Letter to NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics

October 28th, 2022

Dear Committee Chair Ragean Hill and the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics,

Cc: Ervin Lewis Div. I Cross Country Committee Chair Cc: Chris Bradford Div. II Cross Country Committee Chair Cc: Mike Howard Div. III Cross Country Committee Chair

We are writing to you as coaches, athletes, advocates, and pioneers of women's running asking for your help to provide equitable opportunities for women in the sport of Cross Country. It is 2022 and we need equal race distances for women and men at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Last winter we sent a letter to the NCAA Div. I, II and III Cross Country committee’s asking for equal distance races at their Championship events. On August 1st we were given a response from these committees that they will not equalize the distances. We find fault with their arguments and we feel this decision needs to be evaluated by a more fair and impartial group of individuals within the NCAA.

A little history on the equal distance advocacy efforts that we have already put into place. In the fall of 2020 a group of Nordic ski coaches from the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA), current NCAA athletes and National Ski Team members asked the NCAA Nordic Ski Committee to equalize their distances for the NCAA Championships. We were met with similar arguments and the committee voted not to equalize the Championships for 2022. This past spring distances at the International level were made equal due in large part to our lobbying efforts we tried again and the committee agreed to equalize the NCAA Nordic Championship distances for 2023.

We feel strongly that the Cross Country Championships need to be equalized as well. It is no longer acceptable, although we argue it never was acceptable, to assume that women want to race shorter distances and men longer. That is a gender bias steeped in tradition and not in the actual capabilities of women. We believe strongly that sport should be empowering for young women and girls, and consistently doubting women’s abilities and worrying about the “negative affect” or emotional toll it will take on women is outdated.

Below are our responses to each piece of the letter from the NCAA Committees. As you will see, their arguments are clearly inaccurate and therefore need to be addressed further.

See attached letter: NCAA Cross Country Equal Race Distances Proposal - DI, DII, DIII Committee Response dated August 1st, 2022.

The committee stated that “differences in sport are not uncommon among men and women. Currently in track and field men and women throw different weighted implements, jump over different height hurdles, etc…”

● Cross Country is the only endurance NCAA sport where women race shorter distances than men in their Championship event. ● While it is true that weight implements and hurdle heights are different, ALL Track distances are the same for women and men. Women and men both compete in the 1500m, 3000m steeplechase, 5000m and 10,000m races at the NCAA Track and Field Championships. ● Nordic skiing just equalized their race distances for the 2023 NCAA Nordic Championships. ● Distance events for the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships are also equal with a 500 yd freestyle and 1650 yd freestyle offered for both men and women.

The committee stated that “Additionally, it was noted that an increase in the women’s distance could have a negative affect…”

● Negative affectivity, or negative affect, is a personality variable that involves the experience of negative emotions and poor self-concept. Negative affectivity subsumes a variety of negative emotions, including anger, contempt, disgust, guilt, fear, and nervousness. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_affectivity) ● Generalizing a negative emotional response to women racing longer distances is gender stereotyping and not based on fact. Women race and finish road races, marathons and ultra-marathons every day without “negative affect.”

The committee also stated that the increase in the women’s distance “... could impact race density and spread at the National Championships.”

● *See attached Race Density Data Chart below. ● Currently the Division I women’s 6km event has the highest finish density, or runners finishing per second, of any Championship event (.84). Using race equivalency calculators, if the women moved to an 8km event they would still have a higher race density (1.14) and smaller time spread then the current Div. I and II Men's 10km race. In fact an 8km for all genders, would put them more in line with each other for race density and time spread.

The committee said “It was specifically noted on the men’s side that lowering the distance from 10k to 8k at Divisions I and II would cause greater density in the race which would become problematic in the conduct of competition.”

● Current chip timing eliminates any problems with race density at the finish line.
● *See attached letter from Pavel Dvorak from 802 Timing

Additionally,

● *See attached Race Density Data Chart. ● Using race equivalency calculators, if the men moved their race distance down to an 8km it would still be less dense than the current women’s 6km event. The current race density for the women’s 6k is .84 finishers per second. Again, using equivalency calculators, if the men ran an 8k they would have a density of 1.02 finishers per second.

The committee also stated “With the current race distances for men and the current race distances for women, you have similar amounts of competition time spent running per gender.”

This is not accurate with over nine minutes MORE competition time for men at the Div. I and II Championships, and over three minutes more for Div. III.

NCAA Championship Results 2021: Div. I https://live.pttiming.com/XC-PTT.html?mid=2431 Div. II https://results.leonetiming.com/XC.html?mid=4685 Div. III https://results.leonetiming.com/XC.html?mid=4684

● The winning time for men’s 10km race at Div. I NCAA Championships was 28:33; the winning time for women for the 6km race at the Div. I NCAA Championships was 19:25. A 9 min. and 8 sec. difference. Not the same amount of competition time.

● The winning time for the men’s 10km race at Div. II NCAA Championships was 30:09; The winning time for the women’s 6km race at Div. II NCAA Championships was 20:22. A 9 min. and 49 sec. difference. Not the same amount of competition time.

