It's started in Irish dancing too. 14 year old trans child wins world qualifying event

[Greyheart1]

https://tennesseestar.com/news/parents-outraged-after-trans-identifying-boy-wins-girls-irish-dancing-competition-heads-to-worlds/admin/2023/12/10/

This means that the girl outside the qualifying spots in the U14 competition has missed out on her chance to dance at the world championships next year.
Devestating. It is an extremely expensive sport.

Sean Nós dance is the style I grew up with - occasionally you'd get some girls at school who entered competitions and they wore the old style flowing dance dresses with Celtic patterns on them (no wigs, no cosmetics). Those girls put in so much effort and practice, so much leg strength and stamina is needed for the leaps and for the steps. I was always impressed at how strong they were but competing against male dancers isn’t a level playing field. Irish dance made them good Camogie players too: strong legs and stamina 😊

https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/trans-irish-dance-petition

Irish Central have now published an article seeking support for trans dancers...
I can't stop thinking about the poor girl who has missed out on her chance to go to the world championships..

Well, Irish Central very definitely has a particular view on this issue and it’s not supporting fair competition for the girls (their rights barely get a mention) 🤯🤬

Irish Central is a US based site and FB page. I deleted it ages ago. Full of shamrockery and misinformation.

As someone who has been involved in Irish dancing my entire life as a dancer and now a teacher I find this frustrating and confusing.

Firstly, boys and girls have very different styles. when judging you look for different things. I'd be interested in how they were judged and whether they were judged as a girl or a boy?
Secondly, traditionally it's always been much easier to qualify for the worlds as a boy due to the significantly lower numbers. In my region I think every boy qualifies as the numbers in the groups are so low whereas the girls groups are more competitive.

Although clrg are an absolute shit show so nothing surprises me!

There is also the mental edge of the girls taking part feeling nervous/anxious/confused and possibly angry at being told to accept the boy.

No such thing as a trans child

As an aside do they go on their toes like ballet dancers (per the photo) ? If so that's a massive risk for a male body.

Girls do in their heavy shoes - they're known as blocks. They're allowed to dance this step aged 12 upwards.
It's not a step danced by boys.

@ElaineMBenes it's a sham. I think that a trans section needs to created & demanded by parents, teachers & dancers to protect & keep world qualifying spots for dancers who are dancing in their birth gender catagory.

@Greyheart1 I agree.
Clrg aren't fit for purpose and haven't been for decades.

I've stepped away from teaching and have refused to register with them this year. I refuse to subject my kids to their antics any longer.

Always the same thing.

One side: this is unfair, all girls are suffering because of this, there's a reason girls need their own category, and girls are losing opportunities and places in the girls' competitions in order to let boys have freedom of self expression and use their resources

Other side: ah bless, poor boy, give him what he wants, it's nice to be nice, don't make him sad.

Basically a belief that girls should suffer and lose so that boys never have to deal with boundaries that make them sad.

@Froodwithatowel & the girls have lost out. The girl in 6th lost out on her podium position, should have been 5th & another girl lost on on a spot to go to Scotland for the World championships. So two girls denied their rightly spots due to a boy in their girls competition.

Missing out on a qualifying place is heartbreaking anyway. But knowing you should have qualified is just a travesty.
If he'd competed in the boys competition he would have probably qualified anyway so there was no advantage to him competing in the girls group...... other than to make a point

@ElaineMBenes .. he was 11th in the male section earlier in the year...

He came 11th at the world championships.

In this same competition last year he came 2nd in the u13 boys category

@ElaineMBenes ... ah... thanks for explaining..

Yes.

From what I've read from activists in situations like this females are supposed to embrace their loss and suffering in a kind of medieval catholic masochism kind of way for the original sin of having been born female which makes them owe boys who feel they should have been girls. Or something.

But frankly, I am damned if I'm teaching a little girl it is her job to sacrifice, to surrender her ambition and success to enable vulnerable boys in a pretense of being a girl. Or that she must do whatever makes a sad male happy however sad it may make her. Just fuck that. Who'd do that to a child? It is as ridiculously sexist as fuck to only care that boys are happy and to tell girls to suck it up and think of others before themselves.

To give context......
The competition being discussed is the regional qualifying round for the world championship. The only people allowed to compete are those that live in that geographical region.

If you qualify you get to compete at the world championships against all other competitors who have also qualified at their regional competition.

The dancer in question was 11th at the world championship earlier this year. He's just won his regional competition but competed in the girls section.
Last year he came 2nd in the boys section.
Had he competed in the boys section he would have still probably qualified. He might not have won as the winner last year came 4th in the worlds so would have been tough competition.

No worries! It's confusing!

Just wanted to point out for people suggesting WIDA have the right idea...I heard an radio interview with Sil (trans non-binary) who features in one of the articles linked up thread, and Sil spoke about how the organisation said they'd support them to dance however they wished, in whatever category they wished. God that's clunky with all the theys but hope you understand. I presume the same would then hold for a biological male who identified as trans non binary too. (What a surprise to see photos that confirm Sil is actually the sex my ears instantly identified!).

@Froodwithatowel the trans lobbyists are saying all the girls in clrg are supportive & so happy he is competing in the age group. The actual truth is very different, very upset children, confused but being told they need to "be kind & inclusive". Basically put up & shut up.
Cancel culture & boycott needs to start here. I hope those angry parents vote with their feet & boycott. It has worked like a charm in every other sport.
Not much of a statement when you're the last man standing literally.

"Girls do in their heavy shoes - they're known as blocks. They're allowed to dance this step aged 12 upwards.
It's not a step danced by boys."

@ElaineMBenes why is going on pointe more risky for males? Or have I misunderstood?

I know this is way off the point, but if people are going to boycott is there any chance they could also reject the wearing of the ridiculous outfits, makeup and hairdos?

Irish dancing wasn't like this until relatively recently...I did it myself as a child. For one thing, the outfits make it expensive and out of reach of many families. And it just looks terrible dressing kids up like that, in my opinion anyway.

@Miracleglaze I think a big boycott of everything is brewing to be perfectly honest.