Sport England tender to review and redraft guidance on trans inclusion

[Polynerd]

Sport England has put out a tender for reviewing trans inclusion guidance. More info here: www.uksport.gov.uk/resources/tenders

Here's the text:

Sport England invites tenders for its review and redraft of sport council equality group transgender inclusion in sport competition guidance. The tenderer will conduct a review and redraft of the guidance on transgender inclusion in sport competition. This includes the following:

•review and redraft the domestic competition guidance which is focused on all domestic sport competition, up to a level of international qualification where different regulations may be in place;

•provide a comprehensive report on transgender inclusion with elite performance sport, to include information on what policies or procedures are currently in operation across the international spectrum, latest medical research globally, an audit of the organisations globally who are currently operating within this space, and collecting athlete views on the subject.

The contract is worth between £20,000 and £25,000 over six months.

Interesting.

Given that there are now cases like this

apnews.com/8fd300537131153cc44e0cf2ade3244b

in the US, are Sport England likely to be more sensitive to the impact of transgender athletes on women's sports due to the increased risks of being sued, or battening down the hatches to make sure they can get away with it when sued, do you think?

Hmm I've just googled Jamie Hooper Sport England as he's named as the contact on page 3 of that tender document.

According to this Linkedin Profile he's a 'Senior Equality and Diversity in Sport expert. Currently looking for board positions.'

And he was at Swim England until May 2018 - was that around the same time as the Man Friday swimming campaign?

Oh and he retweeted the Labour Campaign for Trans Rights 10 demands a couple of days ago.

FFS. Let’s hope the tender doesn’t go to Stonewall

It will conclude 'be nice girls and have your skulls caved in cos menz feels'

Ah, right, so sounds like it's the 'battening down the hatches to make sure they can get away with it when sued' option Sports England are looking for.

Lovely.

Does anyone know Sharron Davies and could point this out to her? They haven't tweeted about it, maybe want to keep it low profile.

@Polynard

Was about to suggest the same thing.

I’m not on Twitter.

Can anyone tweet it out to Sharron, Paula Radcliffe, Martina Navratilova, Kelly Holmes, Zuby, Daly Thompson, Tanni Grey-Thompson - who else?

Must be out in the open.

Sorry should say @Polynerd!

Please can this go to a University Biology Department, not a campaign group.

Look, look! They’re including women’s groups. Pullllll!!!!

I essentially only post about rescue cats on Twitter. If anybody could tweet to the people suggested above that would be great!

You'd think the obvious answer would be to go looking for an impartial agency with no history on either side.

But even if it's proven to the last decimal place that there's no disadvantage, it still doesn't change that a class of people are entitled to organise and compete for themselves. People born female aren't transwomen, it would be completely wrong to dismiss transwomen's identities, lived experience and needs as a group by insisting transwomen must have no spaces or activities just for themselves as a group with only those sharing that unique experience.

So it can't be wrong for people born female to expect the same

I'll do it.

Dear Sport England.

Transgender (whatever one chooses this to mean) people are most welcome in sport just like everyone else. When it comes to sporting categories, however, all sporting participants must play and compete in the category appropriate to their biological sex as opposed to a category matching a feeling in their head or a sex they wish they were or a sex it turns them on to imagine themselves as.

Hope this helps.

Yours sincerely

Antibles.

PS That'll be £25,000 please.

I wonder if that PhD lot in Loughborough have a finger in this pie.

I do think this is a positive sign. Someone, somewhere in Sport England is starting to do some thinking. The tender brief makes it clear they are looking to engage all parties and look at new research.
There is a common sense approach to this issue, let’s hope they take it.

Silly question perhaps but who gets these contracts in general? Is it charities, groups of academics, or what?

Antibles. I award you 25 grand. Awesome work.

😻

I don't think that's a huge amount of money to be honest. Surely it will go to some kind of research organisation that is capable of collecting, compiling and analysing data.

Thanks littl I'll spend it wisely...

I believe Jamie Hooper is a stonewall
Rainbow laces ambassador

Naff all money for the level of work required. It's around 40 days time of a (cheap) senior consultant.

Whoever they appoint to do this research will be open to public scrutiny. The findings of the research will be open to public scrutiny. There’s sunlight everywhere at the moment, let’s hope women’s sport gets its moment.

If they don’t appoint stonewall or a close associate like paul devlin I’ll be absolutely amazed

They are worried about being sued; what fool would write it now? A bad job poorly paid for the risks it might bring.