When the PV women’s basketball team took the court at the state championship on March 3, they were met with an insubstantial crowd. Despite their remarkable record this season— the team went undefeated— extraordinarily few students showed their support at the game. The normalcy of low attendance at women’s sports goes far beyond basketball.
The girls’ state title this year will go down in history as the first in PV history. While this achievement was celebrated throughout the district, a notable lack of fans were present to witness their victory. In each game at the state tournament, the opposing team’s student section greatly outnumbered PV’s, even overflowing at times and taking up space reserved for our supporters.
The lack of support was upsetting to junior basketball player Jessie Clemons, who was expecting a far better turnout. “PVGBB was embarrassed by our student fan base throughout the entire state tournament,” Clemons explained.
Through the duration of their season, the girls have dealt with low energy crowds regardless of the number of people that attended. Clemons described the Bettendorf game, “Even… when there were a lot of people there, they were sitting down and didn’t do any chants.”
As for the boys team? They have had no problem with attendance their entire season. Their crowds were nearly double the size of the girls’ student sections, despite the girls having a better win-loss record. When boys and girls played on the same nights, the split between supporters was even more unequal. It’s clear that it isn’t the competitiveness of the sport that deters fans from attending girls gamnes, so there must be other factors that encourage students to support boys over girls.
An article analyzing this phenomenon featured a wide variety of opinions on why women’s sports are less popular than men’s. The explanations ranged from simple to controversial, with some claiming female athletes are simply less talented, others rationalizing that the competition is slower-moving and many attributing the discrepancy in funding — the NCAA, for example, spends significantly less on womens’ sports than on men’s.
While some of the blame can be placed on the students who blatantly carry gender bias, a large portion also falls upon the school. In the past few years, PV hasn’t sent a fan bus to any athletic events due to logistical errors and a shortage of bus drivers. When state games are in Des Moines, this presents a problem for students who are unable to drive or obtain transportation.
Having girls and boys sports occurring during the same season also contributes to smaller student sections. State volleyball earlier this year had incredible attendance, during a season when there are no other sports on their game days.
Activities director D’Anne Kroemer recognizes low attendance rates across the board rather than comparing the genders. She holds busy schedules responsible for the turnout. “Whether it’s a boys game or a girls game, [students] have rehearsal. Whether it’s a boys game or a girls game, music has all state. Whether it’s a boys game or a girls game, the wrestling team is on the road,” Kroemer explained.
While this is true during some sports’ seasons, other times of year are far less busy. The women’s soccer team, which plays in the spring, rarely has large crowds supporting them at their games. Junior Shreya Vijay plays soccer and has observed this. “I’ve noticed that people come for a few minutes then just leave,” Vijay shared.
Vijay blames the school, “The girls’ games are barely acknowledged by the school which is one of the main reasons why no one shows up. Nobody posts when the girls have games… many people don’t know when [the girls play].”
No matter the circumstances, supporting PV teams ultimately falls on PV students. When the girls basketball team takes the court to empty stands or the soccer team plays for a barren crowd, that reflects badly onto the student body, painting us as a population focused solely on our male athletes. Women put in the same effort and play the same level of competition as men do, yet are neglected in terms of energy given back to them. The sport is beside the point; a winning team deserves a winning student section, and PV girls have been deprived of that.
