{"id":494353,"date":"2021-12-22T16:26:20","date_gmt":"2021-12-22T23:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=494353"},"modified":"2021-12-22T16:26:20","modified_gmt":"2021-12-22T23:26:20","slug":"penn-parents-express-further-concerns-over-lia-thomas-competing-on-womens-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/penn-parents-express-further-concerns-over-lia-thomas-competing-on-womens-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Penn Parents Express Further Concerns Over Lia Thomas Competing On Women’s Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Penn Parents Express Further Concerns Over Lia Thomas Competing On Women’s Team<\/strong><\/p>\n

The controversy surrounding Penn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas<\/strong> has been brought to national attention during the past two weeks as the debate rages on about the playing field being level in women\u2019s swimming. Thomas, a transgender swimmer who has followed the rules set forth by the NCAA on this matter, has put together some of the top college times in the country two years after competing for the Penn men\u2019s swim team.<\/p>\n

The major reaction to Thomas\u2019 speed in the water has been focused on records being in jeopardy and the validity of any record she might break, and whether or not Thomas competing is fair to female swimmers who were born female. Thomas competing in women\u2019s races just a few years after transitioning has led to controversy, and there have been numerous opinions about whether she should be allowed in women\u2019s races<\/a>. She has undergone required hormone therapy, but many believe that since she underwent male puberty, she has inherent advantages over her female competitors.<\/p>\n

But there are plenty of other issues at stake that parents of Penn swimmers have discussed and written about. They, like many upset by the issue, are trying not to take their frustrations out on Thomas, but are taking their frustrations to the NCAA to change the rules after Thomas\u2019 situation is revealing an uneven playing field in many people\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n

One issue emphasized by the Penn parents is travel team participation. Thomas is one of 26 swimmers that can travel to NCAA away meets. Her participation means that one female-born swimmer will not get to travel and compete at each away meet.<\/p>\n

Then there is the issue of relay participation. Thomas<\/a> is the fastest swimmer on the team and would likely be chosen for most, if not all, of the Penn relays at the Ivy League Championships and any relay that qualifies for the NCAA Championships. That means other swimmers on her team won\u2019t swim at the NCAA Championships.<\/p>\n

A Penn parent wishing to remain anonymous shared their thoughts on these matters:<\/p>\n

The debate has been focused on Lia’s competitive advantage, as it relates to her being able to attain immortality status in the \u201cwomen\u2019s sports\u201d category; metrics like wins, records, and rankings.\u00a0 Fair competition is obviously a major concern.\u00a0 But what no one is talking about are some of the wider effects of Lia’s place on the women’s team.\u00a0 University of Pennsylvania\u2019s women\u2019s team has 40 swimmers. Lia is taking one of the roster spots from a biological female. This year, a woman was left behind on the Zippy Invitational trip who otherwise would’ve been able to experience competing for her team.\u00a0 At that meet, Lia swam on five relays, taking a spot from a biological female on each. Lia\u2019s performances aren\u2019t just about her place in history, her participation means another woman does not get the opportunity; it is a zero-sum game. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

In February, when the team will compete at Ivy League Championships, each school can send a maximum of 18 swimmers. A biological woman, who has been swimming competitively since a very young age, training hard, and dreaming that someday she might be able to represent a great D1 school at a conference championship, will miss out on that opportunity. Now that Lia is on the team, that girl who would’ve earned the 18th spot isn’t 18th and she has to stay home.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

These are just a few of the ways transgender women are taking the opportunities that were created for biological women.<\/em><\/p>\n

These ripple effects and the impact on any one biological woman won\u2019t be covered by Swimming World, but will have a big impact on these women\u2019s futures; impacts that are sure to increase as more transgender athletes are allowed to compete on teams with biological women without mitigating their male-puberty advantage, like athletic scholarships and being one-of-40 team members. Title IX was supposed to ensure women have the same opportunities as men; and without proper rules governing the \u201cwomen\u2019s\u201d category, perhaps we should have one swimming team, and see who makes it. In that scenario, my daughter wouldn\u2019t make it, and I\u2019m betting yours wouldn\u2019t either. The conclusion is undeniable; the inclusion of trans women with biological women leads to exclusion and loss of opportunities for biological women.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Penn parents have been active about this issue as a group. They wrote an open letter<\/a> to the NCAA, the Ivy League and Penn officials, looking for answers.<\/p>\n

Answers could include changing the rules to mandate more than one year of gender transitioning, or creating a third gender group for college swimming, and a number of other possibilities. Of course, the NCAA could also do nothing, citing Lia Thomas following of the rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt stake here is the integrity of women\u2019s sports,\u201d the letter said, according to DailyMail.com<\/em>. \u201cThe precedent being set \u2014 one in which women do not have a protected and equitable space to compete \u2014 is a direct threat to female athletes in every sport. What are the boundaries? How is this in line with the NCAA\u2019s commitment to providing a fair environment for student-athletes?
\n\u2018It is the responsibility of the NCAA to address the matter with an official statement. As the governing body, it is unfair and irresponsible to leave the onus on Lia, Lia\u2019s teammates, Lia\u2019s coaches, UPenn athletics and the Ivy League.\u201d<\/p>\n

The university sent a terse response to the parents, claiming the school is doing what it can to help the student-athletes navigate Thomas\u2019 success, shared a link to mental health services.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease know that we fully support all our swimming student-athletes and want to help our community navigate Lia\u2019s success in the pool this winter,\u201d the university said in its reply, according to DailyMail.com<\/em>. \u201cPenn Athletics is committed to being a welcoming and inclusive environment for all our student-athletes, coaches and staff and we hold true to that commitment today and in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Penn Parents Express Further Concerns Over Lia Thomas Competing On Women’s Team The controversy surrounding Penn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas has been brought to national attention during the past two<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3915,"featured_media":493509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,122077,6],"tags":[61588,129951,64923],"class_list":["post-494353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-americas","category-college","tag-ivy-league-swimming","tag-lia-thomas","tag-penn-swimming"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nPenn Parents Express Further Concerns Over Lia Thomas Competing<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Penn Parents: Lia Thomas' Participation Keeping Other Swimmers off Travel Rosters, Relays. 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