Canadian powerlifter appeals ban for defending women’s sports

A female powerlifter is appealing against her suspension from the Canadian Powerlifting Union (CPU), after she was banned for publicly upholding the importance of biological sex in women’s sports.

April Hutchinson has been barred from competing for two years. She was reported to the CPU for harassment and encouraging it to allegedly “violate Canadian law” by urging it to stop men who identify as women from competing in female-only events.

In August, male athlete Anne Andres broke the women’s national record at CPU’s 2023 Western Canadian Championship. His total powerlifting score – the combined weights across three disciplines – was 597.5kg, over 200kg more than second-placed SuJan Gill.

‘Crazy’

Following Hutchinson’s suspension, a museum in Ontario removed her story on recovering from alcohol addiction from its exhibition on perseverance.

The museum accused her of denying the existence of “transgender women”, claiming: “Misgendering someone intentionally is a form of discrimination.”

Speaking to The Daily Mail, Hutchinson responded: “I am just so shocked that they would do this. I am fighting for women, I am fighting for fairness in sports.”

“It’s crazy to me that they would cancel me over that because my exhibit was about my personal story with overcoming alcoholism.”

Protections

Meanwhile, the North American Grappling Association for mixed martial arts has strengthened its rules to protect women by blocking men from participating in women’s competitions.

The policy was changed only days after several female athletes withdrew from a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament to avoid competing against men.

Previously, women were supposed to be notified in advance if they were due to compete against a man and could request an alternative match. But athletes claimed this was not enforced.

‘Uncontroversial’

In the US state of Florida, a federal district court dismissed a challenge against the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.

Judge Roy Altman ruled that the law, which prevents boys from participating in girls’ sports in public schools, is “rooted in real differences between the sexes—not stereotypes.

“In requiring schools to designate sports-team memberships on the basis of biological sex, the statute adopts the uncontroversial proposition that most men and women do have different (and innate) physical attributes.”