Elite sports people speaking up!

[Signalbox]

There seems to be an increasing number of sports people speaking up about the problem of males completing in women's sports which is positive. Thought it might be useful to have a thread of those who are risking sticking their heads above the parapet. Obviously the likes of Sharon Davies, Mara Yamauchi and Martina Navratilova have been bravely doing this for sometime but now we appear to have a few current athletes as well who are prepared to risk the mob to ensure women have fair competition. Is it too much to hope for that there will be a snowball effect?

Using a GNRHa as testosterone blocker does result in a teeny tiny testosterone level (as does castration). Once gonadal production is gone it’s just adrenal testosterone left.

Doesn’t do anything to change lung capacity or arm span or any of the other male advantages though.

Perhaps they’ll just keep dropping the upper limit until it’s under 1 and then finally admit that current testosterone isn’t the defining factor and it’s plain old being a bloke-ness?

women might have to wait ten years to get their categories back 😬

Am I right in thinking this is basically impossible? Men have struggled with the 5nml limit imposed by other organisations and that’s why it used to be set at the ridiculous level of 10nml.

Hopefully it makes it much more difficult. But not impossible. It can’t be healthy though can it? There is some debate around whether it’s ethically acceptable to require people to medicate to enable eligibility. Seems dubious to me.

(Does anyone know what the testosterone limit is in that Joanna Harper study that 3 of the 4 TW participants dropped out of, leaving it as a very expensive study of the honesty levels of its sole remaining participant? I have a notion it was 5nml.)

Such a small sample (1) - surely nobody will be able to argue that this study can be used for any kind of policy making?

Because it’s not like that sample (1) would have any skin in the game when it comes to influencing cycling federation policies 🤔

The Daily Signal

"Unafraid of backlash, retaliation, or cancellation, three accomplished male athletes are denouncing the discriminatory policies that allow males who identify as “transgender women” to compete in women’s sports. They say that biological differences in the sexes pose far too many competitive advantages for men and those policies blur the lines between male- and female-only spaces, breaching the privacy of all athletes."

www.dailysignal.com/2023/03/17/male-athletes-say-men-competing-in-womens-sports-is-lose-lose-situation/

Author: Andrea Mew who is the storytelling coordinator at Independent Women’s Forum.

Signalbox · Yesterday 09:01

- - Men have struggled with the 5nml limit imposed by other organisations and that’s why it used to be set at the ridiculous level of 10nml. - -

Hopefully it makes it much more difficult. But not impossible. It can’t be healthy though can it?

"Rachel" McKinnon, or Poison Ivy, or whatever he calls himself now has had an orchidectomy, to get his testosterone levels down, so that he can continue to cheat women out of their medals.

Oh god really. Did VI say that on VI's twitter? VI used to argue that there was no science to support testosterone suppression (which is correct) but that TW should be able to compete regardless because TWAW and "sport is a human right". VI also said that testosterone suppression was really bad for a person's health (which is also correct) so I'm surprised that VI has gone through with a orchidectomy. It's good in a way though. There's something quite cheering about the thought of some people castrating themselves.

What a staggeringly vile man...

reduxx.info/italy-trans-identified-male-takes-home-eighth-womens-running-championship/

ITALY: Trans-Identified Male (Valentina Petrillo) Takes Home Eighth Women’s Running Title At Indoor Masters Championship

A number of female athletes and professional experts have been highlighting concerns about Petrillo’s participation in the women’s category. At the Master’s Athletics Championships in Arezzo in October 2020, Petrillo outpaced Sanulli and Denise Neumann, both of whom had previously won world and European Masters titles and have been regarded as the best in their events.

The athletes took the podium with Petrillo at the time to avoid becoming embroiled in controversy, but later stated that they felt that Petrillo had an unfair advantage.

“I didn’t feel like I competed as an equal. It was my race, my goal for the season. I had been preparing it for a long time and I wanted to win,” Sanulli said at the time.

