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15 Feb 2015 10:58 pmPeople saying that women’s teams couldn’t beat men’s teams pisses me off so much. Not because it’s necessarily untrue (a high level USA women’s team has played against a men’s college (?) team and lost, if I’m remembering correctly) but because the resources available to men’s hockey are SUBSTANTIALLY greater. Particularly as you go further up the chain. Compare the men's & women's Olympic teams (for America/Canada, since I don't really known about the state of women’s hockey in other countries).
The men are, generally, already playing full seasons of professional hockey. They are paid highly to do it (no other job required = more time to play), they have trainers and coaches for every facet of their game/fitness, their equipment is free whether it’s coming from the organisation they play for or a company that is sponsoring them. They have every possible resource they could need to reach their peak skill level.
The women’s teams though, if they’re even playing pro hockey, are unpaid. They are studying and/or working full time in addition to playing. They have limited resources, the best coaches/trainers are likely to get snapped up by men’s teams who can afford to pay them more, and the cost of what equipment they have is much more likely to come out of their own pockets.
Like, if men outplay women it has NOTHING to do with the intrinsic level of competency that can be attributed them as men/women. No. It has to do with the opportunities afforded to men to improve their skill that are NOT afforded to women.
(ie. I have a lot of feelings about women playing hockey.)
The men are, generally, already playing full seasons of professional hockey. They are paid highly to do it (no other job required = more time to play), they have trainers and coaches for every facet of their game/fitness, their equipment is free whether it’s coming from the organisation they play for or a company that is sponsoring them. They have every possible resource they could need to reach their peak skill level.
The women’s teams though, if they’re even playing pro hockey, are unpaid. They are studying and/or working full time in addition to playing. They have limited resources, the best coaches/trainers are likely to get snapped up by men’s teams who can afford to pay them more, and the cost of what equipment they have is much more likely to come out of their own pockets.
Like, if men outplay women it has NOTHING to do with the intrinsic level of competency that can be attributed them as men/women. No. It has to do with the opportunities afforded to men to improve their skill that are NOT afforded to women.
(ie. I have a lot of feelings about women playing hockey.)
