As I stand with my team waiting in the wings, ready to take the stage in the auditorium at UNF in Jacksonville, Florida, the nerves flow through everyone’s body. The team ahead of us hits its last eight counts and everyone prepares to go on next. The announcer calls our name and we begin to walk on stage. Although each of us is excited and has smiles on our faces, there is one noticeable difference. Nearly every other seat in the crowd is empty, and of the scarce members in the audience, the majority are looking down at their phones, waiting for the latest college football score update. 

Growing up, almost every person has spent at least one Saturday huddled in the living room with their family with the TV on full blast watching a college sport playing. Whether this is football, basketball, baseball or any other men’s sport, this is predominantly what we see fans raving over. While men’s high school and college sports are entertaining and suspenseful to watch, it is obvious that women athletes do not receive the same amount of recognition as men athletes. Women athletes put in equal amounts of training and playing time and are equally as successful compared to any other male sport, therefore, women should not be getting any less recognition.

Dating back thousands of years ago, typical gender stereotypes revolved around boys dominating the field in nearly every sport. As years go on though, these roles begin to shift and females are constantly working to uphold and surpass the same standards and records as men. As females continue to challenge these records and grow more competitive, it calls for more recognition to be seen within female sports. 

As of last year, I was a competitive dancer for 14 consecutive years at Tallahassee Dance Academy. I spent a minimum of 10 hours each and every week training and perfecting each step of my dances. Coming in for seven-hour practices on Saturdays and leaving with sore ankles and torn-up feet were both physically and emotionally draining. While this was such a strong passion of mine, staring out into the crowd and seeing everyone in the audience pay no attention to my team and our hard work became degrading and frustrating. Female athletes devote just as many hours to training and perfecting their sport as male athletes do, so giving them the recognition and respect they deserve is vital. 

“Girls sports do [deserve more recognition] because they put in the same amount of effort and time,” senior Lilly Phipps said. “In our sports, we go just as far or farther than the boys. I think we are fun to watch and have a lot of team spirit.” 

In addition to the immense amounts of time and practice women dedicate to their sports, their success rate is just as high as in men’s sports. While these high levels of success are proven in the realm of collegiate athletes, success rates within our Maclay community are very common and present. Sports teams such as competitive cheer, track and field, swim, volleyball and soccer hold school records, making history in monumental tournaments and competitions. 

[After our fourth place victory at cheer states last year], I think we deserve more recognition because I think that girls’ sports have proven themselves over the years,” junior Molly Lamb said. “And with us beating the school record, it shows that we should be recognized more.” 

Despite that fans may claim that women’s sports do in fact receive the same amount of recognition, they do not. Women’s sports are constantly pushed to the side and are only appreciated in spite of men’s sports. Women put just as much time and effort into their sports as well as their high success rates, qualifying them for the high levels of respect and recognition they deserve.