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Sports Women have the right to play sports also By VETO F. ROLEY Sports Editor Commentary Perry High School recently un derwent an on-campus investigation for Title IX compliance. According to Roger Murphy of the U.S. Department of Education, the investigation is still open, with the investigative team completing its analysis of the documentation from Perry High School and the in terviews done at Perry High. A full report should be issued by mid- June. If asked the question of whether or not Perry High School "discriminates" against women's athletics, I would probably have to say a qualified, "Yes." As I look at sports in general, and high school sports in specific, I see very much a "men's" world. Women's athletics have always been short-changed in sports. The three major professional sports, for instance, football, basketball and baseball, are exclusive male do mains. Golf and tennis have women's tours. But, in golf, my perception is that the men's regular and senior lours rank in prestige above the women's tour. In tennis, men play five sets, women three. Also, again, we find the men's tourna ment generally held in greater es teem than the women's tournament. In high school sports, we find the prestigious sports to be domi nated by men. Football and baseball arc almost entirely played by male athletes. And, on those occasions the men's basketball team and the women's basketball team play at the same place on the same night, the men's team always gets the matinee. Does Perry High School dis criminate against women in sports. Yes. But, rare is the coed school that doesn't. The Panthers are a lot better than many of the schools that I've seen. Women can participate in no less than six sports, seven if you count cheerleading. At some schools I've seen, the only sports offered for women were basketball and track. Perry does very well for women in what it offers, although I would like to see the school offer more. I would like to see volleyball of fered. Volleyball could be offered as team sport in the fall, moving soft ball to the spring, to be played alongside baseball. I would also like to see a women's soccer team. However, I realize that there would be two ma jor obstacles. Not only would there be a question of participants for one team, but also a question of other schools being able to field teams. There also must be better oppor tunities for cheerleaders to compete if the activity is truly to become a sport. With all due apologies to cheer leaders, their parents, coaches and sponsors, the mere fact that they sweat during practice and in perfor mance does not make what they do a sport, anymore than making dance a sport or farming a sport or any other activity where sweat and a cer tain amount of athletic ability helps. What makes a sport a sport is the opportunity to compete, whether against yourself and the elements, or against others and the elements. Cheerleaders have very limited chances to compete, mostly at cheerleading camps. Cheerleading is a nascent sport, incorporating many of the elements of level six and higher gymnastics. Increasingly, a knowledge and train ing in gymnastics is fundamental to cheerleading. However, for cheerleading to gain greater acceptance, cheerleaders must have more chances at compe tition. Perhaps each squad could be graded on its performance at foot ball and basketball games by quali fied judges, with regional and state championships on the line. Perhaps it could be‘done like golf, where an end of the season tournament de termines region winners, who then qualify for the state championship. At any rate, schools must be on their guard in calling chcerlcading a sport. Many times calling cheer leading a sport couid be akin to calling ketchup a vegetable. Cheerleading should be made a full sport, complete with rules, scoring systems and competition. Panthers hit with Title IX investigation By VETO F. ROLEY Sports Editor The Perry High School Athletic Department is under investigation for Title IX violations, officials at the U.S. Department of Education, Perry High School and the Houston County Board of Education said. Roger Murphy, spokesman for the Department of Education, said the investigation was still open, with a final ruling expected in mid- June. Perry High School principal Phil Smith said the school received a letter from the Department of Ed ucation notifying the county of the investigation in late December, early January, during the Christmas break. The letter indicates that Perry High School was chosen for the in vestigation as part of a regular ran dom audit done yearly by the De partment of Education. However, Smith also indicated that Rosa Elzey told him that the Department of Education had a complaint about the "way that we treat female athletics at Perry High School." Houston County School Super intendent Tony Hinnant said the complaint stemmed from parents of Cubs win thriller over Yanks in Park and Rec play Cubs 12 Yankees 11 The Cubs scored a single run in the bottom