● The winning time for the men’s 8km race at the Div. III NCAA Championships was 23:27; the winning time for the women’s 6km race at the Div. III NCAA Championships was 20:11. A 3 min. and 16 sec. difference. Not the same amount of competition time.

“The committee also noted that increasing the women’s distance could be detrimental and consequential to women's cross country and result in reduced participation.”

● There is no evidence to suggest women or men would stop running Cross Country if the distances were equalized.
● Participation levels have grown since Cross Country was added for women in the 1981/1982 season, from 4,612 participants to the current 14,122 in 2020/2021. Including an increase in participation after race distances were changed from 5km to 6km in the year 2000. https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/research/sportpart/2021RES_SportsSponsorshipParticipationRatesReport.pdf ● Participation levels have grown for men as well, even with the increase in distance for them between high school 5km races and college 8k/10k races. In 1981/1982 they had 8,966 participants and it has grown in 2020/2021 to 13,489 participants.
● As for distance running in general, on average, 45.7 percent of American marathon participants are women, and it continues to grow. https://www.womensrunning.com/culture/news/marathon-study-runnerclick/

“Ultimately the committee members felt strongly that although race distances are different, the experience is equitable and of quality for each gender.”

● Cross Country is the only endurance NCAA sport that does not have an equal distance Championship for men and women. This is not equitable. ● Women race over 9 min. less time at the Championships for Div. I and II and three minutes less for Div. III. This is not equitable. ● Race density is not an issue for equal distance races. Chip timing allows accurate and reliable timing for any race density. A quality event at any distance. ● Women do not suffer from emotional distress or “negative affect” when they race longer distances. In fact, we would argue the current format is more likely to cause “negative affect.” ● Women race the same distance at every other level of competition. High School is the same race distance for boys and girls. Road races are the same distance for men and women. World Cross Country and European Championships are the same distance for men and women. Olympic events are the same distance for men and women. Canada has the same distances for men and women at their University Championships. The current unequal NCAA Collegiate Cross Country distances stand alone with their outdated format.

We implore the Committee on Women’s Athletics to re-evaluate this decision. As members of a group that defines itself by providing “leadership and assistance to the association in its efforts to provide equitable opportunities, fair treatment and respect for all women in all aspects of intercollegiate athletics” we ask for your help. Please support this change and rid the NCAA of the systemic gender bias found within the sport of Cross Country. It’s the 50th Anniversary of Title IX and we not only need to celebrate the accomplishments, but continue to fight for women’s equality in sport.

Sincerely,

The Equal Distance Team

Molly Peters: Founder of EqualDistance. Head Cross Country/Nordic Coach St. Michael’s College. Kathrine Switzer: First woman to officially run the Boston Marathon. 1974 Women’s NYC Winner. Lynn Jennings: 1990, 1991, 1992 World Cross Country Champion. 1992 Olympic Bronze medal. Joan Benoit Samuelson: 1984 Olympic Marathon Champion. Ben True: 2013 World Cross Country Championships 6th place, 2021 NYC Marathon 7th place. Kathryn Bertine: former pro cyclist, activist for women’s rights in sports & author of STAND. Molly Huddle: 10 Time NCAA All-American, 2014 set American Record in the 5000m. Kara Goucher: 3 time NCAA Champion, 2008 and 2012 Olympian, silver medal World Championships. Amanda Watters: USTAF-NE Women’s LDR Chair, former NCAA athlete. Jesse Williams: Sound Running and former NCAA athlete.
Kasie Enman: 2011 World Mountain Running Champion and former NCAA athlete. Torin Laliberte: Head Cross Country Coach at Clarkson University and former NCAA athlete. Nicole Wilkerson: Head Cross Country Coach at Middlebury College and former NCAA athlete. Bruce Ingersoll: Asst. Cross Country Coach at Middlebury College and former NCAA athlete. Danielle Patterson: Asst. Cross Country Coach University of Alaska and former NCAA athlete. Michael Rohl: Head Cross Country Coach at Mansfield University and former NCAA athlete. Michael McGrane: Head Cross Country Coach Norwich University and former NCAA athlete. Grace Erholtz: Current NCAA Cross Country and Nordic Skiing athlete at St. Michael’s College.

Race Density Data: Finishers per second using equivalency calculators from the 1-50th finisher at the 2021 Div. I, II and III NCAA Cross Country Championships.

Equivalency Calculator: https://lukehumphreyrunning.com/hmmcalculator/race_equivalency_calculator.php

NCAA Cross Country Championship Results 2021: Div. I https://live.pttiming.com/XC-PTT.html?mid=2431 Div. II https://results.leonetiming.com/XC.html?mid=4685 Div. III https://results.leonetiming.com/XC.html?mid=4684

Distance Div I Div II Div. III Women’s 6k .84 1.52 2.12 Men’s 10k 1.3 2.18 1.24 (8k)

Women’s 8k 1.14 2.06 2.88 Men’s 8k 1.02 1.72 1.24