Coed sports allow for larger teams and create connections across grade levels and genders. The school offers seven coed sports teams: one in the fall, three in the winter, and three in the spring.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of coed sports, and what is the impact of these mixed-gender sports on female athletes?

Coed sports elicit mutual respect, challenge gender norms, and allow for bigger sports teams within a small school. Competition is the basis of every sport, and athletes of all genders find common ground in their competitiveness.

Evy Sachs, who is on the alpine ski team, said, “My favorite part about being in a co-ed sports team is the sense of community that is built because we’re able to have a bigger team with a more diverse range of people.”

The team bonds with various team dinners: “Just fun having [the alpine team] be coed […] I can’t really picture the ski team being separated by gender,” Sachs added.

Nordic skiier Helen Townley, believes coed practice offers something unique: “I like that you get to train with everyone, not just one gender.”

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My favorite part about being in a coed sports team is the sense of community that is built because we’re able to have a bigger team with a more diverse range of people.

— Evy Sachs

There are a few challenges that come with mixing genders on a sports team; Sachs noticed this challenge. “There can be divisions within the team, and it can make team bonding more difficult,” she said.

Sachs believes that it is important to talk to more people on the team and branch out to counteract this struggle.

Townley noted that another issue that arises is the difference- and comparison -between male and female athletes.

“It can sometimes feel like the girls are given an easier workout and are less involved in games that we train with,” Townley said.

Outside of school Adele Gjerde performs in competitive water skiing with the Twin Cities River Rats, a coed team. She, too, has noticed that men sometimes have a complex that they are superior to women, so she emphasizes that everyone must work to counteract stereotypes associated with gender.

“I wish that everyone would be more open to trying different roles regardless of gender,” Gjerde said.

Despite gender-based challenges, Sachs thinks that coed sports provide a “really fun environment,” and, overall, has had positive experiences participating in mixed-gender sports.

Updated 5/17 @ 10:21 a.m. to correct AP style on the word “coed” and provide accurate numbers of school-sponsored coed sports.