PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Lewis and Clark women’s rowing team is about to start it’s spring season. For one team member, it will be a return to competition.
Ryan LaVigne is transgender and came to Portland from Florida.
"It’s been a really wonderful journey coming out and being here. My first day at Lewis and Clark was my first day out as a woman, haven’t looked back since,” she said.
LaVigne had been away from rowing for a year when she approached Lewis and Clark head coach Sam Taylor about joining the team. “The question for me was not anything to do with gender but how do we make this work.”
The NCAA has a clear policy on transgender student-athlete participation. As a trans female, LaVigne had to complete a year of testosterone suppression treatment before she could compete.
LaVigne is happy with how things have gone at Lewis and Clark. She’s a student athlete and says, “I have a team that supports and accepts me.”
“I really want to generate a conversation around gender and how we view it,” she said.