The College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) issued a statement in support of Lia Thomas on Thursday while expressing its disappointment with the NCAA’s updated transgender policy.
The CSCAA, which represents and advocates for all divisions of intercollegiate swimming and diving, said that it stands with the Ivy League, University of Pennsylvania and Penn Athletics in supporting Thomas’ right to compete, which has been a hot-button issue in recent months.
The organization also criticized the ruling made by the NCAA Board of Governors on Wednesday, where the governing body for collegiate athletics voted in support of a sport-by-sport approach to transgender participation which focuses on balancing “fairness, inclusion and safety for all who compete.”
As a result of this vote, the NCAA essentially passes on the responsibility of making a ruling to each sport’s national governing body, which in swimming’s case, is USA Swimming.
The CSCAA says the move “is not a solution” and was a “missed opportunity to lead this important discussion.”
Full CSCAA Statement:
The College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) stands with the Ivy League, the University of Pennsylvania, and Penn Athletics in support of Lia Thomas’ right to compete. We further condemn the hatred that has been directed at Ms. Thomas and feel it has no place in the sport of swimming and diving.
Yesterday’s Board of Governors’ decision is not a solution. The NCAA’s previous policy on transgender participation, while pioneering, was outdated and yesterday’s decision is a missed opportunity to lead this important discussion. With a billion-dollar budget, designated Sport Science Institute, and subject-matter experts, the NCAA can lead in a way no other National Governing Body (NGB) can. We call on the NCAA to engage with its members, community leaders, medical and mental health professionals, and NGB’s to craft a solution that embraces inclusivity while also ensuring a competitive playing field.
While there is a desire for swift discussion and resolutions, a thorough, thoughtful, and scientific discussion about the balance of inclusion and fairness will take time. Because of this situation, we call upon the NCAA Division I Competition Oversight Committee to expand this year’s championship participation cap by one spot. This would allow for both Ms. Thomas and the other cisgender women athletes who have earned the right to compete at the NCAA Championships to participate in this year’s event.
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Thomas, a trans woman, competed on the University of Pennsylvania men’s team for three seasons before transitioning over a two-year period before beginning to race as a woman in 2021-22. She currently leads the NCAA rankings in the women’s 200 and 500 freestyle, with the NCAA Championships now less than two months away.
Prior to Wednesday’s ruling, the NCAA’s previous transgender policy allowed trans women to compete on a women’s team if they’ve completed a minimum of one year of testosterone suppression treatment. Thomas has been undergoing treatment for the last two and a half years.
On January 7, the Ivy League also issued a statement supporting Thomas’ participation.
USA Swimming issued a statement on the matter shortly after the CSCAA on Thursday.
“I don’t want the back lash of a decision. Let someone else decide. We will follow that.” All the different groups need to express an opinion, then come together to make a decision. Where are the bold people? I thought they were promoted to top level positions because they work hard and are bold?
Yes I agree with the extra spot regarding ncaa but what about the records, what about the Ivy League championship. Is penn going to be allowed to have an extra conference swimmer on their team now? What about the relays? What if she has such an impact it gives penn the Ivy League championship over another school? I fully think she should be allowed to swim but in an exhibition role. You can’t take steroids for 10 years and go off them for a year or 2 and claim to be all natural while ignoring the muscle growth and development that happened while on the steroids. It’s not just about testosterone and it’s frustrating that these organizations are hyper-fixating on… Read more »
Is this issue breeding hate or revealing it?
This is just the bathroom bill all over again.
I really like swim swam because you can see the real public action by the likes and dislikes
At this point, to it seems like the best thing to force an actual policy on the issue would be for the two transgender swimmers to have dominant conference and NCAA championship meets. Win numerous ivy titles, set records, make NCAA finals, score so many points that it might actually affect the meet outcome.
This is not ideal, but it might be what’s needed to cause real change.
It’s also going to be interesting to see how many schools pursue Thomas about a possible 5th yr. Thomas is good enough as a woman that you’d think schools like Stanford and Cal would be interested. Thomas should show enough points that it could change the outcome of NCAAs.
Lia is not eligible for a 5th year, unless a policy is put in place that keeps her from competing this year, and the NCAA grants her a waiver.
She didn’t compete last season, so doesn’t get the bonus 5th year for COVID.
Who are they afraid of offending?
Hypothetical rule change:
Change the categories that we compete under. Instead of Men’s and Women’s, we could have Open (anyone is allowed to compete) and Born Biological Female (only those born as a female biologically can compete). This would not affect most athletes, but would be appropriate in this situation. Lia could continue to compete in the Open category.
I’m interested to see what shortcomings people think this ideas has. Please share
Nobody is denying Lea Thomas the opportunity to compete. Period.
We watched Lilly swim at the Zippy Invitational where she broke all the records and lapped the other top female swimmers. It was very uncomfortable to watch.
Lily’s physical and biological advantages are obvious as she only transitioned a year ago. And I mean beyond just her height and muscle mass.
As my daughter & I discussed, it is not FAIR to the other women that she claims she wants to be part of. There is equality (access to sport) and then there is EQUITY. There is nothing fair that a top female athlete CANNOT be physically equally to a top male athlete.
As this and many other sports are based on milliseconds of performance, there should be… Read more »
I agree with everything you said, you may want to edit. Her name is Lia, not Lilly.
Her 1650 at the Akron Invite wasn’t even that good. Her 1650 rank, #6 in the nation, is not too far off what we would have expected based on her trajectory if she had not transitioned and remained on the men’s team. It’s really a terrible example. The 1650 field at the Zippy Invitational was a very, very weak field. The #2 swimmer in that race is only 61st in the nation. Emma Nordin would’ve finished 10 yards ahead of Lia. There are about 30 other women swimmers in the NCAA who would’ve lapped that field.
Be better than this “swimmom.” Your arguments are empty if you latch on to a stupid narrative that doesn’t actually make sense in swimming… Read more »