Not on top of a horse. Call it “the boobie factor.”
It’s true that sharp shooters time their shots around their heart beats, but I can’t imagine this being the case for clay shooting. You just don’t have the luxury of time in that case. I’m also skeptical that the difference in the heartbeats of fit men and women - if there really is such a difference - would significantly impact one’s shooting performance.
It actually wasn’t specifically clay shooting, come to think of it - I think they just meant shooting in general. But yeah, I wouldn’t have thought the difference between men’s and women’s heartbeats to be that significant either…
I’ve seen a number of articles and news reports of girls doing just fine w/ the boys in high school wrestling.
Where have you seen that a woman’s center of gravity is higher than a man’s on a horse? I have never heard that. Not that I doubt you’ve heard it. It’s just that I’ve always heard that one advantage women have in riding is their lower center of gravity.
I have heard that the typical male pelvis can produce a more secure seat than the typical female pelvis because the outward-facing hip sockets on a female pelvis leads to a more knock knee’d leg position while the front-facing hip sockets of the male pelvis can lead to a bowlegged position (and bowlegged is better for riding).
Well, yeah, the guys would be constantly distracted by the ladies bending over to make a shot…
In the Society for Creative Anachronism, men and women compete equally in all the martial activities–heavy combat, rapier combat, archery, equestrian, and thrown weapons.
What about jockeys? Surely the weight advantage of females would make them better jockeys.
However, the elite end of climbing is dominated by men, both competition and outdoors, and the world’s hardest climbs are invariably put up by men. I think it’s still the case that women remain c.2 technical (French) grades behind men at the sharp end.
Yes - there’s no evidence that women will generally beat men at any distance. Woman have improved geatly as societal mores have changed, but the improvement has basically levelled off and now parallels that of men. In ultrarunning, there are some exceptional woman (e.g., Ann Trason), but the events are nevertheless nearly always won by men. Additionally, ultra events are a very minority sport, and so a genetic freak woman (or man) can easily hop to he top of the pile. Not so in tradiional distances (e.g., marathon), where large numbers of the genetic cream compete for the win.
I take your point, but I strongly doubt that a fit strong woman kicked in the snatch by a fit strong man with all his might would be laughing it off. :dubious:
Basically that the boobies are highly placed and forward facing, causing the female body to be be more inclined to lean forward due to the placement of the weight upon the body. Also, despite the best sports bras, the movement of the breasts can and does affect balance in a detrimental way.
My personal theory about pelvis placement is that men, never, ever get forward on their pelvis as women do. They have nuts in the way so they sit up straight and square on their seatbones. 
The Nut Factor.
I’ve seen some female skateboarders who can hold their own with the guys on the vert ramps and in bowls. Pulling off a skating move depends mostly on keeping your center of gravity stable plus fearlessness and commitment. The female center of gravity is lower but that has no detrimental effect on performance. Both sexes still have to figure out how to balance, keep stable footing and weight/unweight.
Maybe Apryl Woodcock isn’t busting out 17-foot Christ Airs a la Danny Way, but give her a few years, she’s only 13!
BTW, a preemptive note to those who might say skateboarding is not a sport: Is so! 
what about surfing?
I cant think of a single reason women wouldnt be able to kick ass in that sport.
sure it requires some physical strength but if you give a smaller woman a smaller board it should be equal no?
I seem to remember men and women competing in curling, my new favorite Olympic winter sport.
Of course, I could be wrong.
First hand experience (and WAG).
Background:
Male
Competed insz gymnastics
Taught rock climbing
Trainer (ACE certified)
My guess, we need to back up a bit. Generally, boy are taught to be more competitive. This along with genetic make-up, evolution and testosterone make boys at a young age a little more rough and tumble giving them a leg up on strength sports,via de facto training, and the “macho-ness” to excel. Plus size cannot be discounted.
Gymnasts reqire more than light size to pull an Iron Cross, it requires upper body strength (lat’s, tri’s).
If women started at an early age, with a determined mind set, I think they could compete with men equally in non-strength sports. But don’t overlook drive.
