FIGHTING SOCIETY'S LIMITATIONS
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Physical activities, in particular sports, were considered too strenuous for a woman’s "delicate constitution." After cutting girls’ basketball in 1931, one of the limited opportunities that girls had in Cokato schools for participating in athletics was the Girls’ Athletic Association (GAA). Organized in 1932, the GAA was an organization in which girls met on Mondays to play sports like, basketball, tennis, volleyball, golf, and tumbling. However, the program bore little resemblance to the competitive sports we see today, and acted more as an extra gym class. Other than the GAA, cheerleading and tumbling were the only other athletic options for girls in school. As the 1960s came to a close, women began using the court system to fight for equal opportunities in athletics.
In 1972, Title IX was passed, requiring schools to provide athletic teams for girls, opening doors to a whole new generation of women athletes. According to the Cokato high school yearbooks, girls’ gymnastics and golf became sanctioned as a varsity sport in 1971. Softball followed in 1973, as did volleyball, basketball, swimming, and track in 1974. However, it wasn’t until 1998 that girls hockey was added to the roster of varsity athletics |
Cokato High School cheerleaders Ramona Bergstrom, Virginia Sheerer, and Mary Lou Hillmeyer.
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BREAKING BARRIERS
GymnasticsClick on the photo above to learn more about Cokato's first girls' sport since Cokato Schools eliminated
girls' basketball. |
Cross CountryCross Country became available for Cokato girls in 1987. Click on the photo above to find out more.
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HockeyA sport with a lot of physical contact, girls' hockey was one of the last sports to be added. Click on the photo above to find out more about the first Dassel-Cokato High School girls' hockey team.
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