US swimming authorities to let athletes choose to compete as male or female

[TerfedOff]

www.rt.com/sport/440416-us-swimming-transgender-category/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Transgender athletes will be able to compete in their chosen category even if someone files a protest refuting their status.

Oh for goodness sake we mustn't let this happen in our country this is just such a nonsense and so unfair to women.

This do?

www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/usa-swimming-passes-amendment-increasing-inclusion-for-transgender-athletes/

Thanks Errol - just what I was looking for!

"Furthermore, R-1 allows athletes to swim in their chosen category after a protest has been filed until the protest is heard by the National Eligibility Appeal Panel (a rule applying to all athletes under such protests)."

This bit is interesting - so what are the grounds for a protest, and under what circumstances would it be upheld, and how long would the process take (e.g., two years, by the end of which the promising young female swimmer bumped off, say, the state squad, may have missed her chance of selection for the national team or sports scholarships at university)?

Also interesting they illustrate it with a photo of a transman (mastectomy scars and all) - yes, we know that transmen aren't going to threaten fair competition in men's sport! It's women's sport we're worried about.

But also this bit:

'USA Swimming’s policy towards transgender athletes is unique: unlike many sports governing bodies, it does not require conversion surgery to allow athletes to change their stated gender. Rather, swimmers can request gender choice without medical treatment.'

So fully intact and testosterone filled males can compete in the women's races it would seem. how very fair and inclusive it all is.

Posie Parker's (paraphrased) rant springs to mind ' by being inclusive of everyone, you are excluding women and girls'

I don't understand the processes by which this keeps happening. EVERYONE involved must know that this is unfair and unreasonable and makes no sense. I presume each individual person involved is afraid to make waves, or simply doesn't care about women and girls in their sport, or is cowed by some very vocal transactivist in their vicinity.

But still! there must be committees that sit down and discuss these policies. There must be meetings where the issues are raised and worked out. The people involved aren't all deluded TRAs - one presumes that some decision makers at USA Swimming understand physiology and sports science. Is no one at any of these meetings saying "this is logically going to end up in with us having one men's category and one less talented men's category?" Do they just not care?

Are they just hoping that if they go along with it, the absurdity will come to a head more quickly? I could see that reasoning. I might do the same myself if backed into a corner. But how do TRAs have the power to make sports governing bodies that scared?

Is no one at any of these meetings saying "this is logically going to end up in with us having one men's category and one less talented men's category?" Do they just not care?

Answers appear to be "no" and "of course not, because it's only wimmin, innit?"

Among the many amendments passed included a proposal known as R-1, which further outlined the rights of transgender [ideologists...]
The amendment, proposed by the board of directors, was passed without discussion on September 29

I have a suspicion that the board of directors is made up of mostly males.... somehow.

How groundbreaking. Being able to compete as a male against women without having any medical intervention whatsoever. Who can see any problems with this at all?

Errol yes you are correct according to this 2016 Guardian article www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jan/25/ioc-rules-transgender-athletes-can-take-part-in-olympics-without-surgery

Every day I find a new thing that just shocks and saddens me.

I'm angry. Why can't we have men's, women's and trans teams.

Apart from the obvious issue of 'transgirls' in the girls category, as far as I can see this also allows 'transboys' to compete as girls ... which is absolutely fine if they've merely 'socially transitioned' but again unfair on the other girls if they are on T.

while assuring a fair competitive environment.

There is nothing fair at all about allowing males to compete with females in sport where biology gives them a huge advantage.

I see theres someone replying to most of the comments using a sample size study of 8 people as 'proof' that male people do not have an advantage over female ones. And calling people who say such a study is far too small 'dummies'

I may be missing something here but if I was a transboy who had medically transitioned could I even be strong enough to compete with boys? This feels divisive even for trans youngsters

And yes, as others have said bloody madness and very depressing 😧

Lot of money to be made there so the men will be beating down the doors, I suppose.

Looks like the next Olympics are going to be very interesting. I do hope there'll be a few men in short skirts and frilly knickers trouncing the women at tennis as well. Perhaps finally the world will wake up to the madness though how to roll it back I have no idea.

I expect men will start to really say 'hang on' when this impinges on beach volleyball.

I would just love women to do a collective refusal to compete in any sports where there is a male bodied individual competing against them.

That's what needs to happen terfed.

I find myself wishing I could attend one of the meetings where these decisions are being made - just to hear the bollocks being talked.

Just when it starts to feel like we are getting somewhere, something completely horrific happens. How awful are things going to get before this madness is properly halted?

& here is an explanation of how it happened!

Dr. Rachel McKinnon
Published on 17 Apr 2017

"I offer some thoughts on how to think about whether including trans women in competitive sport is 'fair.' The IOC Principles of Olympism establish participation in sport as a human right; they also prohibit discrimination in various forms. I suggest that excluding trans women constitutes prima facie discrimination and does NOT meet the standard required to justify such discrimination. I also suggest some ways to think about 'fairness' in sport, and that including trans women in sport is consistent with fair competition. In a future video, I will go into more detail about the physiology of trans athletes as it connects to the fairness question."

www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=315&v=fWDhU-tgxxU

The problem with that, Terfed is that is requires women to take a stand which could literally end their sporting career. Think of the sports people who refused to tour SA during the apartheid years - in many cases, that should have been the prime of their career but they sacrificed it for moral reasons. Very few women these days could afford to take that approach

IOC Principles of Olympism establish participation in sport as a human right;

No one has a 'human right' to participate in competitive sport. you've got to be good enough relative to the group who it's fair for you to compete against. Thus we have divisions for ages (juniors and veterans classes), weight categories for boxing, and the most fundamental differentiator of all, sex.

Transwomen are not excluded from competing in male competitions.

I've just found this https://www.wired.com/story/testosterone-ruling-for-athletes-fuels-debate-over-natural-ability/ which I've not yet read closely but seems to be saying women with high natural T levels (half that allowed for TW?) may have to take oestrogen to reduce it .... anyone know about this ?

That's so unfair. I and some friends have boys and once they hit mid teens leave us for dust in the pool. Boys are just stronger (plus I have never had the strength to do the butterfly). Even the really strong women swimmers.