for women to be taken seriously as athletes?

4. Would the answer to the previous question be significantly different in China versus the United States?

5. Parents in the United States can now utilize DNA tests to determine if their children are apt to excel in a particular sport. Parents can then steer their children to participate in those particular sports. Is this more appropriate than the Chinese government choosing sports for their citizens?

Courtney Hill is the Graduate Assistant for the sport management program at the University of Dayton. She is currently working on her MBA with a focus in marketing.

Elizabeth Shaheen is a spring 2008 graduate of the sport management program at the University of Dayton. She is currently working as an Associate Brand Manager at Evenflo in Dayton, OH.