The International Swimming Federation (Fina) recently decided that trans women are not allowed to participate in elite competitions as women if they were over twelve years old when they completed gender-confirming treatment. Several other unions have recently also tightened their rules. – I feel so sad. If all these rules had been here when I was young, it would have been so difficult for me. I used the sport to express myself and it helped me understand who I was, says Perry, who is originally from England. Perry now plays for Lambertseter’s teams in the 3rd and 4th divisions, and rejects that she should have a physical advantage over others because she is a trans woman. – If there was such a thing as a physical advantage, why am I not in Kristiansand and playing for Vipers, she asks rhetorically. – I sympathize with all those who are affected by these new rules, and I hope they have a good support system around them to help them. The Lambertseter goalkeeper hopes that the new rules in top sports will not lead to young people staying away from their local sports teams. – I hope they take the opportunity to make new friends. Doing sports can do wonders for your mental health, she says. Zooey Perry is the handball goalkeeper for Lambertseter’s team. Photo: Private Fear of negative comments It is the special unions internationally that adopt the changes in the rules. Håvard B. Øvregård, who is a senior adviser and works with value work in the Norwegian Sports Confederation, says that they receive more and more questions from transgender people, parents and leaders in sports teams who want advice. – There may be people who wonder if they can participate in sports at all, many are afraid of negative comments or harassment. Some have practical questions about how to organize it when it comes to wardrobe, he says. He reminds that transgender people’s participation in sports is first and foremost about grassroots sports and not about top sports. – We are concerned that it should be possible to have some rules for top sports, which sets limits for participation in the women’s class, at the same time as one is open in grassroots sports and facilitates that everyone can participate, says Øvregård. – Now we can look ahead So far, the changes in the sport have been received with both joy and anger. One of those who naturally reacts negatively is American Lia Thomas. There was a harrowing and ugly debate in the US about transgender people in sports when she won the American college championship in swimming in the women’s class. From now on, she and other trans women are banned from the women’s class in swimming. – The Fina decision is deeply outrageous. It is discriminatory and will only serve to harm all women, she says. Five-time world champion in swimming, Emily Seebohm, from Australia, for her part, is happy with Fina’s decision. – Now we can look ahead. We can all go back to the sport we love, and be sure that we jump in the pool for fair competition, she says, according to Reuters. Trans woman Laurel Hubbard got a lot of attention when she participated in the Olympics. Photo: Adrian Dennis / AFP The decision comes only shortly after the International Cycling Union (UCI) decided to tighten its rules in the area. From 1 July, trans women in the elite must show testosterone levels below the association’s permitted limit for 24 months before competition. Previously, this period was 12 months. news has previously written about British Emily Bridges, who has been affected by the union’s rule changes. The International Rugby League (IRL) has also announced that trans women will be banned from participating in the International Rugby League until further notice, writes The Guardian. The IRL has thus made the same decision as World Rugby, which already has a ban. Sebastian Coe, president of the International Athletics Federation, has also said that there may be changes in athletics. On Monday, Fifa also stated that they are currently reviewing their regulations. Sports commentator on news, Jan P. Saltvedt. Photo: ALEM ZEBIZ / news I think more federations will follow news’s sports commentator Jan P. Saltvedt thinks more federations will follow in the time to come. – There is a strong movement internationally in the direction of trying to come up with something reminiscent of setting boundaries and at best preparation in several sports, he says. – What we still see now is that more and more unions are taking a more categorical line than we have seen before. That is, in the form of what in practice is a pure ban on trans women being able to compete in the women’s class. – Fina’s rule that everyone who has undergone gender-confirming treatment after the age of 12 must be excluded from the women’s class is one example of something like this. This creates even more ethical dilemmas, when no one can argue against this being a serious restriction on transgender people’s right to participate in sports like everyone else. And this is very problematic, from a human rights perspective, he comments. – Difficult considerations to combine So why is this happening now? The IOC’s new guidelines or framework have left it to the special unions themselves to prepare their own guidelines regarding transgender people. It has not necessarily made it easier for the special unions. The recently introduced changes replaced the previous regulations that were based on testosterone values. The main points of the framework are inclusion, justice and that there should be no discrimination. It should also be a knowledge-based approach, as stated in the document. Håvard B. Øvregård is a senior adviser and works with value work in the Norwegian Sports Confederation. Photo: KETIL KERN / news And this is what they have tried to follow in the International Swimming Federation. – These are considerations that are difficult to combine, says Håvard B. Øvregård. – One of the problems is that this is an area where there is limited knowledge. There is also disagreement about what is current knowledge. – It becomes easy to prioritize one view at the expense of another, even if this is the opposite of the message in the framework. Now we see that international federations have relatively different regulations and I think it will take some time before there is more harmonization across sports, he comments. Saltvedt thinks it will be extra interesting to follow FIFA’s line further. – The world’s largest sport has so far been one of the most tolerant and inclusive towards trans people and has not indicated that there will be changes on that line.
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– I sympathize with everyone who is affected – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
