BUDAPEST, Hungary – The governing body of world swimming effectively banned transgender athletes from competing in women’s disciplines on Sunday.
FINA members have widely adopted a new “gender inclusion policy” on Sunday, it only allows swimmers who crossed 12 years ago to compete in women’s disciplines. The organization also proposed an “open competition category”.
“This does not mean that people are encouraged to transition until the age of 12. “Scientists say that if you make the transition after puberty, you have an advantage, which is unfair,” said James Pierce, a spokesman for FINA President Hussein Al-Musalam, who told the Associated Press.
“They don’t say that everyone should be over 11, that’s ridiculous. You can’t get to that age in most countries and hopefully you won’t be encouraged to do so. In essence, what they are saying is that it is not feasible for people who have switched to competing without an advantage. “
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Pierce confirmed that there are currently no transgender women competing in elite levels of swimming.
The World Professional Association for the Health of Transgender People has just lowered its recommended minimum age for starting sex hormone therapy to 14, and some surgeries to 15 or 17.
FINA’s new 24-page policy also includes proposals for a new “open competition” category. FINA announced that it is establishing a “new working group that will spend the next six months looking for the most efficient ways to establish this new category.”
Pierce told the AP that an open competition would most likely mean more events, but those details have yet to be worked out.
“No one knows how this will work. “And we have to involve a lot of different people, including transgender athletes, to figure out how that will work,” he said. “So there are no details on how that would work. The open category is something that will be discussed tomorrow. “
Members voted 71.5% in favor of the organization’s extraordinary general congress after hearing presentations from three specialist groups – the Athlete Group, the Science and Medicine Group and the Legal and Human Rights Group – who worked together on policy-making in line with the recommendations. . by the International Olympic Committee last November.
The IOC called for the focus to shift from individual testosterone levels and seek evidence to prove when there was an advantage in performance.
FINA’s “deeply discriminatory, harmful, unscientific” new policy “is not in line with the (IOC) framework on fairness, inclusion and non-discrimination based on gender identity and gender variation,” said Anne Liberman of Athlete Alli, a non-profit organization advocates for LGBTQ athletes, the statement said.
“The eligibility criteria for the women’s category as set out in the policy (will) monitor the bodies of all women and will not be applicable without seriously violating the privacy and human rights of any athlete who wants to compete in the women’s category,” Lieberman said.
FINA said it acknowledges that “some individuals and groups may find it uncomfortable to use medical and scientific terminology related to gender and gender-related traits (but) need some use of sensitive terminology to be precise about gender characteristics that justify separate competition. categories “.
In March, Lia Thomas entered the history of the United States as the first transgender woman to win the NCAA Swimming Championships. She won the 500-yard freestyle race.
Thomas said on the ABC show “Good Morning America” last month that her goal is to become an Olympic swimmer. She also challenged those who say she has an unfair biological advantage that destroys the integrity of women’s athletics, saying “trans women are not a threat to women’s sports.”
The University of Pennsylvania did not immediately respond to Thomas’ request for comment.
Other sports are also testing their rules.
On Thursday, the cycling governing body updated its eligibility rules for transgender athletes with stricter restrictions that will force riders to wait longer before they can compete.
The International Cycling Union (UCI) has increased the transition period to low testosterone levels by two years and lowered the maximum accepted testosterone level.
The previous transition period was 12 months, but the UCI said recent scientific studies show that “expected adaptations in muscle mass and muscle strength / power” among athletes who have switched from male to female last at least two years.
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