TITLE IX
Pickleball is providing so many of the good things that Title IX brought to women ’ s sports .
By Alice Tym
In 1972 , the United States decided to guarantee equal opportunity for women in sports at higher institutions of learning . As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX , many of us remember how difficult it was to institute changes . Pickleball players including Diane Keller , Joan Allaben , Sharlene Peter , Barb Wintroub , and Sandy Scanlan never had the opportunity to represent their schools , receive coaching and scholarships , or be on a traveling team .
PickleballTournaments . com , built this thriving business that launched pickleball into becoming the fastest-growing sport in the U . S .
Pickleball has really benefited from Title IX . Senior players who never had a chance to compete came running to pickleball , eager to play tournaments and to promote the sport . The seniors used skills they learned in the fight for equality to get courts built and programs instituted . They became certified referees . They organized leagues . Senior women know how important it is to be able to participate in sports .
Those players who benefited directly from Title IX , including Irina Tereschenko and JoAnne Russell , brought new skills to the courts . They had been coached and trained by tennis professionals and brought pickleball to a new level . Yale tennis captain Kathleen Haigood cites