Transgenderism in sports is a hot topic, and the skateboarding community recently felt some heat.
As relayed by Fox News, this weekend saw the women’s division finals of The Boardr Open in New York. Among the top six finishes were a 10-year-old, a 12-year-old, and a 29-year-old biological male.
Leading the pack was Ricci Tres.
In a November interview, Ricci talked of transformation:
Here’s the skater qualifying for the Red Bull SOLUS, a men’s and women’s competition in California:
Ricci made the SOLUS. And on Saturday, the skater took The Boardr Open — pocketing the women’s division’s $500 prize.
Of the top half-dozen, two-thirds were 16 years old or younger.
Second place — and $250 — went to 13-year-old Shiloh Catori, who currently resides at 133rd in the Boardr Global Ranks.
Ricci — who, according to the Daily Mail, is a “divorced, ex-Navy father of three” — ranks 838th.
As noted by Fox, not everyone was impressed:
Many on social media excoriated the tournament for the biological and age disparities between the competitors, including female skateboarder Taylor Silverman, who spoke out in May after having repeatedly placed second in skateboarding contests against biological males.
“I have been in three different contests with trans women, two of which I placed second,” Silverman wrote in an Instagram post on May 17, which met with a barrage of negative comments. She went on to explain that the transgender competitor she lost against in a Redbull Cornerstone skate event took home $1,000 in qualifiers, $3,000 in finals and $1,000 in best trick.
As you know, the world of athletics has entered uncharted territory. For a few years now, arenas of sport have let males identifying as women compete with females. Testosterone testing has varied from sport to sport. But some fields are beginning to tighten rules in ways that will shut out previously-allowed competitors:
Transgender Swimmer Lia Thomas’ Professional Career Hits a Brick Wall After Major Ruling
Another Sport Bans Biological Males Like Lia Thomas From Women’s Athletics
Additionally, states such as Alabama, Louisiana, and South Dakota have banned biological males from girls’ athletics.
But certainly, not all sports are following that line:
Report: Soccer May Eliminate All Testosterone Requirements for Transgender Athletes
Back to New York’s Boardr Open, many would argue that a 29-year-old — no matter their sex — would have an advantage, at least in experience, over kids. Christina Pushaw — spokeswoman for Gov. Ron DeSantis — would be one of those. On social media, she asked why someone Ricci’s age was “competing against children.”
Male wins women’s skateboarding finals and money at the Boardr Open NYC presented by DC today. pic.twitter.com/fgqmHMq2Ez
— Taylor Silverman (@tmsilverman) June 25, 2022
Podcaster Tim Pool pointed out that males have “higher centers of gravity, granting advantages that cannot be removed with [hormone replacement therapy].”
Males in skateboarding have higher centers of gravity granting advantages that cannot be removed with hrt
That plus the Q angle differences
So it's unfair to female athletes
Your semantics are not relevant
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) May 18, 2022
Speaking of, The Post Millennial reports that Ricci recently failed to qualify for a tournament:
Tres submitted a virtual run for the USA National Skateboarding Championships, but was unable to meet the deadline for submitting hormone level testing. Later, Tres’ testosterone levels were deemed to be “much higher” than the levels required two compete in the women’s division.
In an interview with USA Skateboarding around this time, Tres revealed that the athlete was around 190 units over the required testosterone levels for International Olympic Committee Standards.
The world of sports is in flux, in a way it’s never been before. What’s around the corner? It’s impossible to tell. But even though we’re dealing with all-new phenomena, it reinforces an old idea: The battle of the sexes is far from over. The same goes, evidently, for the battle of the ages.
-ALEX
See more content from me:
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