# In which sports do men and women compete equally? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 6, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062 "2009-09-06T15:21:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/1 "2009-09-06T15:21:25Z")
I was just watching the Badminton Horse Trials and it struck me that the men and women were competing equally. Are there any other such sports? ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/2 "2009-09-06T15:35:06Z")
Archery and skeet shooting they could. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/3 "2009-09-06T15:39:23Z")
My guess would be that women and men compete equally in just about any sport that’s not dependent on physical strength. Hell, I’ve heard that if you take physical strength out of the mix, women may be superior in things like quickness, dexterity, etc… IIRC, women and men are pretty much equal in shooting sports, archery, etc… ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/4 "2009-09-06T15:47:13Z")
Not chess. And as far as I know, that doesn’t require strength or dexterity. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/5 "2009-09-06T15:49:30Z")
Not billiards or pool, which only require a minimal amount of strength. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/6 "2009-09-06T15:49:33Z")
motor sports ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/7 "2009-09-06T15:56:19Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Not chess. And as far as I know, that doesn’t require strength or dexterity. I dunno, those pawns take a fair old bit of pushing… I _think_ the question was “In which sports _do_ men and women compete as equals?”, not “…could…”. Are there mixed-sex shooting and archery contests? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/8 "2009-09-06T16:14:44Z")
horse racing , they have women jockeys and female horses. Some college rifle teams are coed while others are not. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/9 "2009-09-06T17:11:51Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > motor sports Not sure about that: women have a significant weight advantage there. But even in cerebral sports, I see a division. For instance, in Bridge and Chess, men and women play separately at the highest levels. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/10 "2009-09-06T18:00:07Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > For instance, in Bridge and Chess, men and women play separately at the highest levels. They seem to play together in poker, if you’re willing to allow that as a sport. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/11 "2009-09-06T18:07:04Z")
I think you need to define your question better. What about video gaming? I don’t know how many competitive female gamers there are, but I’m sure there are some. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/12 "2009-09-06T18:08:11Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > horse racing , they have women jockeys and female horses. Female horses generally get a weight allowance when competing against male horses. For example, a filly competing in the Kentucky Derby carries 121lb whereas colts are burdened with 126lb. The same rule applies in the Epsom Derby, and countless other stakes and maiden races across the sport globally. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/13 "2009-09-06T18:22:22Z")
Two women have won the [Iditarod](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iditarod_Trail_Sled_Dog_Race) sled-dog race a total of five times between them. The race involves a lot endurance, of course, but the sledders must also push their own sled a fair amount, especially up steep rises. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/14 "2009-09-06T18:30:43Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Not sure about that: women have a significant weight advantage there. But even in cerebral sports, I see a division. For instance, in Bridge and Chess, men and women play separately at the highest levels. In Bridge men and women can compete in single gender, mixed gender, or open events. The big tournaments generally offer a wide variety of events, so players can compete however they like. When I played, I usually played open events, often with a female partner. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/15 "2009-09-06T18:42:35Z")
Competitive eating. There’s a female contestant that usually places within the top three at Nathan’s Hot-Dog eating contest. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/16 "2009-09-06T18:49:50Z")
I’m really after sports with a substantial physical element. Brain-powered games don’t really count for my purposes ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/17 "2009-09-06T19:04:04Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I’m really after sports with a substantial physical element. In that case you probably have a fairly complete list. For physiological and anatomical reasons, women in general are just not going to be directly competitive with men at the very highest levels in any sport requiring more than a strictly limited exertion of physical strength. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/19 "2009-09-06T19:48:27Z")
> [@alainmarsol](#): > > Hi friends. > According to me Chess, badminton are the games inwhich men and women can compete equally. > What you say? Do men and women play competitive singles in badminton? I lettered in badminton in high school (it’s a big sport in some parts of California, at least) and it was always mens (singles and doubles), womens (singles and doubles) and mixed doubles. No mixed singles. Olympic competition is the same IIRC. No mixed singles any more than you’d see it in tennis. Car racing has women competing directly with men (Ashley Force, Danica Patrick). So does sailing (I think America True was the all-female team that competed in the America’s Cup challenge, for example). In some long-distance endurance events women beat men - for example Pam Reed won the Badwater Ultramarathon (135 mile run through Death Valley. In the summer) twice and in 2008 the top ten finishers were 5 men and 5 women. Slight hijack - chess is not a sport. Neither is checkers, card games, Monopoly and crossword puzzles. If you can do the whole thing on a computer without altering the nature of the event it ain’t a sport. It may be competitive but it’s not an athletic event in any way. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/20 "2009-09-06T20:10:45Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > Do men and women play competitive singles in badminton? Heh, I think it’s a bot. It picked up the word Badminton from the first post. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Awesome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Captain\_Awesome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Awesome)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062/21 "2009-09-06T21:11:18Z")
Equestrian events, badminton and sailing are the three Olympic examples. The PGA tour has had a couple of women competitors (Babe Zaharias and Annika Sorenstam). More obscure sports seem to be more equitable i.e. free-diving, dogsled racing, curling, etc. (or completely left-field examples such as swamp soccer, [cheese-rolling](http://www.cheese-rolling.co.uk/), [toe wrestling](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toe_wrestling), [bog snorkelling](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bog_snorkelling), etc.). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sports-do-men-and-women-compete-equally/509062.md?page=2)