It hasn’t been an easy road for Sarah Huckman. The transgender high school sophomore in rural New Hampshire has had to fight for every inch of her inclusion in sports at Kingswood Regional High School in Wolfeboro, a town of 6,000 people near the Maine border.
Still, Huckman is now a part of the girls cross-country and track & field teams at the school, able to use restrooms and locker rooms based on the gender with which she identifies.
“Most of the kids know [that I’m transgender],” Huckman told Freedom New Hampshire, “and all of the kids and coaches have been very supportive.”
Very telling from her story is the seemingly immediate embrace her classmates gave her, and the yellow light some adults have placed on her inclusion. Thankfully she has had completely accepting parents who have been by her side the entire way. Ultimately, inclusion has won the day.
Various towns and cities in the state are moving toward inclusive policies for transgender students. The school board of the town of Keene, N.H., just minutes away from Vermont and Massachusetts, has opened the door for transgender athletes to participate in sports and, on a case-by-case basis, use locker rooms of the gender with which they identify.
Still, each trans athlete in New Hampshire has to wage this battle of inclusion for themselves, as each school district gets to set its own policy and can rely on addressing each student “case-by-case.”
Definitely check out Freedom New Hampshire’s full story on Huckman and her journey.
