I’m always fascinated by the Catholic school stories! The only nuns I’ve known have been nice old ladies in parish work :-).
Interesting point about the sports. My public high school (about 1,500 students) had gymnastics (for girls, but not boys) but not ice skating or swimming (for anyone). The girls’ track team was very strong.
The high school where I tutored in San Antonio had dance classes, including “ballet folklorico.”
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Our school dabbles at these activities, but does not do it seriously. For instance, no one at our school would ever be accepted in a major university dance major. There are no competitive dance teams. Ditto for gymnastics.
If girls do excel at these activities it is because the parents paid out big bucks in private lessons. And,,,these are the girls who a later accepted in the cheerleading squads. ( My niece is an example.)
In my opinion, we force boy-sports on girls because “Dykes on Spikes” rule in the PE departments.