Everyone has a dream, to be a singer or to be an Olympic gold medalist. For a long time women and young girls were limited in the opportunities to achieve success in many fields, including athletics. This is why Title IX was created.

Title IX is a law that was passed in 1972. It is aimed at helping individuals involved with sports ensure that all female athletes receive equal opportunities in high school and college athletics. This also includes equity in equipment and uniforms, facilities, schedules for games and competitions, and opportunities for participation.

Long before Title IX was enacted, women were not allowed to play sports because of the belief that physical activity would damage their reproductive organs. However, the lack of school sports prior to Title IX did not prohibit women from participating in athletics. Many of today’s top-ranked female Masters athletes have spent their lives accidentally finding their athletic talent and have participated in sports ever since.

According to the website, womenssportsfoundation.com, since Title IX was enacted 35 years ago, female high school athletic participation has increased by 904% and female collegiate athletic participation has increased by 456%. Though these numbers have increased, female high school and college athletes are still not getting equal participation opportunities. High school female athletes receive only 41% of participation opportunities while female collegiate athletes receive 43%.

The enactment of Title IX has somewhat helped increase participation opportunities for girls and women in sports. Even after the passage of Title IX, female athletes across the national are placed at a disadvantage compared to their male counterparts. The more a person knows about the rights of girls and women in sports, the more they will be able to improve athletic opportunities for them.