Avi Silverberg, head coach for Team Canada Powerlifting, “self-identified” as a woman and broke the provincial record in Alberta, Canada, for women’s bench press in the heaviest weight class to protest the growing penetration of men competing in women’s sports via “transgender” policies.
Reduxx, a media outlet describing itself as providing “feminist news and opinion,” reported on Tuesday:
Avi Silverberg, a powerlifting coach who has worked with Team Canada, self-identified as a woman last week to participate in the women’s category at the Heroes Classic Powerlifting Meet held in Lethbridge, Alberta. Silverberg was attempting to highlight the unfair advantage males have when competing in women’s athletics. In participating in the Saturday event, Silverberg unofficially broke the Alberta women’s bench press record for the 84+ kilograms category.
The Canadian Powerlifting Union (CPU) announced a gender self-identification policy earlier this year, explicitly allowing any males to participate in women’s competitions on the basis of “gender” alone.
The previous record-holder for bench press in the 84+ kg weight class is Anne Andres, a man described as a “trans identified male.”
“Andres was in the front row and witnessed Silverberg’s demonstration at the Heroes Classic Powerlifting Meet,” Reduxx reported.
The bench press competition was held under the sanction of the Canadian Powerlifting Union (CPU). In February, the CPU began allowing men describing themselves as women to compete in women’s powerlifting competitions.
The CPU’s “trans inclusion policy” declared its acceptance of left-wing neologisms and associated concepts such as “cisgender,” “gender expression,” and “gender identity.”
Competitors in CPU-sanctioned events “should be able to participate in the gender with which they identify and not be subject to requirements for disclosure of personal information beyond those required of cisgender athletes,” according to the powerlifting organization’s policy.
Follow Robert Kraychik on Twitter @rkraychik.