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FINA, the international governing body of swimming, faced a backlash over the new “gender inclusion policy” that was approved on Sunday to set the standard for the participation of transgender athletes in sport.
The “gender inclusion policy” will only allow female swimmers who have made the transition before the age of 12 to compete in women’s events. FINA members voted 71.5% in favor of the new policies. There was also a proposal for a new “open competition policy”. The organization said it was creating “a new working group that will spend the next six months looking for the most effective ways to set up this new category.”
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In the 24-page policy published on Sunday, FINA explained how transgender men and women will be able to compete under the new rules.
LGBTQ + rights groups and other swimmers said the policy would harm transgender athletes.
“The new FINA eligibility criteria for transgender athletes and athletes with intersex variations are discriminatory, harmful, unscientific and do not agree with the IOC principles of 2021. If we really want to protect women’s sports, we must ‘Include all women,’ says Athlete Ally, a women’s sports advocate. group for the inclusion of trans people in sports, wrote in a tweet.
The interim president of the Human Rights Campaign, Joni Madison, also spoke about FINA’s decision.
“This sudden and discriminatory decision is a flagrant attack on transgender athletes who have worked to comply with long-standing policies that have allowed them to participate for years without problems. This policy is an example of swimming organizations giving in to the avalanche. malicious and prejudiced attacks on a particular transgender swimmer We urge FINA to rethink its policy and ensure the inclusion of all athletes, including transgender women, and to allow them to participate in sports free of discrimination, abuse and harassment, “Madison said.
Jonathan Van Ness was one of those who spoke out against FINA’s policies. (Jemal Comtessa / Getty Images)
“To young athletes who may be discouraged by this policy, we know that we know and believe that every young person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect and that transgender children, like their friends, deserve the same opportunities to learn the sport. , self-esteem, discipline and teamwork, and to create a sense of belonging with your peers. “
AUSTRALIAN SWIMMING STAR AIMS FINA’S “GENDER INCLUSION POLICY”
Others also took to social media.
FINA said transgender men are eligible to compete in FINA competitions and set world records in the men’s category unless:
“For the disciplines of Waterpolo and High Diving, the athlete must submit to FINA a risk assumption form signed and dated by the athlete or, if the athlete is a minor, by his representation All athletes undergoing treatment involving testosterone or other anabolic substances as part of treatment with hormones that claim female to male gender are required to obtain a Therapeutic Use Exemption (AUT) for this treatment in accordance with the FINA Doping Control Standards “.
Transgender women and athletes whose legal gender and / or gender identity may be female may compete in FINA-sanctioned events if “they can establish with FINA’s comfortable satisfaction that they have not experienced any part of male puberty. beyond Tanner stage 2 or before the age of 12, whatever it is. “
Lia Thomas looks after winning the 500-yard women’s freestyle during the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Swimming; Diving Championship at the McAuley Aquatic Center on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology on March 17, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Mike Comer / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
The athlete must present evidence that she has “complete androgen insensitivity and therefore has not been able to experience male puberty” or “They are sensitive to androgens, but male puberty has been suppressed from Tanner stage 2 or before the age of 12, whichever is later, and since then they have continuously maintained their serum (or plasma) testosterone levels below 2.5 nmol / L “or” An unintentional deviation from the lower requirement. at 2.5 nmol / L may result in retrospective disqualification of the results and / or a prospective period of disqualification or “An intentional deviation from The requirement below 2.5 nmol / L may result in retrospective disqualification of the results and a prospective period of ineligibility equal to or proportional to the length of the periods imposed under FINA DRC for intentional violations of anti-doping rules involving anabolic steroids. “
Transgender athletes who do not meet eligibility standards can compete in “any open event” that the organization may hold in the future.
David Gerrard, FINA’s chief medical officer, said on Monday that the international governing body’s policy of elite swimming on transgender athletes was the “best outcome” for the future of sport.
“In my opinion, FINA’s approach to this was very enlightening, very balanced and well-informed,” Gerrard told Reuters. “I recognized the athlete ‘s voice, the scientific, objective evidence and the slightly more subjective (and) legal human rights issues that were strongly argued by the lawyers present.
A logo of the FINA is the international governing body for swimming, diving, water polo, synchronized swimming and open water swimming, the FINA is displayed during the FINA World Championships in Rome on July 25, 2009. (MARTIN BUREAU / AFP via Getty Images)
“I hope this model is something other sports consider.”
Gerrard, a former New Zealand Olympian, added that equity in sport was a major issue that FINA was trying to address and predicted it would still be an issue.
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“It is an issue that we will have to address and the debate will continue,” he said. “But when it comes to equity and when it comes to security, you have to draw a line in the sand.”
Ryan Gaydos is the sports editor for Fox News and Fox Business. Story tips can be sent to Ryan.Gaydos@fox.com.