Fina Restrictions On Trans Athletes Are Rampant In Canada

FINA on Sunday adopted a “gender mainstreaming policy” that went into effect on Monday. Only swimmers who switch from male to female before the age of 12 are allowed to compete in women’s races. FINA is also considering introducing an open competition category. FINA was the first major international sports federation to announce how it will deal with trans athletes in its sport following the International Olympic Committee’s guidelines on fairness, non-discrimination and accession last November. “It’s the first IF to exclude trans, trans from man to woman, so explicitly,” Bruce Kidd, an emeritus professor of sports and public policy at the University of Toronto, told the Canadian press on Monday. “I read the ILO’s general policy in a much more comprehensive way, so that’s a disappointment to me. Some media outlets have speculated that others will follow in this way, which I think would be backward, biased and so on.” Kidd, a distance runner for Canada at the 1964 Olympics, served on a working group for The Canadian Center For Ethics in Sport when he created in 2016 a guide for sports organizations to create inclusive environments for trans participants. “There are people who disagree with that,” Kidd said. “I’ve been in one or two public forums lately and there are definitely people on both sides. “But at the national leadership level, there is not much disagreement with the CCES position that is self-identification, self-determination, no requirement for medical intervention, whether hormonal or surgical, and no requirement for disclosure.” CCES allows a changing understanding of science from more data to possibly change that position, Kidd said. “The empirical record is so limited,” he said. “Let us move in the direction of inclusion and justice and let us not add to marginalization, marginalization.” Attacks on trans women continue to be frightening. Athlete policing does not protect women’s sports. It excludes and targets marginalized women. https://t.co/hr4hMZ4XKQ – @ _ shireenahmed_

Impact on Canadian swimmers

While Swimming Canada is not bound by FINA guidelines inland, Canadian swimmers are bound when competing internationally in a FINA-approved event. Under current Swimming Canada regulations, trans swimmers wishing to swim for Canada at the Olympic, Paralympic and World Games must have written proof from FINA that they are eligible to do so in order to swim in national selection events. “Swimming Canada believes swimming is for everyone,” CEO Ahmed El-Awadi said in a statement on Monday. “We welcome FINA to take these steps to bring clarity to issues like this. “We look forward to reviewing the policy in more detail and working with FINA and other key partners to align our policies in Canada.” The sport of balance that is currently being pursued is the inclusion of athletes regardless of gender or gender in an environment without harassment, while at an elite level where financial stakes are high, we ensure that no athlete has an unfair advantage over others. . Sport Canada ended its financial support last month of an incentive inquiry, when more than 200 members of academia and the sports community said in a letter that the language of the inquiry was biased against trans athletes. The aim of the research was to explore the views of high performance athletes regarding the inclusion of trans athletes in their sports.

Issues in the US, the attitude of FINA

The United States has become a battleground for the issue, with some states enacting a ban on trans women and girls from the women’s sport. While the ILO issued membership guidelines and principles last November, it ultimately leaves it to the governing body of each sport to draw up eligibility criteria and determine if an athlete has a disproportionate advantage. Among the ILO principles was the rejection of a general assumption that the male sex provides an athletic advantage in all sports and the discouragement of dependence on testosterone levels as the main basis of eligibility for the female event. However, FINA claims that, in consultation with its scientific working group, higher testosterone levels in men from adolescence onwards give them a competitive edge in water sports. FINA said that gender reassignment procedures that confirm sex may alleviate some, but not all, of the effects of testosterone on body structure and muscle function “but there will be persistent inherited effects on trans athletes ( trans women) a relative performance advantage over organic females. “A biological athlete can not overcome this advantage through training or diet,” FINA said in the 24-page document that formed the basis of its decision. A broader review of the FINA document and more feedback over time on such an important issue in sport is needed, Kidd said. “There is a process, there is evidence standards, there is an assessment of the hand, there is consultation,” he said. “If they had followed this process and it took a year, then I think people like me, I think people would feel much more confident about it. “If it was released as a draft – and CCES always left the door open for further information – you have people all over the world, scientists, athletes, ethicists and so on, and people came to a consensus that way, then I will have some confidence in it, but not this “.

