Fina stops transgender swimmers from competing in women's elite events

[Kendodd]

Common sense.

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/swimming/61853450

I follow a transgender swimmer on Instagram, she’s done quite a bit to encourage people to take part in swimming, particularly open water and the benefits of cold water, which is great. She posted the below today. This decision hasn’t banned any transgender people from swimming though has it? It just means men who identify as women can’t compete against them right?

Of course it's not a blanket ban, she's talking absolute nonsense

Won't they just rebrand mens as open - like darts today? There is the open and then females and at least one women plays in the open

This policy for elite swimmers will lead to higher drowning rates. 🧐Shame on FINA!

Totally dishonest post by the trans swimmer. Nobody is banned from competing, in fact special mention is made that transmen on testosterone can compete in the male category if they have a medical certificate to prove they are taking testosterone for therapeutic reasons. Transwoman can also compete in this category, what they can't do is compete in a category where all the evidence shows they have an unfair advantage as they have male bodies.

I’d have thought being able to swim was a key part of being an elite swimmer.

Jesus they aren't doing themselves any favours here

Oh have heard it all now!

this ruling had absolutely no bearing on kids swimming lessons at bloody all!

Someone with a penis is told they have to compete with other people with penises (or is it penii ?) and it means more will drown?

i learned to swim in my late 40s. I now swim for a competitive masters squad. I can compete. Sure. I’ll never be elite though.

I still don’t want men in the lanes when I’m racing because it means I’ve got absolutely no chance of not coming last.

how do these people even think this? Do they say this shit out loud before they tweet it?

Agree, not sure how many will buy tickets, watch the events on TV, buy the merchandise etc. And who will sponsor ? Sports although good for us is a money making enterprise.
I would be amazed to see any open category for long, once its realised that really no one wanted this, they just wanted validation.

Good, although I've seen plenty of articles today from "women" with penises complaining about how the loss of strength is not taken into account.

It bloody well is, blokes. You might have sacrificed some of your muscle mass, but you know full damn well you still have an advantage and I would venture that's exactly why you want to compete as women in the vast majority of cases. Because winning matters more to you than fair play.

And now it looks like Athletics may follow:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/61865789

We have always believed that biology trumps gender and we will continue to review our regulations in line with this. We will follow the science.

I feel a bit gas-lit, but happy!

Notwithstanding, values for strength, LBM and muscle area in transwomen remain above those of cisgender women, even after 36 months of hormone therapy

Even transwoman Joanna Harper's study, quoted above, shows that any loss of performance in male athletes undergoing testosterone reduction treatment does not reduce the advantage of having a male body

I hope so. Go Coe!

That is interesting Horizons...

So this new ruling by FINA could be used in athletics to reset the guidelines for males to do athletics. Meaning it it might cut through the 'what about Semenya' conversations.

Ie. make it about male puberty full stop.

This hyperbole about transwomen being put at risk of drowning or excluded from sport is infuriating. Why not just own the situation for what it is and push for as many sports to have open categories as possible. I'm sure there would be plenty of corporate sponsorship and public support for open teams or athletes.

Coming from trans swimmers tweets upthread I mean

On Twitter, transwomen are moaning that there won't be enough of them in the open category, and not enough funding. I want to reply" oh like women's sports back in the day?" I can't though, for fear of being abused. But women fought for their own funding and events; let transwomen do the same.

Aha well it would be interesting to know why they think that is women's problem, exactly, and why women should be pushed out because of recruitment and funding issues.

At an elite level, these swimmers (of any gender) will probably be training 20 + hours/week in the pool and gym (males and females). That wouldn't change.

Kids aren't suddenly going to conclude "I'm not going to learn to swim because I can't get a gold medal/World Record".

Trans will now have the choice of competing with their biological peers, or in a new "trans" category. Presumably that will take a while to formalise with regards acceptable levels of drugs/anti-doping limits.

I'm glad this decision came out now, before it became an issue for too many women. Let's hope other sporting bodies see sense too.

I also think so many younger transwomen have no idea of who went before.
Seb Coe now being called an overprivileged jogger! I am not keen on Tory peers, but the man does have several Olympic medals. Just like Martina Navratilova was asked what she had ever achieved 2 years ago, and Caitlin Jenner as well.:)

Megan Rapinoe does not represent most elite athletes.

Why is there a need for a third category as FINA has made the male category an open category, including for the first time transmen on testosterone? Will transwoman or transmen win in this category is debatable but nothing is stopping them from competing.

😂😂😂

The Times are reporting that both football and athletics are likely to follow FINA's lead:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/6ac8b4e2-f09c-11ec-9bea-abc2bc5953e5?shareToken=6af25e8e4166da073aa266c0af7596ef

Interview with Sharron Davies in the Times:
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/3f3faec8-f0b2-11ec-b0c8-27c99cdfb733?shareToken=c0319e1281e93c88403fcb11d762110b

The rugby bit is slightly confusing though. The RFU still allows self-id but World Rugby banned males in female sport.