Source: Politics<\/p>\n
BUDAPEST, Hungary \u2014 World swimming\u2019s governing body has effectively banned transgender women from competing in women\u2019s events, starting Monday.<\/p>\n
FINA members widely adopted a new \u201cgender inclusion policy\u201d on Sunday that only permits swimmers who transitioned before age 12 to compete in women\u2019s events. The organization also proposed an \u201copen competition category.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not saying that people are encouraged to transition by the age of 12. It\u2019s what the scientists are saying, that if you transition after the start of puberty, you have an advantage, which is unfair,\u201d James Pearce, who is the spokesperson for FINA president Husain Al-Musallam, told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re not saying everyone should transition by age 11, that\u2019s ridiculous. You can\u2019t transition by that age in most countries and hopefully you wouldn\u2019t be encouraged to. Basically, what they\u2019re saying is that it is not feasible for people who have transitioned to compete without having an advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pearce confirmed there are currently no transgender women competing in elite levels of swimming.<\/p>\n
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health just lowered its recommended minimum age for starting gender transition hormone treatment to 14 and some surgeries to 15 or 17.<\/p>\n
FINA\u2019s new 24-page policy also includes proposals for a new \u201copen competition\u201d category. The organization said it was setting up \u201ca new working group that will spend the next six months looking at the most effective ways to set up this new category.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pearce told the AP that the open competition would most likely mean more events, but those details still need to be worked out.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one quite knows how this is going to work. And we need to include a lot of different people, including transgender athletes, to work out how it would work,\u201d he said. \u201cSo there are no details of how that would work. The open category is something that will start being discussed tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
The members voted 71.5% in favor at the organization\u2019s extraordinary general congress after hearing presentations from three specialist groups \u2014 an athlete group, a science and medicine group and a legal and human rights group \u2014 that had been working together to form the policy following recommendations given by the International Olympic Committee last November.<\/p>\n
The IOC urged shifting the focus from individual testosterone levels and calling for evidence to prove when a performance advantage existed.<\/p>\n
FINA said it recognizes \u201cthat some individuals and groups may be uncomfortable with the use of medical and scientific terminology related to sex and sex-linked traits (but) some use of sensitive terminology is needed to be precise about the sex characteristics that justify separate competition categories.\u201d<\/p>\n
In March, Lia Thomas made history in the United States as the first transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming championship, the 500-yard freestyle.<\/p>\n
Thomas said last month on ABC\u2019s \u201cGood Morning America\u201d that she was aiming to become an Olympic swimmer. She also disputed those who say she has an unfair biological edge that ruins the integrity of women\u2019s athletics, saying \u201ctrans women are not a threat to women\u2019s sports.\u201d<\/p>\n
The University of Pennsylvania didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment from Thomas.<\/p>\n
Other sports have also been examining their rules around transgender athletes.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, cycling\u2019s governing body updated its eligibility rules for transgender athletes with stricter limits that will force riders to wait longer before they can compete.<\/p>\n
The International Cycling Union (UCI) increased the transition period on low testosterone to two years, and lowered the maximum accepted level of testosterone. The previous transition period was 12 months but the UCI said recent scientific studies show that \u201cthe awaited adaptations in muscle mass and muscle strength\/power\u201d among athletes who have made a transition from male to female takes at least two years.<\/p>\n