Swimming Organization FINA Bans Trans Females from Women’s Events
metroweekly.com“gender inclusion” policy was approved on Sunday during FINA’s extraordinary general congress in Budapest following a report from a task force — comprised of medical, legal, and sports figures — that examined the issue of transgender participation and the physical advantages that trans female athletes enjoy compared to cisgender women.
After hearing the report, 71.5% of FINA members from 152 delegations voted in favor of the 24-page policy, which effectively bars most, if not all, trans females from competing in women’s events if they have undergone male puberty, reports the Australian Broadcasting Company.FINA also set up a working group that will spend the next six months crafting a policy that would allow transgender athletes, and others, to compete in a third “open” category not designated for a specific gender.The new policy comes after the International Olympic Committee issued a “framework” around transgender participation, but left eligibility criteria to be determined by individual sporting bodies.Under the newly approved FINA policy, transgender or intersex females athletes may only compete in women’s events if they can provide evidence that they experience “complete androgen insensitivity and therefore could not experience male puberty” or are “”androgen sensitive but had male puberty suppressed beginning at Tanner Stage 2 or before age 12, whichever is later.”Transgender and intersex females will also be required to produce evidence they have continuously maintained their testosterone levels below 2.5 nanomoles per liter since transitioning.
Unintentional deviations may result in disqualification and being ineligible for competition until testosterone levels are sufficiently suppressed. “Intentional”.
