Transgender dancer wins girls’ Irish step dancing competition

A biological male won a second straight Southern Regional Oireachtas Championship in girls’ Irish step dancing in Dallas, Texas.

After winning a U-14 championship in 2023, Alyssa Saltzman won the…

A biological male won a second straight Southern Regional Oireachtas Championship in girls’ Irish step dancing in Dallas, Texas.

After winning a U-14 championship in 2023, Alyssa Saltzman won the U-15 solo championship in December 2024, beating out nearly 100 girls. The transgender competitor, who was born Elias Saltzman, also received a spot in the World Championships. 

The boy received backlash after winning the event for the first time in December 2023. 

“Oh, my gosh. It’s going to make me cry,” a mother told the Washington Standard. “I never thought I was going to have to deal with this. And my heart breaks for my daughter and the other girls that are having to deal with this. They are too young to have to deal with topics that are going on in society, that are adult topics, that they don’t quite comprehend yet. 

“They just look at it as unfair. And it’s really hard to explain to them what’s going on and why they have to accept it. That’s what society’s making them do. As a mom, I want to be an advocate for my daughter. But at the same time, I have to protect my family.” 

Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines also condemned Saltzman. 

“This week a boy stole a qualifying spot for the upcoming World Championships in Irish dancing,” Gaines told Fox News. “I’ve talked to many of the girls and parents and they’re distraught.” 

However, P.J. McCafferty, regional director of the Irish Dance Teachers’ Association – Southern Region, defended letting Saltzman compete against girls, citing current policies and precedent. 

Maggie McKneely, a legislative strategist for Concerned Women for America, competed in the adult division of the 2023 competition. She expressed her dismay at the male competitor’s success. 

“Most sports, men and women tend to do the same basic activity, just at very different skill levels, but Irish dance is highly gendered,” McKneely told the Standard. “The two sexes wear different shoes, they wear different clothes, they actually have completely different dance styles. They’re really not interchangeable in any way. 

“If a boy decides to compete as a girl, he has to learn how to dance like a girl and wear girls’ dance shoes,” she added. “So I think it’s really ridiculous. It’s not fair to the kids. It’s certainly not fair to the girls who have to compete against the boy. And it totally undermines what makes Irish dance what it is, the highly gendered aspect of it is a defining feature.”