Washington State Proposes Logical 'Open' Division For Transgender Athletes In High School Sports
One of the most liberal states in the U.S. could be coming to its senses when it comes to transgender athletes competing in sports, specifically women's sports.
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), the governing body for high school sports in The Evergreen State, has announced a proposal to create a separate open division for transgender athletes to compete in.
Currently, athletes in Washington are eligible to compete based on their gender identity rather than their biological sex. If the open division were approved, young girls would not be forced to compete against biological males, notably biological males going through puberty, who identify as girls.
According to KXLY, the WIAA has proposed two amendments that address transgender athletes.
One of the amendments proposes the creation of a girl's division and an open division in which athletes could participate, regardless of whether their gender identity matches their assigned sex at birth.
The other amendment, and the one that makes the most sense, is the creation of an open division that would be separate from the boys and girls divisions.
"In order to maintain fair and equitable competition, participation in girls' sports and girls' divisions of sports is restricted to students who were assigned female at birth. The purpose of this policy is to offer clarity with respect to the participation of trans and gender-diverse student-athletes. Additionally, this policy encourages a culture in which student- athletes can compete in a safe and supportive environment, free of discrimination," the proposal reads in part.
It may have taken years and countless real-life examples of transgender athletes taking opportunities away from women, but a proposal by the state of Washington that cites "fair and equitable competition" and a separate division for trans athletes is a step in the right direction.
The issue isn't, nor has it ever been, about transgender athletes participating in sports. Nobody is saying transgender athletes should be banned from competing. The issue is about biological males competing in women's sports.
These proposals from the WIAA come six months after a transgender runner - a biological male - won a title in the girl's division at the Washington State Track & Field Meet.
Veronica Garcia, who was previously known as Devina Brown and Donovan Brown, won their 400m heat race in the girl's division with a time of 55.59 seconds. The second-place runner finished with a time of 58.83 seconds. In the finals, Garcia won with a time of 55.75 seconds, a full second ahead of the second-place runner who finished with 56.75.
On the boy's side, the winning time in the 400m was 48.47 seconds with the last-place finisher running a time of 50.73.
Garcia would have been just over five seconds off the last-place runner's pace in the boy's 400m and still won the girls' title by a second over the fastest biological female in that state in that event.
Even though a biological male was awarded a state title in the girl's division just months ago, there will be plenty of pushback from parents and school officials on the proposal of an open division.