Boys Outperform Girls in Junior Athletics — Even Before Puberty
Best performance data from Little Athletics Australia shows that male athletic advantage begins in early childhood
Supporters of trans-identifying males participating in female sport have often claimed that pre-pubescent boys who identify as girls, and males who’ve had their puberty blocked, have no performance advantage over girls.
Recently uncovered Best Performance data from Little Athletics Australia however calls this claim into question. The data reveals that boys out perform girls in every single athletics category and age group.
Last updated in August 2018, the data indicates that boys have a performance advantage over girls prior to the onset of puberty, even in the under 9 category.
This suggests that irrespective of age or gender transition status, male athletic advantage is present in early childhood, and does not simply begin at puberty, as is sometimes assumed.
The data has been reformatted below from the original document to illustrate the sex-based comparison.
Download the file below to see the full data set up to under 15.
This data would seem to concur with the findings of Professor of Exercise Science Greg Brown, who has examined the question of whether there are sex-based differences in athletic performance before puberty. Although research data on pre-pubertal sex differences in athletic performance is limited, based on the data available, Professor Brown concluded that the difference is quite significant.
It is my opinion that, in order to maintain a level playing field for female athletic competition, transgender identified males (i.e., “transgirls” and “transwomen”) should not be allowed to participate in the female sports category before or after puberty even when puberty blockers are used. - Professor Greg Brown
Little Athletics Australia’s (LAA) Gender Diversity Inclusion Policy (July 2024) permits athletes over 12 to compete in the gender category they choose “in accordance with their Gender Identity, whether or not the category accords with the sex they are assigned at birth”. The policy for under 12s is written more ambiguously but is believed to operate in the same way.
Fairness and inclusion is an essential part of children’s sport. All children must have the opportunity to participate, irrespective of how they identify. But should children be able to identify into any gender sports category they want?
If boys have a performance advantage over girls prior to puberty, and inclusion policies permit biological boys to compete in the girls category, this raises serious questions about fairness, ethics and sportsmanship.
Is it fair to girls, to allow biological boys who identify as girls to compete in the girls category, when they have a performance advantage?
How do we facilitate inclusion without undermining fairness to girls?
Is it fair to biological boys who identify as girls, to tell them they are entitled to compete as a girl, when they have the performance advantage of being male?
What message does it send to girls, when their sporting organisations mandate the participation of biological males who identify as girls in their competition categories, even though they have male performance advantage?
One looks forward to the day when we can have mature discussions about sex-based performance advantage in sport without defensive accusations of “bigotry” against those who ask reasonable questions and raise reasonable concerns.
To learn more about how the Australian sporting establishment enables males to participate in the female sporting category, check out episodes one and two (season two) of the Desexing Society podcast.
Thank you to the concerned parent who bought this data to my attention.