{"id":190894,"date":"2018-11-24T00:55:45","date_gmt":"2018-11-24T05:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=190894"},"modified":"2018-11-24T00:55:45","modified_gmt":"2018-11-24T05:55:45","slug":"athletics-canada-to-pursue-eliminating-term-midget-as-age-category-descriptor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/11\/24\/athletics-canada-to-pursue-eliminating-term-midget-as-age-category-descriptor\/","title":{"rendered":"Athletics Canada to pursue eliminating term ‘midget’ as age category descriptor"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Athletics Canada to pursue eliminating term ‘midget’ as age category descriptor (File Photo<\/a>: Athletics Canada\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TORONTO \u2014 Athletics\u00a0Canada\u00a0became the latest domestic sport organization to take steps to drop the use of the term ‘midget’ as an age category classification, a move that came days after the Ontario Basketball Association stated its plans to do the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis topic is now on our agenda for our SAGM (semi-annual general meeting) in Vancouver next week,\u201d Athletics\u00a0Canada\u00a0spokesman Mathieu Gentes said Friday in an email to The Canadian Press. \u201cWe will be following suit to pursue eliminating the term midget as an age category descriptor.\u201d<\/p>\n

The recent developments were applauded by Dwarf Athletic Association of\u00a0Canada\u00a0director Allan Redford, who said change is overdue.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike any of the social challenges that groups like ours have, it’s the right thing to do,\u201d Redford said. \u201cI think it gains awareness, it’s respectful, it provides the proper acceptance of people of short stature, people with dwarfism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several sports across the country \u2014 notably hockey, football and lacrosse \u2014 use the term prominently as a youth age category. However, the word is considered a derogatory slur.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very offensive,\u201d Redford said. \u201cIt harkens back to the times of the circus with the freak shows. So every time you hear it, you cringe. It’s just not something that we like as a group. We don’t like to be identified in that manner.\u201d<\/p>\n

OBA executive director Jason Jansson said the organization’s board supported the change and plans will likely be formalized later this season. The midget category will likely be called U15 (under-15) and major midget would go to U16 (under-16), age terms that are currently in use at the sport’s national and international levels.<\/p>\n

Athletics\u00a0Canada, the governing body for track and field in\u00a0Canada, currently uses age designators for some of its categories.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s not a huge shift for us,\u201d Gentes said.<\/p>\n

Regina Scott, who has a two-year-old son with dwarfism, reached out to the local youth basketball association in Guelph, Ont., after noticing the term on a banner at a mall. Changes were soon made and the provincial association was quick to get on board too.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s such a positive change,\u201d Scott said from Guelph. \u201cThere is nothing positive about that word.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hockey\u00a0Canada\u00a0classifies the midget category as players who are under 18 as of Dec. 31 of the current season. Bantam is for athletes under 15, with peewee, atom and novice used as classifications for younger players.<\/p>\n

Depending on the sport, some local, provincial and national organizations use descriptors like minor midget and major midget as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was often confusing anyway, so why not just use the actual age?\u201d Redford said. \u201cThat makes the most sense to me and eliminating the M-word of course is very important to all of the little people organizations … basically to take control over what has become a slur.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil as a community we can control that word, we won’t have that ability to get the awareness and acceptance that’s been overdue.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked if Hockey\u00a0Canada\u00a0might be planning to consider a change to its categories, an organization spokesman declined comment.<\/p>\n

Messages left with Football\u00a0Canada\u00a0and the Canadian Lacrosse Association were not immediately returned.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a word that’s dehumanizing and belittling,\u201d Scott said. \u201cIt’s usually used to mock somebody. It’s never used in a positive way.\u201d<\/p>\n

In its mission statement, the DAAC said it is committed to providing athletic competition, guidance, support, and information to people of short stature and to their families.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really are asking now for all organizations across\u00a0Canada\u00a0to eliminate the M-word,\u201d Redford said. \u201cReplace it with a proper age category. It will be better for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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