Rock climbing is a good example - men try to use there upperbody (becauce they can) but correct style is to climb with your legs. Women should be able to complete equally with menw if they start early and have the drive. This would apply to surface, and crack climbing. Overhanging climbing would require upper body strength, this along with more body fat (in general) and lower center of gravity would cause a disadvantage. I have taught raw beginers to climb, girls seem to be equals to boys.
My guess is that if women had the determination in non strenth sports, they could compete equally. I belive it boils down to competivenes and socialness, women should be able to men in non strenth sports.
Until we decide that we really want to compete and take responsibility for not letting ourselves be discouraged, you are right.
But I don’t think that men are aware of how minimalized women are in competition. When Judit Polgar became the youngest Grand Master ever, she was the youngest Men’s Grand Master! That was annoying, but I thought someone would finally sit up and take notice that women didn’t have to have a separate category.
But take a look at a still younger and more recent Men’s GM.
You really don’t have to have a different category just for us in competition that is not a matter of physical strength. And more and more females are bypassing the women’s games.
And don’t forget that Judit had two sisters that were very successful in chess. They were all programed from birth to be proficient in chess. Maybe she wasn’t so rare after all.
If you see soccer listed on a television guide, you can almost bet that it will be a men’s game. The same is true with golf. If it’s going to be a women’s game, it will indicate that it’s women’s soccer or women’s golf. (Imagine if they discriminated in the listings by race: black boxing, for example.)
I don’t mind if they want to list both genders – men’s soccer and women’s soccer. But the way it is makes it seem like there’s “real soccer” and then there’s the women’s game. I know that’s being sensitive, but when it’s combined with all of the other factors having to do with women in competition, it’s just another piece of the whole picture.
Okay! Let’s go, Lady Tigers! Beat those Eaglettes! :rolleyes:
Come on. “Society is the only reason men and women act different” has joined the club of “things no one really believes any more.”
Sure society tells people what to do. It also can only do so much. If there were a ground swell of women who wanted to spend a lot of time on sports or getting dirty under cars, there are plenty of opportunities for them to do it. If there weren’t differences between the genders, we’d all be in a world of hurt. Men just really like competition. I have a joke with a buddy about how guys can make anything into a competition. I’ve raced to touch the car first coming out of a movie. I’ve also read that the reduction in crying in boys happens almost universally at puberty. This seems to be a hormonal thing, not just a societal pressure.
I see we may agree yet. This American Life did a show on testosterone, and talked to a sex-change man. He reported a lot of differences since taking testosterone, and they were “stereotypical” things like staring at women, liking science, etc.
I’ve heard that may be true.
I heard once (sorry, no cite) that one of the Williams sisters agreed to play a man who was under the 100 mark on the world tour for one set. He beat her pretty handily. I think it goes to serve/shot strength and speed.
This in no way is a putdown of women. If they weren’t different from men, wouldn’t that be terrible? And how many women want to be men? It’s not a punishment to be a woman, it’s the other side of the human coin from me.
A very good point, and one that I very much suspect is attached to hormones. Even the “artsy fartsy” dads who like to paint and keep the garden and lawn can really lose themselves in the project. They’ll disappear into the shed and emerge 5 hours later with a painting, having talked to no one and not missed it. I know it’s a stereotype that men concentrate on one thing at a time, but have you ever worked with a man? Have you seen one try to be a good secretary? I have, and I know of one who was good at it (although he was very good).
In the Marathon, I think Paula Radcliffe could probably beat the men if she were racing with them.
As for female gymnasts, I really don’t like the way they delay puberty. If it’s supposed to be a womens’ competition, then the competitors should be women.
She said she could beat the 200th ranked man. Kartsten Braasch, ranked 203, beat her easily. He then beat Venus.
I frequent a tennis message board and the general opinion there is that a male college player would beat a top 10 woman.
Men’s and women’s mnarathons are often run together, albeit they do not “race” each other. Running with the men can pull the women to a faster time, but they are nowhere near the winning time of the men.