“Large majority” in sport want to protect women’s category – Sport Ireland publishes transgender guidelines

“Representatives of the sporting community believed that fairness and safety in sport should not be compromised by inclusion practices,” says Sport Ireland’s guidelines for transgender and non-binary inclusion in sport, published yesterday.

The issue of transgender participation poses countless questions for national governing bodies. The most important is how to balance inclusion with obvious concerns about fairness and safety.

Sport Ireland sought to provide guidance with its 21-page document setting out the legal and scientific framework on the issue. Part of its development included a consultation process with over 4,000 people from grassroots to elite sports, including transgender people and advocacy groups.

It says that “many in the LGBTI+ community, transgender and non-binary people and their families support inclusion through self-identification, but this view is not shared by the vast majority of people who work, play sports and support protection .” a female category.” The general public showed “some support for inclusion, but especially for categorization based on sex assigned at birth.”

The document lays out the scientific basis for the male advantage, finding a 10 to 12 percent difference in performance between the sexes in running and swimming, a 20 percent difference in jumping and a 30 to 50 percent difference in weightlifting.

While such benefits are reduced following testosterone suppression therapy, it states, “The scientific evidence suggests that some of the physical determinants of athletic performance are maintained after transition,” adding that “transgender women, on average, “retaining most of their muscle size and strength.” as well as the physical stature after the transition.”

Sport Ireland encourages organizations to “approach their work in this area from an inclusive ethos,” adding that when developing policies, organizations “should consider how, not whether, their sport can be inclusive of transgender and non-binary participants.”

The document highlights three key policy options for transgender inclusion: self-identification based on gender; Gender categories with entry requirements (typically this includes testosterone suppression for those wishing to enter the female category); and gender-based categories related to birth sex (which could include an open category rather than a male category).

“We recognize that this is a complex issue and that due to the nature of sport there is no one-size-fits-all approach,” said Dr. Úna May, CEO of Sport Ireland. “Our goal is always to make the sport as inclusive as possible so that everyone can benefit from the many benefits that come with participation. We would encourage all NGBs to adopt a policy if they do not already have one.”