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CV NEWS FEED // The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), which is in charge of student sports in the state of Washington, has proposed enforcing that only female students can compete in girls’ sports.
There were two proposed amendments, each signed by various local schools, to the current policy, which allows students to participate in sports “based on their gender identity.” The amendments’ language will be finalized by the WIAA Representative Assembly in January 2025, and the same group will vote on the proposals between April 9 and 18, 2025.
The first proposal states that participation in girls’ sports would be “limited to students assigned female at birth.”
“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 proposal states. “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.”
A second proposal to the current policy states: “Athletic programs would be offered separately for boys, girls, and an open division for all students interested.”
Women’s sports activist Beth Bourne, a California resident, wrote on her X account, “This will have a huge rippling effect on California and @CIFState [California Intercollegiate Federation] as our state’s policies for ‘gender inclusivity’ in high school sports are modeled on the WIAA regs.”
Nationally, concerns are growing about the safety of girls competing against boys in sports. Last week, more than 150 students at a California high school wore “save girls’ sports” shirts to support two female athletes who were reprimanded for wearing similar shirts after one lost her spot on the varsity team to a male player.
