Friday, October 21, 2022

Trans Athletes

The IOC has decided to allow each sport to rule on transgender participation. This make sense because any advantages enjoyed by trans athletes may vary based upon sport from extensive to negligible. The NCAA has followed the IOC and called for the governing body of each sport to decide.

FINA, world swimming, has decided that only athletes who transitioned before the age of 12 may compete. World Athletics only allows trans women to compete if their testosterone levels have been below 5nmol/L for 12 months but is reviewing that standard in the wake of the FINA ruling. World Rugby flat out bans transgender women from playing women's rugby "Because of the size, force- and power-producing advantages conferred by testosterone during puberty and adolescence, and the resultant player welfare risks this creates."

High school sports may not have the resources to establish independent guidelines or perform the necessary testosterone testing so it is not necessarily wrong for state legislatures to make the decision.

Personally, as the father of three girls and a former licensed athletics coach in soccer and softball, I'm opposed to allowing trans women to compete in women's sports for both fairness and safety reasons. I'm open to being convinced otherwise but "because trans rights" is not good enough. Convince me that it's both fair and safe.

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