# Can't we all just play together? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 3, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-we-all-just-play-together/152544 "2003-02-03T17:48:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![farnsduck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f14d63/32.png) [@farnsduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/farnsduck)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-we-all-just-play-together/152544/1 "2003-02-03T17:48:07Z")
My wife and I were recently watching a women’s 9-ball tournament. The players were terrific, but we wondered why the men and women don’t play in the same leaque. This is a game that requires skill and finesse more than a lot of strength or speed or higher aerobic capacity, etc. My wife suggested that women, being shorter, have to use the bridge more and use more awkward positions to reach other shots, but that would seem to argue for “tall” and “short” leaques rather than men and women. An internet search and a search of the APA site yielded no answers. Does anybody know why the genders can’t play together? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-we-all-just-play-together/152544/2 "2003-02-03T18:42:25Z")
Men’s greater strength yields a significant advantage on the break. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-we-all-just-play-together/152544/3 "2003-02-03T18:50:19Z")
Maybe men have an unfair advantage over women due to that depth perception thing? :dubious: That’s why I like the SCA–fairly full-contact martial arts with all co-ed participation… ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-we-all-just-play-together/152544/4 "2003-02-03T18:54:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hajario \* > \*\*Men’s greater strength yields a significant advantage on the break. > > Haj \*\* I noticed when I last saw pool on TV that they were breaking at about half-speed as they did a year prior. Did they initiate some new rule that governs how hard you can break nowadays? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-we-all-just-play-together/152544/5 "2003-02-03T19:10:33Z")
In nearly all sports, the best man will usually beat the best woman. Separate leagues keeps comparisons fairer, and the sport more enjoyable. Interestingly enough, this holds true for pool as well. Welcome to the boards. Good post for a newbie. ---
**Author:** ![jeel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71e660/32.png) [@jeel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeel)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-we-all-just-play-together/152544/6 "2003-02-03T19:13:42Z")
Yeah, I was wondering the same thing about bowling. You’d think that a woman could bowl in the same “league” as a man if she could roll the ball more accurately every time. It just does not seem that brute strength really gives you that much of an advantage. Does anybody know how much average scores in bowling differ between pro men and pro women? But I have to admit…the pool thing makes no sense as to why men would be better than women. The speed/power of the break? I don’t buy that. ---
**Author:** ![Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horrifying_Howler_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-we-all-just-play-together/152544/7 "2003-02-03T19:18:36Z")
> [@](#): > > In nearly all sports, the best man will usually beat the best woman. Separate leagues keeps comparisons fairer, and the sport more enjoyable. That’s why I like dog sledding. Men and woman compete together…and women often win. So much so that some men have started talking about women having to carry extra weight in their sleds to make it more fair. Cry babies. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-we-all-just-play-together/152544/8 "2003-02-03T19:18:59Z")
Simple. Men spend more time in bars than women. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![farnsduck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f14d63/32.png) [@farnsduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/farnsduck)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-we-all-just-play-together/152544/9 "2003-02-03T20:34:21Z")
I think hajario might have at least a small point about a stronger break, and toadspittle’s point about men spending more time in bars also has merit. But my own experience is that the longer I spend in a bar, the weaker I get. Eventually, even standing up takes effort. I think my pool game goes downhill, too, but I can’t remember. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2003, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-we-all-just-play-together/152544/10 "2003-02-04T00:15:29Z")
I was watching 9-ball one day and they had a mixed doubles tournament where the team members would alternate shots. I was wondering the same thing as the OP when the announcer pointed out that men and women play separately because of the strength/break issue. I watched the breaks closely after that and noticed that women typically would get 0-1 ball in on the break and men typically got 1-3 balls in on the break. It was a small sample size but enough to convince me that the advantage exists. Haj ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2003, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-we-all-just-play-together/152544/11 "2003-02-04T00:31:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by farnsduck \* > \*\*Does anybody know why the genders can’t play together? \*\* [ul]Oh, they _ **play** _ together all the time. :D[/ul]