Cross-country coach fights for gender equality in Canadian high school athletics

In an interview with Pierre Mikhail, the community coach from Huntsville, Ont., who is taking a stand against gender inequity within OFSAA’s cross-country distances, he explains why he’s taking action and how others can help.

Canadian Running: How did this petition come to exist?

Pierre Mikhail: I’ve been a community coach at Huntsville High School for the past eight years and every year I have written a letter to the OFSAA president, expressing my astonishment at how there continues to be an equality discrepancy between male and female runners at the high school level. Last year, at the school, we even had a letter writing campaign. I know that former Olympian Lynn Jennings has written to OFSAA as well, yet during the CTV segment that was aired on our efforts, OFSAA implied that I was the only person to ever complain about the gender discrepancy.

So, that was kind of how the petition was born, I figure if we get enough signatures to show their support, OFSAA definitely cannot say that I’m the only one who think this is an issue. I’ve been invited to attended a meeting with the OFSAA committee this spring. So I am hopeful that is going to lead to steps being taken in the right direction.

CR: Why do you think the different distances for different genders still exists?

PM: I always ask my grade nine girl runners, before they have any idea of my own views about the subject, what they think. What breaks my heart is that most of them haven’t even considered it. It’s become so normalized for them to assume they should do less than the guys.

I think there’s also been a practice of asking the wrong questions. If you ask any runner who races frequently “Hey, do you want your race to be longer?” they’re going to say no. Running is hard, even painful at times. So, I don’t think the question that should be posed to girls is “Do you want to race longer?” but rather, “Do you want to be equal?”

CR: In your own race, you have everyone run the same distance. What was the reaction of the female runners?

PM: They absolutely rocked the race. Not one of the girls had a single problem with the extra kilometre. I’ve heard that some high schools in the Ottawa region have been equalizing race distances within their local races, which is encouraging too.

It’s pretty embarrassing for Canada to be lagging on this. There are only two states in the USA that don’t have distance parity now. And one of those is Texas. We can criticize the states all we want, but they’re miles ahead (literally!) than us on this one.

Some people say that participation of high school girls will drop if the distance is increased. But states that tracked data before and after changes in distance found that it didn’t. Generally speaking, at the high school level, female participation outstrips male participation in cross-country regardless.

CR: Why have you made this a personal mission of yours?

PM: It comes down to the fact that I have daughters. And I don’t want them ever to think that they can’t go as far, or that they aren’t as good, or that their effort isn’t equivalent to that of male athletes.

I also think that as a community coach rather than a teacher, I’m an outsider. I don’t exist within the politics of the school. I’m willing to fight for this issue because it matters and I want my girl runners to know that they’re just as important as the boys.

CR: What can the broader running community do to help?

PM: I’m really hoping to reach 1,000 signatures on the petition. Also though, I think that the power of a letter shouldn’t be underestimated. It’s not only in Ontario that this issue exists, but all across Canada. It’s not only at the high school level that this exists, it’s all the way up to the university level. So, runners can support their girls by writing to OFSAA, or to the OUA, or the CIS and express their thoughts on gender equality.