Girls deserve a fair go in sports. When boys are allowed to compete in female sport, that fair go disappears. Male bodies are, on average, faster and stronger. Put them in a girls’ race, a girls’ game or a girls’ contact sport and the result is predictable: girls lose their spots, their podiums and, in some sports, their safety.

This is about giving girls the same fair contest boys have always had. Female sport exists for a reason. It exists so that girls and women can compete against each other on a level field and win on merit.

Across Victoria, more girls and their families are now watching males line up in female categories at school carnivals and community clubs. Parents are told to stay quiet. Coaches are told not to raise it. The girls who train hard, turn up early and give everything are told their feelings do not count.

That is not fair. And it is not safe.

The demand is simple. Keep female sport female.

I am calling on the Victorian Government to protect single-sex sport for girls and women in our schools and community clubs. Female categories should be reserved for females. No exceptions that put girls at a disadvantage. No rules that treat their safety as an afterthought.

These are not radical ideas. They are the basics of fair play that every parent understands:

• Girls compete against girls.
• Every girl gets a fair shot at making the team, the final and the podium.
• No girl is forced to share a contact field or a change room where her safety is put at risk.

Girls should not have to choose between fairness and speaking up. They should have both.

Sign the petition. Stand up for fair sport for girls.

Add your name below to keep school and community female sport female. Then share it with a parent, a coach or a teammate who wants the same fair go for their daughter.