Glad to see Sean Ingle in the byline, but that gives us a very clear indication of what their expected announcement about this will be after the Olympics.
And while Budgett appeared to accept that Hubbard had an advantage from going through male puberty, he also stressed that inclusivity was an important factor too.
“There are lots of aspects of physiology and anatomy, and the mental side, that contribute to an elite performance, and it’s very difficult to say, ‘yes, she has an advantage because she went through male puberty,’ when there’s so many other factors to take into account,” he said.
“It’s not simple. I think each sport has to make their own assessment depending on the physiology of that sport, so that they can ensure that there is fair competition, but also the inclusion of everyone – whether they’re male or female – so they are able to take part in the sport they love.”
and then
“There is a lot of disagreement across the whole world of sport and beyond on this issue of eligibility,” admitted Budgett. “Everyone agrees transgender women are women. But it’s a matter of eligibility for sport, and particular events, and it really has to be very sport-specific.
^“One of the reasons there is no new framework published yet is not just because of the difficulty in coming to any consensus,” he added. “It’s because it would have been inappropriate to come out with new guidelines just before the Olympics. There will be a new framework to help individual sports, and we’re working very closely with them, but it’s not published yet.”*
Yeah, right. We can see what is coming. They are going to allow this farce to continue because of 'feelz'. They have just said, 'we can see the science that is now proven (as opposed to the supposed scientific consensus in 2015!), but we are going for what makes the males feel good. Shut up you women who object, you don't count!'.