FINA members widely adopted a new “gender mainstreaming policy” on Sunday that only allows swimmers under the age of 12 to compete in women’s races. The agency also proposed an “open competition category”. “This does not mean that people are encouraged to go to the age of 12. It’s what scientists say, that if you go after puberty, you have an advantage, which is unfair,” said James Pearce, who is FINA President’s spokesman Hussein Al Moussalam told the Associated Press. “They do not say that everyone should go to the age of 11, that is ridiculous. You can not go to this age in most countries and hopefully they will not encourage you. “Basically, what they are saying is that it is not possible for people who have gone through to compete without having an advantage.” Pearce confirmed that there are currently no trans women competing in elite swimming. The World Trans-Occupational Health Association has just reduced the recommended minimum age for starting sex hormone therapy to 14 and some surgeries to 15 or 17. FINA’s new 24-page policy also includes proposals for a new “open competition” category. The agency said it was setting up “a new working group that will spend the next six months looking at the most effective ways to create this new category”. Pearce told the AP that the open competition would probably mean more events, but those details still need to be considered. “No one knows how this will work. “And we have to involve a lot of different people, including trans athletes, to find out how it would work.” “So there are no details on how it would work. The open accusation is something that will start to be discussed tomorrow “. Members voted 71.5% in favor of the organization’s extraordinary general conference after hearing presentations from three groups of experts — an athlete, a science and medicine team, and a legal and human rights team — working together to formulate policy following recommendations were given by the International Olympic Committee last November. The IOC urged shifting the focus from individual testosterone levels and seeking evidence to show when there was a performance advantage. FINA said it recognizes “that some individuals and groups may feel uncomfortable with the use of gender-related medical and scientific terminology and gender-related characteristics (but) some use of sensitive terminology is required to be accurate about gender characteristics that justify separate competition categories. “ In March, Lia Thomas made history in the United States as the first transgender woman to win an NCAA 500-yard freestyle championship. Thomas told ABC’s “Good Morning America” last month that she was aiming to become an Olympic swimmer. He also challenged those who say he has an unfair biological advantage that destroys the integrity of women’s sports, saying “trans women are not a threat to women’s sports”. The University of Pennsylvania did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Thomas. Other sports have also reviewed their rules regarding trans athletes. On Thursday, the cycling authority updated the eligibility rules for trans athletes with stricter limits that will make riders wait longer before they can race. The International Cycling Association (UCI) has increased the transition period for low testosterone to two years and reduced the maximum acceptable testosterone level. The previous transition period was 12 months, but the UCI said that recent scientific studies show that “expected adjustments in muscle mass and muscle strength / strength” between male-to-female athletes take at least two years. ——— More sports AP: and
