N.C.A.A. to Review U.S.A. Swimming’s New Policy for Transgender Athletes
nytimes.comThe N.C.A.A. said Wednesday that it was uncertain whether a new U.S.A. Swimming policy for transgender athletes, which increases the burden of proof for transgender women to show that they do not have a competitive advantage against cisgender women, would be adopted ahead of next month’s N.C.A.A.
swimming championships. The N.C.A.A. had revised its own policies with regard to transgender athletes last month, requiring transgender women to submit to testosterone testing and, pending reviews, deferring to the policy of each sport’s governing body, or, if no such guidance exists, the International Olympic Committee.
But that eagerness to align with governing bodies is being put to an early test by U.S.A. Swimming’s more stringent policies, which halve the permissible limit for testosterone in transgender women and call for an extensive review of other physical characteristics before they can compete at the elite level.
Questions over how to balance fair play and inclusion with opportunities for transgender athletes have come to the fore recently with the emergence of Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania.
