Transgender Athlete to Compete in National Women’s Water Polo Championship

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According to Reduxx, Alica Paans (formerly Johnny) will “appear at the 2024 National Collegiate Water Polo Championships (CWPA), which will be held from May 3 to 5 at Texas A&M University.”

“Paans is expected to compete on the University of Michigan’s Women’s Club Water Polo team. The club’s official Instagram account recently named Paans as ‘player of the week,’ boasting that he is also a state chess champion in the women’s category, having won second place at the Michigan Chess Association women’s open in 2022,” it added.

The University of Michigan team also won the national women’s title against the University of California-Santa Barbara in 2023. It also defeated the University of Virginia 17 to 5 and the University of Washington 17 to 6.

The Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) denounced Paan’s participation in the competition.

“The Collegiate Water Polo Association has made it clear in their policy that they do not prioritize safe or fair competition for women in water polo,” said ICONS co-founder Marshi Smith. “Their discriminatory policy announcement came after they had crowned the University of Michigan team with a national title, despite utilizing a male player – a secret weapon not accessible to other women’s teams in the tournament.”

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