The governing physique of California highschool athletics adjusted eligibility guidelines for the upcoming observe and area championship meet Tuesday, simply hours after President Trump threatened to chop federal funding to the Golden State if it continues to permit transgender athletes to compete in girls’s sports activities.
The competitors, slated for Friday and Saturday, will now embody “any biological female student-athlete” who initially didn’t qualify for the occasion due to the participation of transgender athletes.
The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) claims the choice to increase the sphere was made “this past weekend” – earlier than Trump’s Reality Social submit Tuesday.
“The CIF values all of our student-athletes and we will continue to uphold our mission of providing students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete while complying with California law and Education Code,” the CIF stated in an announcement. “With this in mind, the CIF will be implementing a pilot entry process for the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships.”
“Under this pilot entry process, any biological female student-athlete who would have earned the next qualifying mark for one of their Section’s automatic qualifying entries in the CIF State meet, and did not achieve the CIF State at-large mark in the finals at their Section meet, was extended an opportunity to participate in the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships,” the group introduced.
“The CIF believes this pilot entry process achieves the participation opportunities we seek to afford our student-athletes,” the federation added.
The rule change will enable at the least two feminine athletes to compete within the state championship after they got here up quick on Saturday, when a transgender athlete from Jurupa Valley Excessive College got here in first place within the triple bounce and lengthy bounce, in accordance with Fox Information.
Underneath the brand new coverage, transgender athletes will nonetheless be capable to compete and medal within the match.
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s workplace praised the choice.
“CIF’s proposed pilot is a reasonable, respectful way to navigate a complex issue without compromising competitive fairness — a model worth pursuing. The Governor is encouraged by this thoughtful approach,” a spokesperson for Newsom informed The Put up.
Newsom, 57, who’s imagined to be eyeing a 2028 presidential run, cut up with Democrats earlier this month and acknowledged that “it’s deeply unfair” to permit transgender athletes to compete in opposition to organic girls.
Previous to the CIF announcement, Trump warned that he would order “local authorities, if necessary, to not allow” a transgender athlete to compete within the state finals.
“California, under the leadership of Radical Left Democrat Gavin Newscum, continues to ILLEGALLY allow ‘MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN’S SPORTS,’” Trump fumed on Reality Social.
“THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS. Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to,” he added.
Again in February, Trump signed an govt order that threatened to strip federal funding from states that don’t bar transgender athletes from competing in girls’s sports activities.
The Division of Training is at the moment conducting a federal Title IX investigation into CIF for permitting transgender athletes to compete in girls’s sports activities.
