Editorial: Support participation in sport -- sure. But make it girls AND boys

Mark Dawson, editor of Wanganui Chronicle

I was all set to book my tickets for the big rugby clash - All Blacks v Black Ferns.

What a showpiece game, what an occasion - the men's and women's world champions of the rugby world going head-to-head.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, probably a useful loose forward in her day, and Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson (I'm guessing hooker) had just announced their strategy to boost equality in sport.

The Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation was launched on Thursday (United Nations Day of the Girl, as you probably were aware), and it aims to overcome the "clear inequalities for women and girls" participating in sport.

Quite right - they shouldn't be segregated away in separate competitions, often at an inferior standard.

Equal participation; men and women competing together; the true level playing field ...

But, apparently not. My idea of equality does not align with the Ardern-Robertson vision. It seems women and girls will continue to be diminished; continue to be treated as "the weaker sex".

Motorsport had an interesting take on the topic this week.

It is one of the few sports where ability rather than gender is what counts, as men and women compete against each other.

At about the same time $10 million was being put into supporting women and girls in sport in New Zealand, the W Series was being announced in the United States - a women-only Formula 3 championship.

This is either a huge boost for women in sport or a huge blow.

The official line runs: "Organisers hope the women-only element will lead to the identification of female talent, boost participation among women and allow female drivers to further their own careers before eventually being integrated into Formula One."

However, British IndyCar driver Pippa Mann labelled it "a sad day for motorsport" and "a historic step backwards".

Well, take your pick.

Of course, participation in sport and recreation among young people of all genders has been in decline for some time. Perhaps we should blame cellphones, streaming sites and PlayStation for a generation of overweight couch potatoes.

I prefer strategies of inclusion rather than division. Put the $10 million into supporting both boys and girls to get in the game.