More than a dozen female athletes at Camas High School refused to compete in a cross-country race Tuesday after a transgender runner transferred from the boys’ team to the girls’ division, intensifying a dispute over fairness in high school sports.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
More than a dozen girls on the Camas High School cross-country team in Washington state walked off the course Tuesday, October 13, refusing to compete in protest of a transgender teammate who had switched from the boys’ division to the girls’ team earlier in the season.
The demonstration occurred during a meet against Battle Ground High School, where approximately half of Camas’ 24-member girls’ team declined to participate. When the race began, the protesting athletes walked away from the starting line toward a nearby wooded area rather than continue along the course.
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According to RedState’s account of the protest, the students were joined by at least one runner from Battle Ground High School. Video footage circulated widely on social media, drawing attention to the students’ objections to transgender participation in girls’ athletics.
The controversy centers on a Camas runner who began the season competing in boys’ events before transferring to the girls’ division in September.
Race results cited by RedState show the athlete finished 76th in a boys’ junior varsity competition on September 5 before placing second among 195 runners in the girls’ division at the Nike Portland XC Invitational on September 26.
Three days later, the athlete won a girls’ varsity race against Union High School, prompting renewed concerns among some parents and competitors about whether the change created an unfair competitive advantage.
Critics argued that the results demonstrated the impact of allowing an athlete who previously competed in boys’ events to enter the girls’ division. However, individual race placements do not establish the athlete’s physiological characteristics or determine whether applicable eligibility requirements were violated.
Among the students participating in Tuesday’s walkout was Holly Burns, whose parents said she initially hesitated to speak publicly about the situation.
Her father, Kevin Burns, told OutKick that the family supported Holly’s decision after she learned that several teammates shared her concerns.
“The more I heard about her friends wanting to do something, the more I heard about her team wanting to do something, we definitely were in support of that,” Burns said. “We told her, do what you think is best.”
The students’ decision to leave the race reflected growing frustration among some families who believe that girls’ sports should be restricted according to biological sex rather than gender identity.
The controversy had already generated a separate confrontation between school officials and the father of another Camas runner.
According to earlier reporting by RedState, Joel Retzlaff received a trespass notice from the Camas School District after protesting the transgender athlete’s participation at a previous competition.
Retzlaff reportedly displayed a sign opposing male participation in girls’ sports and later shouted objections while leaving the event. The district subsequently barred him from school property for one year.
The circumstances surrounding the trespass notice have prompted criticism from parents who argue that peaceful objections to school athletic policies should not result in restrictions on access to school grounds.
The Camas School District has maintained that its athletic programs operate under Washington state law and the eligibility requirements established by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.
Those rules allow transgender students to participate in interscholastic athletics consistent with their gender identity, although the policies remain the subject of political and legal debate.
Supporters of transgender participation argue that students should have opportunities to compete with their peers without discrimination, while opponents maintain that sex-based athletic divisions are necessary to preserve competitive fairness.
The issue is also before Washington voters in the November 3 election. Initiative 638 would restrict participation in certain girls’ school sports according to sex-based eligibility criteria, replacing existing policies permitting participation based on gender identity.
Tuesday’s walkout brought that statewide debate directly onto the cross-country course, where students chose to forfeit their own participation rather than compete under the current rules.
School officials have not announced whether the protesting athletes will face disciplinary consequences.
The demonstration adds to a growing national debate over transgender eligibility in school athletics, with students, parents and education officials confronting competing concerns about fairness, inclusion and the administration of sex-specific sporting competitions.
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