A boy has won a girls’ Irish dancing title for the third year in a row, prompting backlash from women’s rights advocates. Elias “Alyssa” Saltzman took first place in the girls’ U16 solo category at the 2025 Southern Region Oireachtas last Sunday, representing his latest win in a female category.
Saltzman first came to public scrutiny in 2023 after taking first place in the Southern Region Oireachtas U14 girls’ category, seizing a highly coveted spot at the World Championships.
Just prior to his first win, P.J. McCafferty, the regional director of the Irish Dance Teachers’ Association in the Southern Region, issued a statement defending the decision to allow Saltzman to compete against girls, citing inclusive policies. McCafferty released the statement just ahead of the 2023 Oireachtas, acknowledging a swelling blowback from the parents of the young girls competing in the category.
“I am aware that there is a great deal of upset in the Southern Region about the CLRG and IDTANA policies that transgender Irish Dancers enter competitions that align with the gender identity of their everyday public life; their academic, workplace, social, and home life,” McCafferty wrote.
“I am writing this post to remind everyone that we teach all the dancers. We advocate for every one of our dancers. We do our very best to be fair to everyone. This situation is not easy for anyone. Not everyone’s point of view or personal interests align. I am asking for your tolerance. You are expected to respect all the dancers.”
Following Saltzman’s first win, Maggie McKneely, an Irish dancer and legislative strategist for Concerned Women for America, penned an open letter titled “Radical Gender Ideology Comes for Irish Dance.”
“Just like in every other competitive sport, dancers spend hours in the studio and the gym from a very young age. Those who rise to the top have a chance at performing in shows like ‘Riverdance’ and ‘Lord of the Dance,’ or opening their own dance studios. But their success is contingent on winning competitions. Just like in any other sport, male dancers are naturally stronger and faster, and no amount of practice can prepare a girl to compete and win against the boys,” McKeely stated, questioning the fairness of allowing a boy to compete against girls.
“To whom, exactly, is this being fair? Is it fair to ask young girls to pour their heart into a sport, and then rob them of the prize for which they have worked so hard? Is it fair to dress a young boy in a dress and wig and teach him to dance like a girl because he’s confused? It is not fair to undermine one of the core truths that make Irish dance what it is, that men and women are different and that’s not only ok, but a good thing!”
Concerned parents banded together to launch a petition aimed at trying to get the CLRG, the Dublin-based governing body of Irish Dance, to change its policy. But despite racking up over 6,000 signatures, no policy changes at CLRG were put in place.
Saltzman went on to win again in the U15 girls’ category in 2024, and has now seized first in the U16 category at the 2025 Southern Region Oireachtas – his third consecutive win at the competition. There were 82 girls participating in the category.
According to HeCheated, an advocacy group focused on fairness in women’s sport, Saltzman has never won in the boys category.
🚨For the third year in a row, a boy has stolen a Southern Regional Oireachtas Irish dance title.
— HeCheated.org (@hecheateddotorg) December 10, 2025
On December 7th, male dancer Elias "Alyssa" Saltzman took 1st in the girls' U16 solo category at the 2025 Southern Region Oireachtas which were held in Orlando Florida, not only… pic.twitter.com/0whP8P3dNS
In response to Saltzman’s latest win, Maggie McKneely once again slammed the competition for allowing his participation.
“It is difficult enough for a girl to win when she is competing against fellow female dancers. It’s nearly impossible when pitted against a biologically advantaged male who can jump higher, move faster, and naturally has more stamina to make it through his rounds,” McKneely wrote for Concerned Women for America. McKneely went on to state that “gender ideology has no place in Irish dance because the sport, at its core, is a celebration of the differences” between the sexes.
McKneely also notes that even though progress has been made in the domain of protecting women’s sports at a federal level, there is little politicians can do to protect women and girls in private sports like Irish dance.
“It will be up to parents and the dancers themselves to continue to call out the injustice of gender ideology and to refuse to accept the spineless decisions of the CLRG and other powers-that-be,” McKneely concludes.
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