The 29-year-old transgender woman, who was born male but who now identifies as a woman, faced criticism after she beat a 16 years younger girl to win first place in a women’s skateboarding competition. The transgender woman reportedly won the women’s title and a prize of $500 while the 13-year-old girl came in second taking home $250. Many social media users criticized the tournament for the biological and age disparities between the competitors.
The transgender woman from California, Ricci Tres, took the top title in the women’s division of The Boardr Open in New York City, taking home $500. Per reports, 13-year-old Shiloh Catori took the second place. The 29-year-old biological male who identifies as a transgender woman beat out the 13-year-old girl for first place in a the skateboarding tournament on Saturday, FOX News reports.
The NYC street skateboarding contest is open to all participants at all skill levels but which is split into male and female contests. The 29-year-old transgender woman won the women’s title and a prize of $500 while the 13-year-old girl from Florida came in second taking home $250. Out of 6 competitors, four were under the age of 17, including a 10-year-old girl.
According to the Daily Mail, The Boardr sponsor Red Bull previously published stories which strongly-suggest skateboarders who’ve gone through male puberty have essential advantages over female skateboarders. A Red Bull skating blog published few years ago also said that bigger muscles make for a better skateboarder. The Red Bull blog reportedly said: “The core of a skateboarder plays a very crucial role. The group of muscles in the abdominal region, the obliques and part of the back, play a pivotal role in skateboarding performance. Since the sport requires moving over unstable surfaces, the core provides the strength to stabilize the body and balance it.”
Transgender women, who have gone through male puberty, are more likely to have larger oblique back muscles, the Daily Mail reports. Many social media users criticized the tournament for the biological and age disparities between the competitors.
Taylor Silverman, who is also a female skateboarder, said that she has come in second place several times in recent competitions having been beaten by trans women. In one of the competitions, the transgender woman won thousands of dollars. “This totaled $5,000 of the prize money meant for female athletes,” Silverman reportedly said.
‘Male wins women’s skateboarding finals and money at the Boardr Open NYC presented by DC today,’ Silverman posted on Twitter. Many of her followers replied: “This is getting so out of hand.” Another user said: “Thank you for being a voice to these young ladies, they need a champion in their corner!” Third Twitter user said: “The US, unfortunately, is not a place for fairness and freedom for girls and women. I hope this changes very soon!!”
Silverman lost to trans skater Lilian Gallagher during the competition held in May. She now uses her social media accounts to to campaign for the preservation of women’s athletics by calling for competitions to revert to women competing against other biological women and men competing against biological men.
Popular YouTuber, Tim Pool, reportedly said that biological males have a physical advantage in skateboarding because they have higher centers of gravity granting advantages that cannot be removed with [hormone replacement therapy].