Worried about non-elite sport

[ChristinaXYZ]

It is great that a number of orgs are starting to protect women's sports. However it seems to all be about the elite level. What about ordinary women and girls who loose their places on local teams? There seems to be an assumption in the press reporting this, even the sympathetic press, that sport is the Olympics/ World Cup or fun runs. What about all the bits in between?

For sports that have any kind of 'pie': 11 places on the team, 15 places on the squad, x number of promising athlete development programmes or whatever... if those places are taken by a transwoman with the advantages of male puberty then a biological woman or girl has lost her place.

If the discrepancies in performance are not headlines because the elite is free of this controversy - nothing on the TV or in the big stadia - then will anyone care? Will the spotlight stop?

I just saw a tweet about this from Ross Tucker.

I think the theory is that it will filter down. That there is major sporting organisations enacting the change but have no power to do so for the sporting organisations at other levels. But the expectation is that they will follow.

As he said, one step forward is one step more than we could expect if they tried an all level at once approach.

The organisations who are making policies on keeping people who have gone through male puberty out of women's sports can only make rules that cover the events they have specific jurisdiction over. If they are not the governing body over lower levels of sports they can not make rules that cover them. As an non-elite sports person it sucks, but I accept that the people running the world championships don't have a say over what happens at local club level.

I think it will filter down - most people disagree with allowing males into female sport, and the recent headlines/policy changes will empower people at lower levels to follow suit.

But don't lower level sports clubs generally have affiliation to the governing bodies? It enables them to compete in leagues and competitions and gives them things like policies and guidance for running clubs, access to coaching and player development resources, insurance, legal advice etc etc.
So if international bodies introduce a no trans rule, the national bodies are likely to introduce the same rule, and consequently the local clubs who are affiliated to the national body should also introduce that rule.

But also as SlipperyLizard says, it will empower local clubs to be run fairly.

Some do, some don't Magpie

For instance, World Rugby, who was the organisation that did such a thorough process of this cannot enforce anything except for World Rugby games. The RFU and most national bodies have ignored the WR ruling for their national games.

How much longer they will be allowed to continue to do so will be interesting to see. Particularly if Rugby League at any level lower than international will follow the general Rugby League ruling, if they make it.

I think if World Athletics does adopt a similar approach, then we shall see more traction at all levels. I think that it will also be very influential. Swimming and Athletics should start speed up the WR efforts and start filtering out and down.

I really think that cycling will have so much pressure to make the same ruling too they they will eventually come into line completely.

Let's hope so. But we do need to try and find ways to keep this in the public eye otherwise there will be backsliding. Not keeping our eye on the ball (to use a sporting metaphor) is how we got here in the first place. I've already seen somewhere a quote form Nadine Dorries saying only elite sport matters.

On another note - how fantastic sports women have been - Sharron Davies and Martina Navratilova especially, but lots of other too. And men like Daly Thompson too. I hope they continue to help sports women at all levels.

And how useless actors and writers have been on the whole - JKR, Jane Harris, Gillian Philip and Rachel Rooney excepted. The only actress I can think of is the brilliant Frances Barber.

I'm inclined to think it will filter down too.

The other issue is, non-elite sports are pretty varied, and can include everything from young kids to adults playing recreationally and lots of other things. What makes sense for serious competition may not make sense for all of these smaller groups. The elite groups making decisisons, and saying why, sets a good baseline, but still allows other groups to take account of their own circumctances.

I have so much respect for Sharron Davies, Martina and good old Daley Thompson who's always seemed like an all round good guy.

I wonder if athletes have been better at tacking this because these are all top level competitive people who just don't give up. By nature they are fighters, they're not cowards and when I hear Sharron Davies speak it sounds like it stirs the professional athlete in her and sounds so personal, like she's still competing herself. She's so inspiring.

I'm hopeful it will filter down. Especially in clubs that see themselves as contributing players to national teams. They're not going to waste resources coaching a born male for a woman's team once they know that it's only for women.
It will also give confidence to women's & girls teams who unexpectedly find themselves playing a born male in a women's team and have been silenced from protesting by governing bodies. The focus on fairness and safety will empower those opposed to this cheating to speak out.

I agree that it will hopefully empower women in grass roots to say, if the professional sports bodies don't recognise trans women as women, we shouldn't have to either, without being accused of bigotry

Don't forget the fabulous Sharron Davies was cheated out of her rightful Olympic gold medal because of testosterone in her opponent so it's clear she knows her stuff on this and feels it keenly. Never mind the rest of the physical advantages sportsmen have over sportswomen.

For the examples of trans women in elite sport that we have, they were men participating in elite sport before "transitioning" to be women in elite sport.

They didn't take part in non-elite sport as female. These are men who have seen the limits of what they can achieve in men's sport and for the sake of a few years with reduced testosterone they could give women's sport a go and win.

If people know that they won't be allowed to compete at the elite levels, they won't bother entering non-elite levels as female.

It sends a strong hard message to all women in amateur/non elite sports that they are entitled to their own category.

It will make more speak out. It's the beginning of the end.

^ Although it's not the end yet.