title: “Fina Restrictions On Trans Athletes Are Rampant In Canada " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-12” author: “Barbara Tedeschi”

FINA on Sunday adopted a “gender mainstreaming policy” that went into effect on Monday. Only swimmers who switch from male to female before the age of 12 are allowed to compete in women’s races. FINA is also considering introducing an open competition category. FINA was the first major international sports federation to announce how it will deal with trans athletes in its sport following the International Olympic Committee’s guidelines on fairness, non-discrimination and accession last November. “It’s the first IF to exclude trans, trans from man to woman, so explicitly,” Bruce Kidd, an emeritus professor of sports and public policy at the University of Toronto, told the Canadian press on Monday. “I read the ILO’s general policy in a much more comprehensive way, so that’s a disappointment to me. Some media outlets have speculated that others will follow in this way, which I think would be backward, biased and so on.” Kidd, a distance runner for Canada at the 1964 Olympics, served on a working group for The Canadian Center For Ethics in Sport when he created in 2016 a guide for sports organizations to create inclusive environments for trans participants. “There are people who disagree with that,” Kidd said. “I’ve been in one or two public forums lately and there are definitely people on both sides. “But at the national leadership level, there is not much disagreement with the CCES position that is self-identification, self-determination, no requirement for medical intervention, whether hormonal or surgical, and no requirement for disclosure.” CCES allows a changing understanding of science from more data to possibly change that position, Kidd said. “The empirical record is so limited,” he said. “Let us move in the direction of inclusion and justice and let us not add to marginalization, marginalization.” Attacks on trans women continue to be frightening. Athlete policing does not protect women’s sports. It excludes and targets marginalized women. https://t.co/hr4hMZ4XKQ – @ _ shireenahmed_

Impact on Canadian swimmers

While Swimming Canada is not bound by FINA guidelines inland, Canadian swimmers are bound when competing internationally in a FINA-approved event. Under current Swimming Canada regulations, trans swimmers wishing to swim for Canada at the Olympic, Paralympic and World Games must have written proof from FINA that they are eligible to do so in order to swim in national selection events. “Swimming Canada believes swimming is for everyone,” CEO Ahmed El-Awadi said in a statement on Monday. “We welcome FINA to take these steps to bring clarity to issues like this. “We look forward to reviewing the policy in more detail and working with FINA and other key partners to align our policies in Canada.” The sport of balance that is currently being pursued is the inclusion of athletes regardless of gender or gender in an environment without harassment, while at an elite level where financial stakes are high, we ensure that no athlete has an unfair advantage over others. . Sport Canada ended its financial support last month of an incentive inquiry, when more than 200 members of academia and the sports community said in a letter that the language of the inquiry was biased against trans athletes. The aim of the research was to explore the views of high performance athletes regarding the inclusion of trans athletes in their sports.

Issues in the US, the attitude of FINA

The United States has become a battleground for the issue, with some states enacting a ban on trans women and girls from the women’s sport. While the ILO issued membership guidelines and principles last November, it ultimately leaves it to the governing body of each sport to draw up eligibility criteria and determine if an athlete has a disproportionate advantage. Among the ILO principles was the rejection of a general assumption that the male sex provides an athletic advantage in all sports and the discouragement of dependence on testosterone levels as the main basis of eligibility for the female event. However, FINA claims that, in consultation with its scientific working group, higher testosterone levels in men from adolescence onwards give them a competitive edge in water sports. FINA said that gender reassignment procedures that confirm sex may alleviate some, but not all, of the effects of testosterone on body structure and muscle function “but there will be persistent inherited effects on trans athletes ( trans women) a relative performance advantage over organic females. “A biological athlete can not overcome this advantage through training or diet,” FINA said in the 24-page document that formed the basis of its decision. A broader review of the FINA document and more feedback over time on such an important issue in sport is needed, Kidd said. “There is a process, there is evidence standards, there is an assessment of the hand, there is consultation,” he said. “If they had followed this process and it took a year, then I think people like me, I think people would feel much more confident about it. “If it was released as a draft – and CCES always left the door open for further information – you have people all over the world, scientists, athletes, ethicists and so on, and people came to a consensus that way, then I will have some confidence in it, but not this “.