Boys Class 4 needed!

The Editor, Sir:

Now that Champs 2010 is over and all the hype has died, for everybody else besides Wolmer's and Holmwood anyway, there are a few things that maybe ISSA can make an attempt to deal with. The girls have a Class 4. The boys don't. Why?

There is at least a two-year break between boys arriving at school and starting to take track and field seriously because of the lack of Class 4. Most boys really start to shine at Class 3 in third form, three years after arriving at high school. Those three years are enough to lose many of our boys to other sports. We have a Pepsi under-13 football league for boys and we have an under-14 cricket league. Why is there no equivalent under-13 track and field class for our boys?

How many of our track and field stars have we lost to other sports because we don't involve our boys early at the high school level in track and field, unlike our girls?

They have Class 4 at the Gibson Relays and so it's done at other meets. Look how long it took for them to have Class 3 in the 1,500m for boys when the girls have had it for a long time. This was the first year it was run at Champs. What reason could they have for waiting so long to introduce that event? So we need a class 4 for the boys, and while we are at it, the girls have javelin, the boys don't. We need equality. No more male marginalisation! I am saying this and I am sure all men will join me. Anything the girls have we want!

I am, etc.,

DARRON FRASER

darron_f@hotmail.com