My name is Sarah Edmiston. I am in 9th grade at PSI High, a program housed at Seminole High School. For a while now, I’ve been interested in getting involved with the Boys Lacrosse team at Seminole. However, I have recently been told that due to some school policies, I am not permitted to play with the boys. My Athletic Director has explained that I can participate in practices with the Boys team, but I am not allowed to play in any “official” games with them. 

The Florida High School Athletics Association (FHSAA) Bylaws state that “Girls may play on a Boys’ team in a sport if the school does not sponsor a Girls’ team in that sport,” and I believe that allowing me to play Boys Lacrosse would be entirely consistent with this policy, because Girls and Boys Lacrosse are fundamentally not the same sport. While they share some characteristics, the equipment, rules, field, and techniques used are vastly different. The Boys’ game requires much more physicality, contact and strength (Girls Lacrosse is classed as a non-contact sport, while Boys is classified as full contact), and that is precisely what makes me want to play. I have been an athlete all my life. I’ve never been afraid of getting dirty, or getting hurt. Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I’m not strong. I know that I have the skill and physical ability to keep up with the boys on Seminole’s team, and if I can get on the field to practice with them, why should I not be allowed to play?

I am not by any means asking to be automatically let onto the team, but I am asking for Seminole High School & its governing bodies to give me the opportunity to try. We have worked hard as a nation to enact federal civil rights laws & policies to ensure that girls and boys are treated equally, and to promote opportunities for girls, who have been historically excluded and underrepresented, and I believe that denying me the right and agency to choose what level of competition best fits my abilities fundamentally restricts me from equal opportunity to participate. 

By signing this petition, you join me in asking Seminole High School, the administration of Seminole County Public Schools, and the Florida High School Athletic Association to open up the opportunity for me, and girls like me, to break the barrier keeping us out of traditionally male-dominated sports. Your signature serves as a sign of agreement that girls are strong and capable, and can be successful in anything they put their minds to. 

Thank you for supporting me in building a brighter future for women in sports history.