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Fina bars transgender swimmers from women’s elite events if they’ve passed male puberty


Swimming

Fina, the world’s governing body for swimming, has voted to prevent transgender athletes from competing in women’s elite races if they have undergone any part of the coaching process. then of men.

The new policy requires transgender contestants to complete gender transition before the age of 12 in order to participate in female competitions.

Fina will also aim to establish an ‘open’ category at competitions for swimmers whose gender identity differs from their birth sex.

The new policy, passed with 71% of the vote from 152 Fina members, was described as “just the first step towards full inclusion” for transgender athletes.

The decision was made during an extraordinary congress at the ongoing World Championships in Budapest.

Previously, the Fina members heard reports from a transgender task force consisting of the world’s leading figures in medicine, law and sports.

Brent Nowicki, the regulator’s chief executive officer, said: “Fina’s approach to drafting this policy is comprehensive, science-based and inclusive, and importantly, Fina’s approach emphasis on fairness in competition”.

Fina’s president, Husain Al-Musallam, said the organization was trying to “protect the right of our athletes to compete” but also “protect competition fairness”.

He said: “Fina will always welcome every athlete. Creating an open category will mean everyone has the opportunity to compete at an elite level. This has never been done before, so Fina will need to take the lead. I want all athletes to feel involved in being able to develop ideas in the process.”

Former British swimmer Sharron Davies, who opposed transgender participation in women’s elite swimming, said she is “proud” of her sport and FinaExternal Links.

She thanked Fina “for doing the science, asking athletes/coaches and standing up for fair sport for women”. She added: “Swimming is welcome to everyone no matter how you define it but fair play is the cornerstone of sport.”

However, ‘Athlete Ally’ – an LGBT advocacy group organized a letter in support of transgender American swimmer Lia Thomas in February, calling the new policy “discriminatory, harmful, unscientific and inconsistent with the 2021 IOC Principles”.

“If we really want to protect women’s sports, we have to include all women,”The group’s tweet saidExternal Links.

Swimming after cycling changes the rules

Fina’s decision later a move on Thursday by UCIcycling’s governing body, to double the amount of time before a male-to-female rider can compete in women’s races.

The issue of swimming was brought into focus thanks to the experience of the American Thomas.

MarchThomas became the first known transgender swimmer to win the top U.S. national collegiate title with a victory in the women’s 500-yard freestyle.

Thomas swam for the Pennsylvanian men’s team for three seasons before starting hormone replacement therapy in the spring of 2019.

Since then, she has broken records for her college swimming team.

More than 300 college, Team USA and Olympic swimmers signed an open letter supporting Thomas and all transgender and non-binary swimmers, but athletes and organizations Others have raised concerns about transgender inclusion.

Some of Thomas’s teammates and their parents wrote anonymous letters supporting her right to convert, but added that it was unfair for her to compete as a woman.

USA Swimming has updated its policy for elite swimmers in february to allow transgender athletes to swim in elite events, along with criteria aimed at reducing any unfair advantage, including a 36-month testosterone test prior to competition.

Last year, weightlifter Laurel Hubbard from New Zealand became the first openly transgender athlete to compete at the Olympics in a gender other than the gender they were born with.

What does the panel of experts say?

Dr. Michael Joyner, a leading physiologist and expert on human activity

“Testosterone in male puberty alters physiological determinants of human performance and explains sex-based differences in human performance, which are considered to be evident at 12 years of age.

“Even if testosterone is suppressed, its performance-enhancing effects will be retained.”

Dr. Adrian Jjuuko, an activist, researcher and lawyer

“The policy emphasizes that no athlete should be disqualified from a Fina competition or set a Fina record based on their legal gender, gender identity or gender expression.

“[The proposed open category] should not become a category that increases the level of discrimination and disadvantage that already exists for these groups.

“I see this policy as only the first step towards full inclusion and support for the participation of transgender and gender-diverse athletes in water sports, and much more remains to be done. .”

Dr. Sandra Hunter, a physiologist specializing in sex and age differences in athletic performance

“From the age of 14 and up, the difference between boys and girls is significant. It’s due to the advantages that come from physiological adaptations in testosterone and possession of a Y chromosome.

“Some of these physical advantages have a structural origin such as height, limb length, heart size, lung size, and they will be retained, even if testosterone suppression or reduction occurs during the transition. change from male to female.”

Summer Sanders, former Olympic and world champion in swimming

“It’s not easy. There has to be a category – female, male and of course a category for transgender women and transgender men.

“Fair competition is the stronghold and key element of our community – this approach protects the integrity of the existing sporting process in which millions of girls and women participate every year. .”

One of the biggest debates in sport

The conversation surrounding the inclusion of transgender women in women’s sport has divided public opinion both inside and outside the sport.

Many people believe that transgender women should not compete in women’s sport for whatever advantage they may retain – but others argue sport should be more inclusive.

World Athletics president Lord Coe has said that the “integrity” and “future” of women’s sport will be “very fragile” if sports organizations misregulate transgender athletes.

At the heart of the debate about whether transgender female athletes should compete in women’s sports concerns the complex balance between inclusion, sporting equity and safety – on the basis of Originally, transgender women could compete in women’s categories without giving them an unfair advantage or risking injury to a competitor.

Transgender women must follow a number of rules in order to compete in specific sports, including in many cases lowering their testosterone levels by a certain amount, for a certain amount of time, before competing. fight.

However, there are concerns, as highlighted in Fina’s decision, that athletes retain their advantage through going through male puberty that are not addressed by decreasing testosterone.





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