of the sixth to take a close 12-11 win in Perry Parks and Recreation Mite Boys action May 21. Cody Williams started the sixth inning rally with a single to center. After an out, T.J. Hutchins reached on an infield single to short. Ben Erwin tapped back to the mound for the second out of the inning. How ever, he moved the both runners into scoring position. The Cubs were able to push across the game winning run when the Yankee shortstop misplayed Edward Rosner's grounder. After falling back early 9-6, the Cubs needed a strong five run fifth to make the sixth inning win. A 1 Thorton paced the clubs at the plate with three hits. Hutchens had two hits. Rosner reached first all four times he came to the plate, all on Yankee errors. Tony Hudgens paced the Yankees with three hits. William Harden and Brian Cook collected two hits each. Marlins win first senior game By RANDY FRANKLIN Special to the HTJ Marlins 15 White Sox 5 The Ochlahatchee senior boys baseball league opened its 1994 season Monday night with the Mar lins recording a 15-5 win over the White Sox. The Marlins were led at the plate by Brent Owens and Ben Hulbert. Owens had three hits, while Hulbert had two hits, including a homer. Joey Pope took the complete game win, scattering seven hits. David Coffey and Dustin Pearce had two hits each to pace the White Sox. Kent Franklin added a solo homer. Cardinals 18 Braves 2 Jerry Horton scattered three hits as the Cardinals beat the Braves 18-2. Horton also scored big at the plate, getting two hits and a homer. Josh Powell also had a strong night Graffiti remains undefeated By JIMMY SIMPSON Staff Writer It may have been tagged as a softball game, but Thursday’s junior league girl’s action at Ochlahatchee Field resembled more of a boxing match. Posting almost identical scores in consecutive bouts, First Family Fi nance and Graffiti Hair Salon held the advantage on the scorecards at the conclusion of their battles. First Family managed to shake off Pennington 111 Plumbing by an 18- 14 score. Graffiti withstood a late barrage of punches by Family Footwear to win 17-14. All four teams were in a position to overtake the other when heading into their respective final at bats on the afternoon. Pennington 111, down by an 18-6 score in their final attempt at a vic tory, plated eight runs before relinquishing their hopes for a win. Family Footwear watched Graffiti’s 17-9 margin shrink in their final at bat when the former team pushed across five runs. With the win, Graffiti reached double digits in the win column with an 11-0 mark. Family Footwear continues to hold onto second with a 5-6 slate. Pennington 111 and First Family Finance are in the third place slot tied with identical 3-8 records. In Tuesday action, Graffiti narrowly edged Pennington 111 by a 10-5 score, while Family Footwear chalked up a 11-10 win over First Family. In a match-up that was halted 10 days earlier due to a time restriction, and both teams locked in a tic. Family Footwear downed First Family in a special one-inning slugfcst by a score of 8-3. athletes on the Perry softball team. "Some parents were apparently dis satisfied with the softball program in terms of facilities, equipment and so forth versus other sports and lodged a complaint," he said. Murphy said a team of investiga tors visited Perry High School from Feb. 28 through March 4, 1994, to collect data and interview officials and students. "They looked at all aspects of the athletic program," said Smith. "We showed them the different fa cilities we used." Perry High School baseball, football, soccer and track teams play their home matches at facili ties on campus. The tennis, golf, cross-country and softball teams play at facilities off campus. The softball team plays on Perry Parks and Recreation owned fields at Rozar Park. "We use the facilities we've got," said Smith. "Softball facili ties are different than baseball facili ties. We're not set up for softball. "The city has facilities that are more than adequate. They are as good as the ones on campus. They keep them and maintain them." Smith added that the city facili Rockies 15 Pirates 3 The Rockies jumped out to an early 5-0 lead before coasting to a 15-3 victory over the Pirates in Mid Boys action. Willie Simon and Bill Sandefur connected on fourth inning homers for the Rockies. Darius Howard paced the Rockie offense with two hits, and reached on an error. John Erwin reached base three times on walks. Erwin scattered three hits in the complete game win. He walked eight batters, while striking out 10. Dave Nables paced the Pirate at tack with two hits, including a sec ond inning triple. Ron Collier had the only other Pirate hit. Tigers 9 Giants 5 The Tigers took advantage of a five run third inning to beat the Giants 9-5 in Mite boys play. Ben jamin Mishra got the big hit in the inning, driving in two runs with one out. Mishra and Alexis Roberts had two hits each to pace the Tigers. The Giants managed just three hits in the game, all coming in the at the plate, collecting three hits. Brandon Coleman, Jeremy