I realized one of the great pleasures of being a female sports reporter while in the press box restroom of the Aloha Stadium for a University of Hawai'i football game recently. (Now, before some of you get sidetracked, I said IN the restroom, not actually ON the toilet.)

That is: No lines. And there's only one stall. How often does that happen in a women's public restroom in a highly populated area at a busy time?

But there are never lines in the press box women's restroom. You have no idea how much that comes in handy in the minute or two you get to dash in there between quarters. Being one of only a few female sports reporters, I only have to compete with them and the handful of women on the UH crew for restroom time.

It's pure luxury, compared to the men, who have just one urinal and one stall, according to a colleague. He also informed me that sometimes, if it's busy, he has to run up a flight of stairs to use another public restroom.

Ha ha. Guys, now you know how it feels.

With all the recent talk about passing laws to increase the size of women's restrooms, it's great to be able to run into one now and catch glimpses of men still waiting in line. Sometimes anxiously.

While this benefits me, it also points out one of the more glaring faults of sports: There aren't enough women.

But that's changing, and I'm proof of that. At 26, I figure I'm pretty young in the business, and a baby in the sports world.

It's exciting to be on the front end of what I hope is a movement to increase the role of women in sports.

During a student visit, someone asked if I used my "feminine wiles" to get better quotes from the male athletes.

"I would," one of the girls interjected.

I said no, that I play things straight. Because if I wanted to be taken seriously, I needed to hit my subjects with questions my male counterparts wouldn't hesitate to ask.

That requires knowledge, not hair twirling.

Remembering the look in her eyes as she nodded in agreement, changing her mind, pushes me to be an even stronger reporter.

Obviously, with the role of women athletes in sports growing (think Mia Hamm, Lisa Leslie, Danica Patrick, Michelle Wie, or even locally, with Kanoe Kamana'o or Stephanie Kono), I believe the role of the people who cover them will increase as well. And hopefully their numbers will, too.

And if that means running up some stairs to use the restroom, or having to wait anxiously in line, I'll take it.

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.