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I am 70 years old and have played or officiated in sports most of my life. When I started, it was before Title IX and women either weren’t allowed to participate or were constrained by ridiculous rules (thinking of basketball where they weren’t allowed to dribble more than two times before passing the ball). After Title IX, thankfully, the girls as well as spectators have been able to experience many, many amazing moments ranging from an enlightened smile from a 12 year old kicking a soccer ball, to someone winning the Olympic marathon.
I’ve always felt that I have much more in common with the competitors and have many lifelong friends that I have met that way. Sports have a way of bringing friends together, even if they haven’t met yet.
When I was competing in track and cross country in high school and college, I weighed around 180 pounds. I became one of the best runners in New England through hard work and a love for the sport. Most of the other top runners weighed around 120 to 140 pounds. Maybe they should have been required to wear a 40-pound vest to make it fair. Of course that is ridiculous, it was my choice to compete when I had less chance to win the race.
Speaking of fairness, in upper level sports, drug testing is done and violators are suspended. Before banning transgender people from sports just because, maybe you should institute testing for all athletes. You might be surprised at the number of people using banned substances to gain an advantage.
Darrell Seekins
Searsport