Smith and Ron Marshall had solo hits for the Braves. White Sox 12 Yankees 10 The White Sox overcame a Mathew Watson homer, and held on in the late innings to secure a 12-10 win over the Yankees. Dustin Pearce paced the White Sox with four hits, while J.R. Moore had three hits. Todd got credit for the win on the mound. Trevor Jones and David Talley had three hits each for the Yankees. Cardinals 12 A's 2 The Cardinals remained in a tie for first with the White Sox, record ing a 12-2 win over the A's. Josh Adams paced the Cardinal hit attack with two hits, while Kas Asbury took the win. Simmons had two hits at the plate for the A's. Houston Times-Journal ties at Rozar Park might be better than the baseball facilities on cam pus since Rozar Park had lights, al lowing for night baseball, and on site restrooms. "I'm thankful that we’ve got a recreation department that allows us to (use their facilities)," said Smith. Athletic Director John Stephens, Smith and Hinnant said the school was not discriminating against fe male athletics. "We are not doing anything wrong," said Smith. "We've added sports for girls over the last couple of years." He said over the last nine years, the school has added ”B" team softball, women's cross coun try, women's golf and women's track. "I want as many opportunities as I can provide for our kids to succeed in organized activities," said Smith. "This keeps them active and in volved. "If they are active and involved in school, it is going to keep them out of trouble," said Smith, adding that students involved in other ac tivities often had better grades and put forth better effort in school than those who were not involved. first inning, when they scored three runs. Michael Wright, Roderick Scott and Blake Bohannon had the first inning knocks. Rangers 26 Redsox 12 In Mighty Boys action, the Rangers used an 11 run third to blow the Redsox out 26-12. Bernard Askew, Jai Bowens and Quennton Thomas had four hits each for the Rangers. Kevin Griffin, Josh Cutaiq, Corey Jones and Thomas Lawson had three hits each for the Redsox. A's 14 Padres 11 In a close game throughout, the A’s outlasted the Padres 14-11 in Mighty Boys action. The A's scored five runs in the first and second inning, and four runs in the third; while the Padres answered with four in the first, three in the second and four more in the third. Jeremy Barr, Dexter Ragin and R.E. Shepard had three hits each for the A's. Kennen Eddins had three hits for the Padres. Phillies 7 Redsox 6 The Phillies used a four run sec ond to pull ahead of the Redsox 7-6 in Mighty Girls action. Amber Davenport, Heather Mor rill, Monica Hernandez, Enica Wright and Danielle Cocoran had two hits each for the Phillies. Can . i * j-ul. fir | rigifill T" ” .*? yj '■ " J " ■-? 1 - .-1 W] ■ mmW* TJfIPS Mkr 1 ■*”••• - b .• /Tfe; -jUMBOm He! -• JSIHL |. JB " '■ * HTJ Photo by Jimmy Simpson - A Family Finance runner gets a head start off first In a game between Graffiti and First Family at Ochlahatchee. - Saturday, May 28,1994 "Houston Times-Journal Page 6A • >«•' aflß 1-4 jj/Km * w. ipp^^ w$ flf I 1 A complaint by a parent of an athlete participating In softball at Perry High School contributed to the Title IX Investigation at the school. dace Hopkins, Chakenya Morris and Hayley Cole had two hits each for the Red Sox. Lakers 19 Tigers 6 The Lakers took an first inning 6-0 lead, and then coasted to a 19-6 Nikitopoulos leaves rec dept. By VETO F. ROLEY Sports Editor The familiar voice heard answer ing the phone at the Perry Parks and Recreation Department will no longer be heard after Friday, May 27. Karen Nikitopoulos will leave the position of administrative assis tant to Parks and Recreation director Ben Hamrick to take a similar posi tion with the Georgia Cotton Commission, which is locating on Ball Street. ”1 wasn't looking to leave,” said Nikitopoulos of her decision to join the cotton commission. "I stumbled onto an opportunity, and had to look at it. It sounded like an area I could grow." Nikitopoulos joined the recre ation department three years ago as its first administrative assistant. win in Mile Girls action. Lauree Thurmond, Dee Felder and April Kelly paced the Lakers with three hits each, while Ashley Ott and Erica Pope had three hits each for the Tigers. "There has been tremendous growth and progress," she said, looking at her time with the department. Nikitopoulos said this was the first year the recreation department could offer women's church league or a 17-18 year old youth softball team. She also noted that she has been able to watch the community center take form ever since the recreation department offices were moved to Rozar Park. Nikitopoulos said her job brought her into contact with a lot of the public. "People want the best for their child," she said. "I've grown very attached to the people I work with daily," said Nikitopoulos, adding that many weeks it seemed that she spent more time at the recreation depart ment than at home. "I’m looking forward to entering a completely new field," she said.