A Washington high school cross country runner who began the season competing on the boys team switched to the girls team last month, a move permitted under state rules but one that has sparked sharp disapproval from parents at recent meets and drawn national attention to the Camas High School program.
The runner, a biological male, finished 76th in a junior varsity boys race earlier this season before joining the girls team. Since the switch, he has taken first place in a varsity meet and finished second at another invitational. On Saturday at the Nike Hole in the Wall High School XC Invitational in Arlington, Washington, he competed in the Women's Elite 5K, finishing 39th out of 135 runners with a time of 18:36.8.
Had he run in the Men's Elite 5K instead, he would have placed last out of 159 runners by roughly 30 seconds, according to race results. That disparity has become central to the objections voiced by parents from opposing schools, who argue that allowing transgender athletes to compete against girls deprives female runners of opportunities.
«We have daughters, and it's robbing them of an opportunity to compete,» said one mother of a cross country runner, who requested anonymity. Another parent, also speaking anonymously, said: «Whether they finish first, 40th or 90th, they're still taking the spot of a girl.»
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, which governs high school sports in the state, permits such a switch under its rules. But that did not stop parents at Saturday's event from expressing their disapproval, with many choosing to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the issue. One man would not allow his voice to be recorded, requiring a reporter to repeat his quote aloud.
«We're about as liberal as it gets. I just don't agree with that,» said Kent Lake of Lake Stevens, Washington. «Look, you can live any way you want. You got my blessing. But I mean come on, in competitions? It's like stock car racing. It's gotta be even, and it's gotta be fair.»
Kevin Ess, an Arlington High parent, offered a similar view. «I think men and women, young men and young women, have been competing for hundreds of years, thousands of years, separately,» he said. «I think it's an interesting experiment. I think it's an interesting topic, but my personal opinion is that they should continue to compete separately.»
Not all parents at the meet were opposed. One said, «People can identify however they want. High school sports isn't about winning, it's about student athletes building confidence.» Another said, «There are more important things in sports than that.» A third expressed a more nuanced position: «I just wish people could have more empathy and compassion and understanding for people. I do think it's tricky if you start on one team and midseason change. I wish there was a space for everyone.»
The controversy has placed Camas High School on the defensive. An assistant cross country coach greeted a reporter near the start line with the words, «Nobody wants to talk to you. I'm trying to be nice.» No Camas coach would discuss the runner's decision to switch teams, and the runner's mother declined to acknowledge a reporter's presence on Saturday.
The runner's move has also prompted visible protests. Last month, Skyview High junior Charlie Garrett and teammate Sierra Retzlaff walked off the start line when the gun went off, wearing body paint that read «Keep women in women's sports.» Both athletes were present at Saturday's event as well.
«Why is it so important for you to speak out on this topic?» Retzlaff said. «Because if we don't, no one else will. If we start something, maybe others will have the courage to join.»
The debate in Washington state has extended beyond the cross country course. Initiative 638, which would ban biological males from competing against girls in K-12 sports, has qualified for the November 3 ballot. The measure's supporters point to situations like the one at Camas as evidence of the need for such a rule, while opponents argue it would harm transgender youth.
What prompted the Camas runner to switch from the boys to the girls team midseason remains unclear. Under WIAA rules, the change is allowed, but the decision has thrust a local high school athletic program into a national conversation about fairness, inclusion, and the boundaries of sex-segregated competition.