Sanulli and Neumann were among more than 30 female Master athletes who signed a petition in 2021 opposing men being permitted to identify into women’s sports.

The women were represented by Italian lawyer and athletics champion Mariuccia Fausta Quilleri, who claimed that the admission of male athletes in women’s competitions constitutes a violation of Article 1 of the Code of Equal Opportunities between Men and Women. The petition was sent to the president of the Italian Athletics Federation, Stefano Mei, the Minister for Equal Opportunities, Elena Bonetti, and the undersecretary of state for sport, Valentina Vezzali. According to RadFem Italia, their efforts were not acknowledged by the government officials.

The Mail have got a lengthy article with lots of photos highlighting the current debacle that is women's sport played for the benefit of very mediocre males:

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11846123/Trans-womens-advantage-sports-analyzed-photos.html

You beat me to it, I was about to post that one, as well. There are some very instructive group and not group photos, aren't there?

Those photos are illustrative aren't they?

They’re going to lose control of the situation at some point aren’t they? I think women must take a stand at some point even if they are threatened. Also they know 99% of the public are fully behind them.

mobile.twitter.com/cwilson1310/status/1638025667773362179

No need for paralympics either then?
All those sportspeople with different bodies just need to try a bit harder!

Yes, very. And they reminded me to dig out a Twitter thread from a couple of years ago which I found equally informative. twitter.com/mirandanewsom/status/1352635083887431687?s=12

Cycler Holly Lavesser told "Fox & Friends First" that the thought of leaving the sport she loves has also crossed her mind after being "forced to compete in unfair competitions."

"I think it's very disheartening As a young woman, you look up to these role models and you think the sky is the limit. You believe that if you put in enough training, if you have the talent, the skill, that you could be the best. But when you're forced to compete against males that have these physical advantages, it's just not a reality anymore."

https://www.foxnews.com/media/female-competitive-cyclers-outraged-transgender-women-overtake-sport

https://mobile.twitter.com/icons_women/status/1639320512777310209

Slight tangent but was delighted Martina Navratilova says she is now cancer free! 🥳🎉👍

That’s good news!

Holly LaVesser cyclist…

https://mobile.twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1641246377513500674/mediaViewer?currentTweet=1641246377513500674&currentTweetUser=TPostMillennial

Mail online have an article up re: the beardy Canadian fella who self ID into smashing a record set by another male, the more special kind of male:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11918455/Male-powerlifter-protests-Canadas-self-ID-rules-entering-female-contest-smashing-record.html

Not quite elite sport, but nonetheless a significant high profile event, especially as it’s Canada.

Zuby did something similar I recall:

https://twitter.com/zubymusic/status/1100348562041462784?s=61&t=vrfh73NvYySozkuIkLckQw

I slightly disagree in as much that powerlifting is elite sport - and I reckon that guy can bench press way more than 270 lbs. I think he did just enough to make the point.

I’m also comparing to my powerlifting DS who has bench pressed 265 lbs - it isn’t his best element and he is nowhere near the size and experience of Silverberg.

Well played Avi, if mediocre special men are going to cheat to take records from women I have no qualms about men then taking the records from the special one.
As for 'Anne' and the 'why are women so bad at this?' it's almost like they have completely different bodies or something but as it's definitely not that or 'Anne' would have a huge physical advantage so it must be that those silly ladies are just lazy. Why want to be us if you despise us so much?

Amelia Strickler again on the Today programme on World Athletics' change of rules and why current athletes are not speaking out...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001kgzs

Amelia's interview can be found at 2:27:45

UK Athletics have made a statement...

https://www.uka.org.uk/news/news-and-features/uk-athletics-publishes-principle-statement-on-transgender-eligibility-in-athletics/
Transgender Eligibility in Athletics in the United KingdomPrinciple Statement31 March 2023 1. UK Athletics notes the revised World Athletics Eligibility Regulations for Transgender Athletes released on 23 March 2023 and coming into effect on 31 March 2023 (“World Athletics Transgender Regulations”). 2. UK Athletics recently published a statement setting out the position it reached following consultation with stakeholders and its Transgender Project Group. UK Athletics also recently responded to a World Athletics consultation regarding proposed changes to the World Athletics Transgender and DSD Regulations. UK Athletics is grateful to World Athletics for the opportunity to contribute to the formation of policy in this area.

