Republicans in Connecticut will honor three female high school runners who are suing the local school district and athletic association over its policy to allow male-bodied transgenders to compete in girls’ sports.

Chelsea Mitchell, Alanna Smith and Selina Soule will receive the party’s Courage Award at a fundraising event recognizing women in leadership roles on March 25, state party Chairman J.R. Romano said in an Associated Press (AP) article.

The student athletes filed a lawsuit against several school boards and the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC), which has a policy in place to allow athletes to compete based on gender identity instead of biological sex.

AP reported that the lawsuit makes the case that male-bodied transgenders have an unfair physical advantage over their female-bodied competitors.

Meanwhile, CIAC defended its policy, saying it complies with state law and two transgender athletes say they should be a part of the girls lawsuit because “their successes on the track have come as a result of hard work and are well within the range of high school track times for non-transgender girls.”

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