Phyllis Huxfore, 78, of Des Moines, Iowa, prepares to put the ball back into play during granny basketball practice in Des Moines, Iowa, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007. [AP] Playing basketball isn't ladylike. That's what Jewell Chapman's high school principal told her in 1961 when he banned the girls basketball program. "We were very frustrated," said Chapman, a forward for her high school team of Des Moines. Nearly 50 years later, Chapman is back on the court. She's 62 and plays for the Hot Pink Grannies, joining about 10 other women on a team whose uniforms are black bloomers and hot pink socks. They play in the Iowa Granny Basketball League. It's one of dozens of basketball leagues for women over 50 that have sprung up across the country. For some, it's an opportunity to exercise and socialize; for others, it's a once-denied chance to compete. "You see more and more senior women's teams participating in state and national competitions," said Michael Rogers, an associate professor in sports studies at Wichita State University. "In the future it will be commonplace to have leagues like this." Annual surveys by the National Sporting Goods Association indicate the number of women 55 and older who play basketball at least 50 times a year has grown from 16,000 in 1995 to nearly 131,000 a decade later. The women on the Hot Pink Grannies are good-natured but competitive when game time comes. "I think I'm tough," says Hot Pink Granny Colleen Pulliam, 69, flexing her biceps at opponents in a game against the Strutters, known for their brilliant yellow socks. Granny Basketball Leagues and similar groups are scattered through much of the country, including California, Connecticut, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. 點擊查看更多雙語新聞 (AP)

打籃球可不是女孩干的事，這是1961年尤厄爾·查普曼的中學校長對她說的話，當年這位校長可是“封殺”了學校的女子籃球隊。 曾任戴斯莫尼斯中學校隊前鋒的查普曼說：“這讓我們感到很失落。” 然而，50年后，查普曼又回到了球場上。今年62歲的她現在在愛荷華州“奶奶籃球聯盟”的“桃紅奶奶”隊“效力”。“桃紅奶奶”隊由11名隊員組成，隊員們統一穿黑色燈籠褲和桃紅色球襪。 近年來，美國出現了一大批由50歲以上女性組成的籃球聯盟。對于有些人來說，這只是個鍛煉身體和進行社會交往的機會；而對于其他一些人來說，這可是個重溫“舊夢”的機會。 威奇托州立大學從事體育研究的副教授邁克爾·羅格斯說：“參加州際比賽和國家級比賽的老年女隊越來越多，今后此類的籃球聯盟將會越來越普遍。” 據美國國家體育用品協會的年度調查顯示，一年至少打50次籃球的55歲及55歲以上的女性數量從1995年的16000人增加到了10年后的近131000人。 “桃紅奶奶”隊的隊員性情溫和，但在比賽中都很具競爭力。 69歲的隊員考琳·普廉姆在比賽中向穿著清一色艷黃襪子的對手“闊步者”隊炫耀自己的肱二頭肌，她說：“我覺得自己很強壯。” 類似“奶奶籃球聯盟”的籃球組織遍布美國各個地區，其中包括加利福尼亞、康涅狄格、路易斯安那、新墨西哥、北卡羅來納、賓夕法尼亞和首都華盛頓。 （英語點津姍姍編輯）