‘I won't go easy just because they're kids’: Trans skateboarder Ricci Tres, 29, answers critics
After facing outrage online, where people are debating whether new inclusivity creates an unfair advantage in women’s sports, for beating Shiloh Catori, 13, in a skateboarding contest in New York City, the 29-year-old transgender woman Ricci Tres has spoken out for herself. She says, “I wasn’t going to go easy on them just because they’re kids.”
The Los Angeles resident, who has a global ranking of 838, said to DailyMail, “It’s funny it’s what I am getting beat up over the most, people saying you’re beating little kids, little girls. I didn’t intend to do that. This is the first one I’ve been to that I actually wanted to win....the age thing doesn’t really count.” Tres further narrated how two years ago she came to the realization that she is a female after secretly cross-dressing for years. "It was the thought of the fact that I’ve lived 27 years with these little guilt over random things that I didn’t give myself time to understand like cross-dressing...finally I just came to the realization that I am female, have a lot of female energy and that is what I prefer to be," she said.
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Tres believes that sport is about an individual's skill and not their gender. “I don't think I have physical advantage. Look at me. I'm not buff or anything. I don't work out really, I just skateboard. And I don't think skateboarding has anything to do with physicality, especially when you look at kids these days,” she added by saying that kids aged 12 and up are just as much of a threat to her as adults, and that means it's fair for her to compete against them. “The whole physical aspect of skateboarding isn’t really there. It’s really the skill level. Any kind of advantage you get is determined by… skaters know… it’s your commitment and determination. If you love the sport, it speaks to you and you find ways to do what you do on your board. If I have any advantage is that I’m extremely determined. But that’s not an advantage. Everyone has the opportunity,” Tres expressed as she defended herself from the criticism.
'I know I'll never be a woman'
Tres won over Shiloh Catori, who is ranked 133 in the Boardr Global Ranks, which are based on performance in skateboarding competitions. The 29-year-old took the top title in the women's division of The Boardr Open, taking home $500.
As reported by Fox News, Tres has taken hormones but was previously informed that her body still had too much testosterone to compete. "I know I'll never be a woman because women are miraculous. They have babies and create life and do all that awesome stuff. I’'ll never have that ability. But I feel like I'm a woman. I would have wished to be born one. So I'll try to fill that image as much as I can for myself."