Trans girl winning every race at primary sports day

[Minibea]

My DD is 8 so in year 3 at primary school. There is a male child who self-identified as a girl from roughly age 6 and has socially transitioned at school. I’ve discussed this with DD along the lines of the importance of being inclusive, respecting someone right to be addressed in the way that they prefer etc but have also been clear with her that this child is biologically male and that you can’t change your sex. All fine.

Yesterday was school sports day. The child in question won every single race again the girls. DD is quite sporty and was up there with a chance of winning in all the races so is disappointed.

I don’t want to be “that” parent with school, nor rock the boat with the parents, but as the kids get older I’m concerned about the message this is sending and also the implications for bathroom arrangements, residential trips etc etc. So I want to ask school to provide/confirm their policy around all of this but what exactly do I need to see/hear? And what “should” the policy be so I can sense check it against what’s actually happening? An idiots guide would be most welcome!

There was a girl at our school who outcompeted the boys regularly, sure. But she grew up to be an Olympic athlete.

It's another facile argument that irritates me in the sporting debate: some women have won against these men, therefore it's all good. I can never quite work out if people genuinely can't see, or are ignoring, the obvious.

Races are about who's best at racing. Even among the littlies.

Add in another factor on top of this - proportionately vastly different strength, build, lung capacity etc. (or slightly different, as at this age) - and skill is no longer what the race is about.

So yes, maybe a woman can beat a male interloper - but it is likely because her skill is so superior (and/or his so inferior) that it can offset the massive physical difference.

To use her excelling to this degree as "evidence" that he should be included in her competition is unspeakably ironic - and cruel.

Yep - cross post with last 3 posts, all saying the same (obvious) thing.

Ofc, I took 5 times as many words. 😅

A child being labelled trans aged 8 is a safeguarding issue.

Aside from that, if 22 year old Tom with a mental age of 8 was permitted to race and win against boys aged 8 there'd be a flurry of complaints from dads.

Girls deserve better.

Be that parent.

OP yes be that parent. 100% no question.

And for all you bleeting on about “but girls and boys at primary school have the same physical advantages” or “I know a girl who beat a boy in a race once once” or “the girls should just smile and have FUN” … honestly have a word with yourselves.

I feel very sorry for all the children involved here. The adults are failing them and need to do much better.

I agree with sleeping on it, you take youself out of the triggering mindset and you can see it objectively. It will mean that you will stay away from mud-slinging, and be able to maintain your point against what maybe some absurd arguments.

Something that is meant to be fun- has now become stressful for you and disappointing for your daughter. I also suspect that it is stressful for the teachers and staff as well.

It might be worth getting AI to write a letter to the school and you can read it and see if it reflects what you say. When making any type of complaint you need to be clear about what you want to change i.e. would you like them to change the policy or would you like them to remove the 1st place awards.

Lastly, its important to remember that if you chose to complain you are not the one hurting the child in question. It is the adults who have told them that everyone has to make accomodations for this persons internal discomfort with themselves at cost to others feelings. They are setting this kid up to be bullied, to be excluded from society and to be confused about themselves and have a narrative that they are being hated by others.

What?! It's all equal still?! You seem to have no understanding of the strength and physical power of a boy. My 8 year old son would sit on top of me and I would struggle to get up!

It's ridiculous to have boys and girls races then allow a boy to compete on the girls race. The kid also shouldn't be socially transitioned at school following the Cass review. My children's primary had team games on sports day with boys and girls on each team. It worked very well and your children's school was dumb to have run sports day like they did. Perhaps if you went to them with a constructive solution you might feel more able to raise a complaint op.

And when this temporary kindness is taken away from the boy when he hits certain developmental thresholds? What then? It's crueler to deceive them that they can run outside of sex class. Don't set the precedent then you aren't taking their 'right' away.

The girls count too. This boy is 'trans', not a high priest.

It’s not ridiculous. It’s illegal.

Why is it up to OP to find a constructive solution? Why can’t the school be told to follow the law?

Why should OP suggest getting rid of girls’ races and replacing them with a mixed relay? What about the feelings of the girls - including OP’s daughter - who could have won a single-sex race? Why don’t they matter?

I’d send a few emails to no win no fee discrimination/ human rights lawyers….
I’m assuming this boy is using the girls toilets, and at his age he has no business in girls toilets. Make sure you mention Supreme Court and they’re acting illegally and breaching your daughters rights. Mention the sports day too.
I’d definitely file a complaint, but after you’ve found out whether or not a lawyer will take on your case

I definitely think it is worth raising. BUT in my experience, and you will know your school best, heads HATE it being suggested they are wrong. So I would wait. There won’t be any more Sports Days this year. Don’t make it too much about what just happened.

See what happens over the summer. The new EHRC guidance will be out. The government I think is due to finalise the schools guidance. It is possible this child may de-transition.

After the summer, backed by the new guidance, raise it as in issue with school in a forward looking manner ‘in light of all the changes in guidance, can I check what your policy is now on…..’

An 8 year old boy is pre puberty so if there is a difference in sports performance at this age it might just be due to being good at running. Sex related differences emerge post puberty. I would have thought that most primary schools have mixed races for that reason. I am no fan of trans ideology but pre puberty sporting advantage is not a thing.

But it still gives kids who win a thrill. Don’t take that away from little girls

They’re 8. My kids primary school has all mixed races and the boys don’t win them all and nobody whines and bitches about them being mixed either.

No, that’s incorrect. Boys have a physical advantage before puberty.

womenssportspolicy.org/pre-puberty-male-female-children-show-marked-differences-in-sport-performance/

These aren’t mixed races though. They are single sex races, with one male allowed to join for nonsense reasons.

There is no such thing as a trans child.

As someone has said, there is a difference between having mixed sex races and having single sex races that allow the opposite sex to compete.

That’s one paper. There’s also evidence showing it doesn’t make a big difference. Most primary schools don’t have separate races.

There are links to studies posted on this thread already. Please read them. You are misinformed.

Even from 6 years old male athletes have advantage over female athletes.

Why? Surely if all the boys are better than the girls due to sex differences then the girls would be horribly disadvantaged in mixed races too and would never win?

I have posted about 7 studies on this very thread. From Denmark, Greece, Australia and several from the USA.

How many more would you like?

Have a word with 90% of schools and sports clubs then 🤷‍♀️
My son is 10 and very small for his age and there are several girls in his class who are significantly taller and bigger than him (and clearly also have a physical advantage over him at sports day, which was evident when I watched the races).

No. This is a fallacy.

When you look at the data, any girl winning a race against a boy over 6 years old should be considered even more exceptional than the boys in the race.

Your argument is like stating that if a bike with a motor doesn’t win the Tour de France, bikes with motors have no advantage. Do you really think that if a bike with a motor doesn’t win against bikes without motors that the one with a motor has no advantage?

All of which is completely irrelevant unless the races were mixed sex.
Assuming you work in a school, you should be intelligent enough to know that sex is immutable and that single sex sport is important for fairness, safety and dignity. Would the girls in your school also be happy having to share their toilets with a boy or would they have been told by the adults to ‘be kind’ to a boy who is being manipulated by the adults around him to believe he can change sex? Ie lied to?