In these days and times … no, check that … in all days and times there are and have been some pretty stupid bills that are coming and have come before legislators and legislative bodies for consideration, but this one ranks right up there with the dumbest of the dumb. And were anything like it to happen in Utah, it might affect a whole lot of kids.
There is a bill — no lie — being proposed in North Carolina’s legislature that would ban participation trophies in youth sports leagues. That’s right. Senate Bill 430, filed on Thursday and sponsored by a handful of Republican state senators, would prohibit trophies awarded “based solely on their participation in the sport or other activity.”
Awards could be earned and handed out only “based on identified performance achievements.”
What the …? I’m telling ya folks, I’m OK, it’s the world that’s crazy.
The good news is, the ban would be in effect just in the youth leagues “operated under the authority of a local government.”
The bad news is, the ban would exist at all.
I’m trying to guess as to why such a bill would ever be conjured. Local reporters in North Carolina tried at one point to contact the bill’s sponsors for comment, but were unsuccessful.
Are those legislators worried that children, as it pertains to sports and other activities, are getting too soft? Too satisfied? Too complacent? Too Indulged?
Jokes have been made in some circles — usually by old-timers who say they had it much tougher back in their day — about participation awards, how anyone and everyone who shows up on a team or squad or troupe gets a ribbon, a certificate, a trophy, a donut, an OtterPop, some kind, any kind of reward, without doing anything more than having Mom or Dad drop them off for a practice/baby-sitting session. They can get an award for nothing more than chasing butterflies or picking dandelions out on the field.
What an outrage.
Next thing, kids will grow into adults who believe they are entitled to commendation for doing nothing. It will turn generations of children into slackers who will contribute nothing to society and think they deserve a frozen treat for any non-effort.
Ridiculous.
One North Carolina legislator, state Rep. Deb Butler, correctly denounced the proposed bill, telling the Asheville Citizen-Times, “We’re talking about children, not competitive athletics. We’re talking about children.”
Just as common in youth sports is the other end of the spectrum, expectations put upon kids by overzealous adults who coach or parent up those kids as though it’s their personal duty to transform them into champions, Olympians or, at a minimum, college scholarship winners.
I read a credible study that indicated that among children who are introduced to youth sports at an early age, those who eventually quit those sports don’t back off because they are lazy or because they are entitled or disinterested. Rather, it’s because those sports to them are no longer “fun.” And the reason they’re no longer fun often centers on adults who make them less fun.
Youth sports should be fun or at least enjoyable. We’re talking mostly about recreational sports, activities that stir young kids to be … you know, active, to move their bodies, to activate their minds in that pursuit, to learn stuff like fundamentals and teamwork, even if it is at primary levels.
If at some point kids no longer want to participate, no longer want to apply or dedicate themselves to a single sport, that’s OK, too, especially as they grow older and search for endeavors that captivate them.
But if 7-year-olds in North Carolina — or anywhere else — are prohibited from getting encouragement by way of a pat on the head via official recognition for their participation because government leaders ban it, their reasons don’t really matter, whether those leaders are worried about softening a generation or the expense of giving out trophies, whether they want only the best of the kids to get rewarded and the worst to go without, they are misguided.
“Competition is fine,” Butler said, “and acknowledging who ran the fastest or threw the ball the farthest is all good. But why in the world wouldn’t we want everyone to have that sense of community and belonging? It’s preposterous and a colossal waste of time.”
Indeed, the same is true for those who want no awards given because they seek for everything in sports to be equal, and they don’t want feelings hurt because some kids actually are better at certain sports than others.
Sports may not be equal, but participation can be. If a kid really is outstanding, go ahead and give him a medal. But don’t prevent those who participated from being recognized for what they contributed, even if it consisted mostly of gathering up a couple of butterflies or dandelions.
