According to this article I read yesterday, a Maryland girls' swim team was retroactively disqualified and lost its county title because one of its members shaved improperly. And I'm not talking about her points.
It seems that the rules for swimming, diving and water polo competitions published by the National Federation of State High School Associations stipulate that athletes can not shave before, during or after a meet once a team is at the location of the competition. Because one of the competitors from the Broadneck (no pun intended) High girls swim team shaved in the locker room just before the competition, the team - which had won the Anne Arundel county championship - was disqualified.
FLAG ON THE PLAY! ILLEGAL REMOVAL OF HAIR!!
Oy.
Apparently the rule about not shaving on site is intended to protect the competitors from possible exposure to each other's blood; however, there don't seem to be equivalent rules that prevent athletes participating in other sports from shaving in the locker room before or after a competition.
I personally don't care whether ladies shave or not, and in any case it seems like a silly thing to give up a championship over. I'm reminded of the skit by comedian Alan King in which he imagined life for Romeo and Juliet if their story had had a happy ending:
Juliet: "You didn't shave this morning, Romeo."
Romeo: "It's Saturday. Why should I shave?"
Juliet: "My mother is coming over."
Romeo: "So? She doesn't shave on Saturday, either."
A few years back, Deanna Carter had a popular song titled "Did I Shave My Legs for This?" ...
And there are plenty of cartoons on the subject ...
I'm nothing if not realistic.
Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.
Bilbo
4 comments:
What a silly rule! It smacks of overreaction all the way.
It is a fact universially acknowledged that wearing blue jeans by women became socially acceptable because it made it unnecessary to shave your legs so often!
(There's different motivating for bikini waxing.0
I took off a bandaid at the doctors office one time and made the mistake of throwing it in the trash can. I failed to realize it belonged in the hazardist waste bin.
How did the referees know? Do they have locker room inspection? Would waxing be okay, according to those rules?
Whatever are the esthetic or comfort or even sexual value of girls shaving their legs or other parts, the fact that they do is likely to impact minimally on the outcome of a swimming meet. In other words, the drag due to leg hair is minimal.
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