In Lakeville tennis spat, a question of what it means to ‘participate’

A Lakeville South high school teen has successfully tested a rule that had prevented her from trying out for the boy’s tennis team.

Fox 9 News says a months-long dispute over the unidentified student’s attempt was resolved on Wednesday afternoon when the two sides reached an agreement on a Minnesota State High School League rule that blocked her.

The issue does not appear to be her sex, the station says, but rather a rule that students cannot participate in two sports at the same time.

The girl had tried out for the girl’s team at the school in the fall but quickly dropped the attempt because of issues she had with the head coach. Does that qualify as “participation”, thus preventing her from trying out for the boy’s team?

It did until the parents’ attorney filed suit this week, leading to the settlement by yesterday afternoon, the day tryouts began.

The MSHSL rule states “Students may not participate in more than one interscholastic season in a given sport in each school year or more than six seasons in any sport while enrolled in grades 7 to 12.”

But the family says the girl did not pay the activity fee, have a medical exam or fill out the forms to play, according to KSTP.

She states her tryout was less than five hours, and she chose not to participate on the team due to “a negative, abusive and unhealthy educational environment,” the lawsuit states.