A transgender athlete is set to compete in Pennsylvania’s girls’ indoor track-and-field state championships this Sunday, despite recent changes to the state’s gender policy and President Trump’s executive order on single-sex sports.
Luce Allen, an 18-year-old male-born senior at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School who identifies as female, will participate in the girls’ 200-meter dash at the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association (PTFCA) Indoor State Championship at Penn State University.
The participation comes after the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Board of Directors voted on February 19 to update its gender policy, primarily replacing “gender” with “sex” and shifting determination authority from principals to schools.
Ron Lopresti, president of the PTFCA, clarified the situation: “They have not changed their policy. Their policy right now is that until the law changes … a school determines what athletes can compete on what teams. And since we follow PIAA rules, that’s where we stand.”
The revised PIAA policy states: “Where a student’s sex is questioned or uncertain, the decision of the school as to the student’s sex will be accepted by PIAA.” It also references Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” dated February 5, 2025.
Allen has been competing in girls’ indoor and outdoor track for two years. “The principal of the school is the head PIAA official for every PIAA school,” Lopresti explained. “In the case of Plymouth Whitemarsh, it went right to the superintendent and their solicitor. The superintendent made the comment that they have not changed their policy concerning this particular athlete.”
The Philadelphia School District has maintained its position supporting gender identity-based participation, stating: “The School District of Philadelphia strives to ensure safety, equity and justice for all students regardless of gender identity or gender expression so that they can imagine and realize any future they desire.”
While states like New Hampshire and Wisconsin have moved to restrict biological males from girls’ sports, others including California, Maine, and Minnesota have declined to do so.
In Pennsylvania, Republican state senators have introduced the Save Women’s Sports Act to prohibit biological males from female scholastic sports. While the bill may pass the Republican-controlled Senate, it faces challenges in the Democratic-majority House and with Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro.
“The PIAA has said they will follow the law. If – and this is a big if – if the Pennsylvania Assembly would pass a law barring transgender athletes, the PIAA will follow it, and of course, so will the PTFCA,” Lopresti said. “But I don’t see that happening between now and Sunday.”
