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Position: Transgender And Intersex Athletes

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Women in Sport Aotearoa (WISPA) is committed to engaging with our Foundation Members and other key stakeholders to establish and continually evaluate a WISPA position on important issues that affect opportunities for women and girls to be valued, visible and influential in sport.

The inclusion of transgender and intersex athletes (otherwise referred to as Sex Reassignment and Hyperandrogenism) in sport is a hugely complex issue that continues to challenge sporting organisations worldwide.

There was discussion that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would review the Consensus Statement which was based on the 2006 Stockholm Agreement and updated in 2015. This was due out in November 2018 but has not been released as initially suggested. This timing may have been impacted by the Semenya case currently before Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) (while related to intersex/disorders of sexual differentiation) as the Consensus Statement covers both trans and intersex athletes.

We also understand that the IOC has issued a call for researchers to apply for funding of athlete-centred projects, including trans athletes. Research in this area will greatly assist informed discussion.

At this point in time, there is a mechanism through the eligibility provisions of National Federations and/or the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) to facilitate the participation of trans athletes and athletes with Disorders of Sexual Differentiation wishing to compete in Olympic or Commonwealth Games in their declared gender or on a case by case basis in line with the IOC Consensus and any other eligibility or other requirements of International Federations, the International Olympic Committee and the Commonwealth Games Federation.

WISPA believes that sport and recreation should be fully inclusive of diverse communities. It supports this facilitation but also maintains a watching brief on developments in this area to ensure we can continue to understand and influence important issues such as this in sport.

Hyperandrogenic Athletes and Testosterone

WISPA continues to endorse the position being taken by the International Working Group (IWG) on Women & Sport, WomenSport International and the International Association of Physical Education for Girls and Women (IAPESGW) regarding hyperandrogenic athletes and testosterone, as detailed in open letters between these three leading global gender in sport agencies and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

ADVOCACY: DSD regulations- IWG, WSI & IAPESGW respond to IAAF letter

 

Updated: 29 July 2019

IWG 2018-2022

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