Elite sports people speaking up!

[Signalbox]

There seems to be an increasing number of sports people speaking up about the problem of males completing in women's sports which is positive. Thought it might be useful to have a thread of those who are risking sticking their heads above the parapet. Obviously the likes of Sharon Davies, Mara Yamauchi and Martina Navratilova have been bravely doing this for sometime but now we appear to have a few current athletes as well who are prepared to risk the mob to ensure women have fair competition. Is it too much to hope for that there will be a snowball effect?

Love when people say the answers are very simple, and then don't tell you what those very simple obvious answers are. What kind of journalist doesn't follow that up and say "well, ok, so what is the simple and obvious answer? What race should Lia Thomas swim in? What race should Halba Diouf run in?"

Yes, wouldn't it be wonderful if we could hear these very simple, obvious answers. Journalists should absolutely push for these when this trite phrase is trotted out and they are failing as journalists when they don't.

Do enlighten us simpletons Paula with your devastating simple answer that no-one else has thought of.

When she was competing, Paula was quick to condemn doping in her sport and was considered brave for calling it out. And yet no amount of doping would give a woman the same level of athletic advantage as a natal male.

I am disappointed in her.

Lynne Pinches’ friends and fans celebrate the real winner of the Women's Champion of Champions tournament

https://open.substack.com/pub/grahamlinehan/p/a-quiet-assasination?r=clsg2&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

Having been made aware of something about Paula from a close relative who had first hand experience of the something in question I have zero time for Paula.

Good. Goodbye and good riddance.

Keep up the pressure.

https://twitter.com/mara_yamauchi/status/1745183584598601809

I do object to these headlines. That bloke didn't 'win'. He cheated. It's fraud more than a win. Surely he cant actually be feeling any pride?

Ah I'm glad Sian has given up the parkrun records. A while ago there was an interview with Sian in which s/he said that s/he wouldn't compete as a woman because s/he knew s/he had a physical advantage. And then s/he got course records at parkrun. Sian is a genuine transwoman though, not one of your cheaty Lia Thomas types.

Hopefully Sian’s example will make a few more males quit competing in female categories…

… of course it’s far more likely that Sian will be denounced as a pick me/quisling/uncle tom.

I'm pleased that Sian Longthorpe has done this, whether it's because of belatedly discovering some personal integrity or seeing which way the wind is blowing. It may not go down well with the TRAs, but if there truly is a silent majority of transwomen just wanting to live their lives in peace it sets them an excellent example.

The interview I listened to which was linked in Mara's Tweets Sian talked about how when Sian started taking hormones how week and slow Sian got very quickly and how substandard Sian felt because nobody knew yet that Sian was actually a woman at that point.

I suspect that Sian was happy to be recorded as fastest woman when there was no pushback or negative press but now there is a risk of being outed as a fraud the attraction is waning slightly.

"I'm slow but I'm happy," is something of a mantra for recreational male runners who transition. They don't seem to realise or care how offensive this might be to us actual women over whom they still have inescapable advantages through having grown up as boys rather than girls and gone through male puberty.

Women are mere NPC props in the magical drama of them. It's not like they're real or anything.

This was the article about Sian that I read a couple of years ago so I remembered the name when the Parke parkrun course record was mentioned: “When all else around me was failing, my running was there as something to cling to”: Siân Longthorpe interview - Women's Running (womensrunning.co.uk)

"he races that I’m choosing to enter going forward are predominantly those where they either have a very clear trans policy with which I align, or where I’m able to enter in a non-binary category or similar, so I don’t rock the boat. I didn’t want to find myself in a position where I could no longer run, and hopefully I’ve found a compromise that works for me. But I recognise that it won’t work for everyone."

Surprising to see the BBC reporting on this.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/wales/68183503

It’s all happening in pool atm.

Trans “woman” Harriet Haynes is Suing English BlackBall Pool (EBBP) because they decided that, for fairness, only women could compete in the female category and all males (including those who say they are women) will only be eligible to compete in an open category. Harriet considers that Harriet is being discriminated against on the basis of gender reassignment.

https://twitter.com/PinchesLynne/status/1758527033926123550

Well done EBBP.

The scary thing is that there are plenty of people who honestly believe that transwomen have no physical advantage over actyal women, that suppressed testosterone creates a level playing field. I have had quite a few very heated debates with folk who still cling on to this nonsense despite the overwhelming evidence go the contrary. It is always framed with a huge dose of victimhood, that these poor trans athletes just want to participate, that they are being banned from sport (rather then just being asked to compete in the correct category). Utterly fed up with it.

For clarity, the EBPF is a separate organisation (with a different rule-set) to the Ultimate Pool set-up where this first began. Basically it seems the Ultimate Pool franchise has decided to let HH (and any others like them) play, after first saying no. Whereas the Blackball guys, as per this announcement, have said no transwomen on women's teams from the start, and are sticking to it.

As I understand it.

Careful Harriet,your male entitlement is showing.

That’s my understanding too. So there’ll be two cases which are the mirror opposite of each other. Interesting that pool is the first sport to test this in court.

There’s been other cases threatened (like the rugby one - link below) that never got off the ground, most likely due to funding and quite possibly due to finding lawyers that would take it on?

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4625977-legal-action-over-rugby-unions-ban-on-transwomen-playing-competitive-womens-rugby

Here is another American college swimming story:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13096103/Riley-Gaines-reacts-trans-swimmer-Meghan-Cortez-Fields-smashes-womens-record.html

Riley Gaines is on the case:

A transgender swimmer at a New Jersey liberal arts college has smashed yet another women's record after three years of competing on the men's team. Meghan Cortez-Fields finished the 200 IM with a time of 2:08:20 - breaking program records in the NJAC championships, the Ramapo College of New Jersey announced.

Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines, was quick to call out the senior, who stated, Title IX 'literally means nothing.' 'Male swimmer from Ramapo College sets another school record in women's event. Now tell me again the strides women have made when society applauds a man for pushing us off our own podium,' Gaines said on X Friday evening.

Interestingly I was at our local leisure centre the other day to use the gym, when there was an event on in the pool. Under 18’s so not an adult event.

categories were “age x girls” and “age x open”. No boys category.

i wonder if this is a swimming thing generally going forward, or whether it’s that particular pool/council..

That sounds positive. Hopefully it’ll catch on.