A Washington swim league says it has found a procedural workaround it believes will let meets continue under USA Swimming rules while still complying with Washington’s gender-identity laws, effectively allowing athletes to compete based on self-identification, which means boys can keep entering girls’ events despite President Trump’s executive order aimed at keeping men out of women’s sports.
In a November email obtained by The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, Chad Winkle, general chair of Pacific Northwest Swimming (PNS), warned parents, athletes, coaches, and officials about “issues” affecting PNS’s ability to host meets in Washington, including in King County and at the King County Aquatic Center. Winkle explained that after Executive Order 14201 was signed in February 2025, requiring federal definitions of sex to be based on male and female, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee adopted corresponding policies. Under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, he said, USA Swimming was required to align with those standards, and as a local swimming committee, PNS is bound by USA Swimming rules.
But Winkle said those federal standards conflict with Washington State law and King County ordinances that prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. He told members PNS had been working with USA Swimming, King County, and legal counsel to find a path forward that would allow meets to continue at the local level, though it might not apply to higher-level competitions. PNS also urged families not to contact outside organizations, warning that public pressure could disrupt negotiations.
On Dec. 2, Winkle announced in a follow-up email that PNS had reached “common ground” with King County and USA Swimming. The solution, he wrote, was to shift all PNS competitions to “Approved” meet status. That would keep USA Swimming technical rules intact, so times for athletes in good standing could still be entered into the SWIMS database and meets could remain properly insured, while changing the administrative side to satisfy Washington law.
The new approach “allows athletes to compete as they self-identify,” which continues to allow male athletes to compete in girls’ sports. Winkle said the PNS board voted to run meets this way through the end of January, when the policy will be reviewed again. He emphasized that PNS “is not the decider on this topic,” describing the organization as a facilitator operating within the demands of state law, county law, and USA Swimming regulations.
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