CLOVIS, Calif. (AP) — The California high school athletics field championship kicked off Friday amidst a busy yet relatively calm atmosphere, overshadowed by ongoing debates surrounding the participation of transgender athletes.
This conference serves as a testing ground for new policies regarding participation and medallization for events involving transgender athletes.
The Inter-California Governance Federation competes with additional students and may also offer extra medals in three events where transgender athletes are competing. High school junior AB Hernandez, currently seeded second in the Triple Jump, is also participating in the long and high jump events.
A small protest of fewer than 10 individuals, including parents, gathered outside the stadium opposing Hernandez’s participation, with some sporting “Save Girls’ Sports” t-shirts.
Inside the stadium, a quiet atmosphere prevailed before the long jump and high jump events commenced. However, when Hernandez began her event, isolated protests erupted from a few individuals. At one point, an audience member shouted insults during her high jump attempt, while a plane circled the stadium for over an hour, trailing a banner that read, “There are no boys in girls’ sports!”
This marks the first initiative by the high school sports governing body to broaden participation as it relates to transgender athletes, reflecting attempts to seek a middle ground in the debate over trans girls’ involvement in youth sports.
“The CIF values all student-athletes and remains committed to its mission of providing opportunities for students to belong, connect, and compete, in compliance with California law,” the organization stated following their rule changes.
California law permits transgender students to compete on sex-segregated sports teams that align with their gender identity.
Recently, President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw federal funding from California, addressing restrictions on transgender athletes competing on women’s teams. The U.S. Department of Justice indicated it would investigate whether state federations and districts, including those of Hernandez’s high school, breached federal sex discrimination laws by permitting trans girls to compete in women’s sports.
What will the new participation and medal policy entail?
The tournament, hosted at a high school near Fresno, has opened triple jumps, long jumps, and high jumps to every athlete who would have qualified had Hernandez not entered the competition. Hernandez excelled in long jump qualifiers on Friday, securing a spot in Saturday’s finals with a jump of nearly 20 feet (6 meters) and also advanced in high jump, clearing 5 feet, 5 inches (1.7 meters). She is scheduled to compete in the triple jump on Friday night.
Under the pilot policy, the medallization for trans athletes will not displace “biological women” students from receiving medals, according to federal guidelines.
The federation asserted that the rules would enhance opportunities for more “biological women” athletes. However, experts expressed concern that while creating additional space for “biological women,” such a change could be inherently discriminatory towards transgender athletes.
The federation did not clarify how “biological women” would be defined or how to verify competitors’ adherence to that definition.
Health professionals assert that gender should be viewed as a spectrum, rather than a binary of only men and women.
This two-day conference is anticipated to attract significant attention from a coalition of protesting parents and students. Critics of Hernandez’s participation have also expressed their dissent during qualifying events earlier in the month, and leaders from the conservative California Family Council collaborated with Republican state lawmakers at a press conference denouncing the policy changes while advocating against Hernandez’s ability to compete.
“If they have to create special exceptions and changes to backdoor rules to appease frustrated athletes, it’s not equal. It’s an admission,” said Council outreach director Sophia Laurie. “Girls’ sports should be for girls.”
CIF Executive Director Ron Nocetti encouraged all participants and onlookers to maintain respect for all student-athletes in a message featured in the Championship program.
National Discussion on Trans-Athlete Participation
A recent AP-NORC public survey revealed that approximately seven in ten adults in the U.S. oppose the participation of transgender female athletes in girls and women’s sports at high school, college, or professional levels. This sentiment is reportedly held by about nine in ten Republicans and around half of Democrats.
Hernandez spoke to Capital & Main earlier this month, stating that she remains unfazed by critics.
“I’m still a kid, you’re an adult, and acting like a child reflects who you are,” she noted.
She acknowledged having lost some events and aimed to counter the notion that she does not belong in competitive sports.
Hernandez boasts a personal best of over 41 feet (12.5 meters) in triple jumps, surpassing the national record set in 2019 by over 3 feet (1 meter). She is seeded fifth in the long jump but has a lower ranking in the high jump.
The California State Championships stand out in comparison to other states due to the caliber of athletes competing to qualify.
A survey conducted by the National High School Association indicated that more than 57,000 high school students engaged in outdoor athletics in California between grades 2023 and 2024, making it the state with the second-largest participation, trailing only Texas.
Among the 12 high school athletes who set national records for girls’ triple jumps from 1984 to 2019, eight hailed from California, as per the National Sports Governance Agency.
Olympians Marion Jones and Tara Davis Woodhall achieved state championship records in the long jump in 1993 and 2017, respectively, both exceeding 22 feet (6.7 meters).
Davis Whitfield, the Chief Operating Officer of the National Federation, referred to the high school athlete state championship as “the pinnacle.”
“It’s undoubtedly a once-in-a-lifetime experience to attend a state championship event,” he remarked.
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Austin is a regional member of the Associated Press/Report’s American State University News Initiative. American Report is a non-profit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on X: @sophiedanna
Source: apnews.com