‘Vast majority’ in sport want to protect female category – Sport Ireland publish transgender guidance

The “vast majority” of those working and taking part in Irish sport are in favour of protecting the female category, according to research undertaken by Sport Ireland on transgender and non-binary participation in sport.

“Those from the sporting community were of the opinion that fairness and safety in sport should not be compromised through inclusion practices,” states Sport Ireland’s Guidance for Transgender and Non-Binary Inclusion in Sport, which was published yesterday.

The topic of transgender participation presents countless questions for national governing bodies, the chief one being how to balance inclusion with obvious concerns over fairness and safety?

Sport Ireland sought to offer guidance via its 21-page document, which sets out the legal and scientific framework around the issue. Part of its development involved a consultation process with over 4,000 people from grassroots to high-performance sport, including transgender people and advocacy groups.

It states that while “many from the LGBTI+ community, transgender and non-binary people and their families, are supportive of inclusion through self-identification, this view is not shared by the vast majority of people working and taking part in sport who favoured protection of a female category.” The general public showed “some support for inclusion, but more so for categorisation based on sex assigned at birth.”

The document lays out the science of the male advantage, noting a 10-12pc difference in performance between the sexes in running and swimming, a 20pc difference in jumping and a 30-50pc difference in weightlifting.

While such advantages are reduced following testosterone-suppression therapy, it states “the scientific evidence points to retention of some of the physical determinants of sports performance after transition”, adding that “on average, transgender women retain the majority of muscle size and strength, as well as physical stature, after transition.”

Sport Ireland is encouraging organisations to “approach their work in this area from an inclusive ethos”, adding that when developing policies, “organisations should examine how, not if, their sport can be inclusive of transgender and non-binary participants.”

“We acknowledge that this is a complex issue and by the very nature of sport there is no one-size fits all approach,” said Dr Úna May, CEO of Sport Ireland. “Our ambition is always to make sport as inclusive as possible so that everyone can reap the many benefits that participation brings. We would encourage all NGBs to put a policy in place if they don’t already have one.”

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