LIVONIA, Mich. – Members of the Livonia Figure Skating Club and the Livonia Girls Hockey Program are trying to get their school district to officially deem their clubs as sports. But as of Monday night, there was still no official response from Livonia Public Schools.
A petition has been circulating in support of the Livonia Figure Skating Club being designated as a sport so members can earn a varsity letter with their school. The petition has garnered more than 1,300 signatures.
The figure skaters say they’re constantly practicing and competing in their sport, and wish it was recognized by the district the same way male sports are.
The figure skaters and their coach say they’ve petitioned district athletic leaders to ask the district to designate their club as a sport. On Monday, Feb. 26, figure skating club athletes and members of the Livonia Girls Hockey Program stood before school board members to address the varsity letter issue.
“We’re doing the same academic stuff, we’re doing the same practice stuff, the same game stuff in order to get a varsity letter, but we’re not getting it,” said Charlotte Howell, sophomore hockey player.
Their hockey coach, Janine Martinez, says she’s only able to give her girls an activity letter after two years of participation. She says she’d like to take it a step further and allow her team members to earn a varsity letter and put it on their own varsity jacket.
“They’re called hockey players. They’re not called girl hockey players or boy hockey players. They’re both hockey players,” Martinez said. “If there are rules and [the team] meets them, and they check all the boxes, allow them to have it. They should all be treated the same.”
Lindsay Bakkan, president of Livonia Figure Skating Club, said she has been trying to get a sport designation since the fall. Bakkan says an athletic director with the district told her it was a complicated process, and directed her to the secondary director of education.
Bakkan said Monday that she has yet to get a response.
Local 4 tried to speak with board members after the meeting, but was told the board was not available to comment. The board said they had only learned of the issue last week when the petition went out, despite Bakkan saying the issue was raised long ago.
Watch Pamela Osborne’s report on this below.