The governing body of world swimming has virtually banned trans women from competing in women’s races since Monday. FINA members widely adopted a new “gender mainstreaming policy” on Sunday that only allows swimmers who have passed 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’s ridiculous. You can not go to that age in most countries and we hope they will not encourage you. Basically, what they say is that it is not possible for people who they have gone to the race 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 proposed 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 see how it works,” he said. “So there are no details on how this will work. The open class is something that will be discussed tomorrow.” Members voted 71.5% in favor of the organization’s extraordinary general conference after hearing presentations from three groups of experts – a team of athletes, a team of science and medicine and a team of legal and human rights – working together to formulate the policy follows recommendations from 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’s’ deeply discriminatory, harmful, unscientific ‘new policy’ does not conform to the (ILO) framework for justice, inclusion and non-discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender differences,” said Anne Lieberman of Athlete Ally. non-profit organization that advocates for LGBTQ athletes, said in a statement. “The eligibility criteria for the women’s category as defined in the policy (will) police all women’s bodies and will not be enforced without a serious violation of privacy and human rights of any athlete who wants to compete in the women’s category. said Lieberman. 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 the women’s track and field, 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.
