[cardcrimson]

You know what else is unfair?  Being born just before the age cutoff and thus being the youngest in one’s team.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why...es-a-star/

BC

True. There's also the penchant for parents "redshirting" kindergarteners in the hopes that their little darling would grow to become a stellar athlete. Looking at my wife's and my athletic ability, we had no dreams of that and sent our daughter to kindergarten even with a late October birthday; socially and academically she was ready.

Lo and behold, as a freshman she was competing against girls 5 years older than she, and girls in her class are 18 months older. Her thoughts? She wouldn't change it--just makes her tougher. . . .

You may not see it, but you put her at an academic disadvantage by putting her in Kindergarten at 4 yo. Every academic paper on the subject shows it.

Maybe so, but it has worked well thus far for her. Our fear at the time was that if we waited, she'd be bored educationally, which with her personality was a reasonable concern and so agreed some of the educators that knew her.

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Moreover, the individual athlete may not be making that decision by themselves in a vacuum.  Imagine the outcry if in the next Olympics or two, Russia or China or the US has many, many transgender athletes in swimming, tennis, basketball, volleyball, track & field, soccer, ...

That's not hard to imagine at all.   Just a brief review of East Germany's female athletes in track & field and swimming in the 1970s provides a preview to that possible future.

I realize the NCAA may struggle to create a female and then an open division in the USA, but I don't think the IOC will have the same hesitation.  Boxing, wrestling, taekwondo, and judo would also create additional complexities for the IOC.   A transgender person beating throwing, kicking, or hitting an overmatched woman could be something the IOC will want to avoid.

Safety is going to have to be an issue, and it's not just with the sports you mentioned. Field hockey, lacrosse, rugby, soccer, even water polo could put cisgender women at risk if they compete against trans women. How many here have seen men's and women's water polo in person? The difference in the physicality of play is staggering as is the velocity of the shots. A post puberty transitioning woman could literally kill with an shot to the head, especially as women are significantly more likely to suffer concussions and head trauma than men. I've watched high school goalies take shots to head and chest that would be devastating to my daughter or any other cisgender female goalie.

https://constanttherapyhealth.com/brainw...rch-shows/

[cardcrimson]

You know what else is unfair?  Being born just before the age cutoff and thus being the youngest in one’s team.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why...es-a-star/

BC

True. There's also the penchant for parents "redshirting" kindergarteners in the hopes that their little darling would grow to become a stellar athlete. Looking at my wife's and my athletic ability, we had no dreams of that and sent our daughter to kindergarten even with a late October birthday; socially and academically she was ready.

Lo and behold, as a freshman she was competing against girls 5 years older than she, and girls in her class are 18 months older. Her thoughts? She wouldn't change it--just makes her tougher. . . .

You may not see it, but you put her at an academic disadvantage by putting her in Kindergarten at 4 yo. Every academic paper on the subject shows it.

Maybe so, but it has worked well thus far for her. Our fear at the time was that if we waited, she'd be bored educationally, which with her personality was a reasonable concern and so agreed some of the educators that knew her.

---

Moreover, the individual athlete may not be making that decision by themselves in a vacuum.  Imagine the outcry if in the next Olympics or two, Russia or China or the US has many, many transgender athletes in swimming, tennis, basketball, volleyball, track & field, soccer, ...

That's not hard to imagine at all.   Just a brief review of East Germany's female athletes in track & field and swimming in the 1970s provides a preview to that possible future.

I realize the NCAA may struggle to create a female and then an open division in the USA, but I don't think the IOC will have the same hesitation.  Boxing, wrestling, taekwondo, and judo would also create additional complexities for the IOC.   A transgender person beating throwing, kicking, or hitting an overmatched woman could be something the IOC will want to avoid.

Safety is going to have to be an issue, and it's not just with the sports you mentioned. Field hockey, lacrosse, rugby, soccer, even water polo could put cisgender women at risk if they compete against trans women. How many here have seen men's and women's water polo in person? The difference in the physicality of play is staggering as is the velocity of the shots. A post puberty transitioning woman could literally kill with an shot to the head, especially as women are significantly more likely to suffer concussions and head trauma than men. I've watched high school goalies take shots to head and chest that would be devastating to my daughter or any other cisgender female goalie.

https://constanttherapyhealth.com/brainw...rch-shows/