1. UK Athletics can now confirm it has also received the required assurances from relevant bodies that the sporting exemption in the Equality Act 2010 applies to the Gender Recognition Act 2004. 4. The position of UK Athletics remains that: a. It is fair for athletes who have gone through male puberty to be excluded from the female category in Athletics. b. Athletics should remain an inclusive sport.c. It remains concerned about the ethics of coercing individuals to undergo pharmacological intervention purely for sporting purposes. 5. UK Athletics: a. Acknowledges and appreciates the efforts made by World Athletics to protect the female category in Athletics.b. Will apply the World Athletics Transgender Regulations to competition in the United Kingdom licenced by UK Athletics or any of the Home Country Athletics Federations (“HCAFs”) from 31 March 2023, subject to the transitional arrangements set out below.c. Will work with Its Transgender Project Group and the HCAFs to develop a Transgender Eligibility Policy for use in the United Kingdom. Consideration will be given to changing the current male category to an open category. 6. In relation to transgender eligibility, this Principle Statement supersedes and replaces the UKA Eligibility for Competition: Transgender and Female Classification Regulations (“2021 UKA Policy”). 7. From midnight on 31 March 2023, UK Athletics applies the World Athletics Transgender Regulations to all athletics competitions and events in the United Kingdom where the licence for the competition or event is granted by UK Athletics or a HCAF, subject to the following transitional arrangements: a. Any transgender athlete who has already entered a competition or event in the category that is not their biological sex having complied with the 2021 UKA Policy will remain eligible to compete in that event but may not accept any prize and their results will not count towards any record, qualifying time or mark, or team scoring. For example, a transgender woman athlete who has entered the female category in an event based on the proper application of the testosterone suppression requirements set out in the previous World Athletics Eligibility Regulations for Transgender Athletes will remain eligible to compete but will not be eligible to receive a prize/ money or set a record or qualifying mark or count towards team scoring. b. In England, Scotland and Wales, the World Athletics Transgender Regulations will not apply to local School events other than Home Country National School Championships and those events where athletes can qualify for Home Country National School Championships.c. In Northern Ireland, the World Athletics Transgender Regulations will not apply to local School events other than the Ulster Schools Championships and those events where athletes can qualify for the Ulster Schools Championships. 8. The UK Athletics Competition and technical Rules shall, where required, be interpreted to give effect to this Principle Statement. 9. UK Athletics may amend or revise this Principle Statement.

Athletes with Differences of Sex Development - Eligibility in Athletics in the United KingdomPrinciple Statement31 March 20231. From midnight on 31 March 2023, UK Athletics applies the World Athletics Eligibility Regulations for the Female Classification (Athletes With Differences of Sex Development) (“World Athletics Female Classification Regulations”) to all athletics competition in the United Kingdom where the licence for the competition or event is granted by UK Athletics or a HCAF, subject to the following transitional arrangements: a. In England, Scotland and Wales, the World Athletics Female Classification Regulations will not apply to School events other than Home Country National School championships and those events where athletes can qualify for Home Country National School Championships.b. In Northern Ireland, the World Athletics Female Classification Regulations will not apply to local School events other than the Ulster Schools Championships and those events where athletes can qualify for the Ulster Schools Championships. 2. In relation to female classification, this Principle Statement supersedes and replaces the UKA Eligibility for Competition: Transgender and Female Classification Regulations. 3. The UK Athletics Competition and technical Rules shall, where required, be interpreted to give effect to this Principle Statement. 4. UK Athletics may amend or revise this Principle Statement.