British Rowing poll on transgender policy closes today

[334bu]

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd-ntXhD30bsM8frAQxwLzDGRY-RLz3hUwQ9tNt7BN5DEbxyQ/viewform?fbzx=8370464480307104718

Closes 5pm.

Is this legitimate or a phishing excercise to gain access to email credentials from Mumsnet users?

The first option is this:

"British Rowing should continue with its current guidance (e.g. to allow trans or non- binary athletes to compete in women’s competition subject to the criteria outlined above)"

Do we now what the "criteria outlined above" are?

This is what they put out last year in order to be inline with world rowing policy. Their own chair said that the world governing body for rowing should create an open category to protect “hard fought for progress in women’s sports”.

https://www.britishrowing.org/2022/09/british-rowing-announces-revised-trans-and-non-binary-inclusion-competition-policy-and-procedures/

They have now decided to leave it up to their members to decide what their policy should be.

Well as they dont ask for an email - or indeed any details - I doubt it!

They don't need to. Depending on how it has been set up, an email address could be recorded in the back end of the form when it is submitted. Otherwise, there would be no way of stopping duplicates.

i.e. the email address of the person who completes the form. It's how the form is "sent". It grabs the credentials of the person who has submitted the form as part of the submission process.

How do they verify someone is a rower /former rower

Also there must be many more male than female rowers and male rowers have nothing to lose

It's genuine - one of my DDs rows (not for much longer if categories aren't sex based because competing with boys is a safeguarding risk in about 5 different ways) and I've been sent an email.

I've replied several times to try and show my strength of feeling - have no idea if it will count only once or not, doesn't seem like a robust design and is certainly not transparent. If we leave I will be asking for my subscription fee back on the basis of safeguarding failures and I might go to the press too.

It's bloody disgusting what is being done to girls in sport - it's hard enough for teenage girls to continue to be physically active.

I also don't think women's rights should be up for debate via a survey which may well be predominantly male respondants and could be gamed by people (probably men) who have lots of free time to spend on the internet - it could be totally unrepresentative.

If they wanted to be fair, it should be a survey that only those affected (women and girls) can respond to. I won't affect men so why do they get to vote?

My theory is they're a bunch of cowardly MRAs who are only doing this so they can say 'oh the survey said women and girls shouldn't have human rights so we can't do the right thing - poor us'.

If they did an online survey in Afghanistan or Iran about whether women should have human rights I bet the answer would be firmly 'no'. Sometimes things are just wrong and adults should stop being cowards.

Can you tell I'm a bit angry about this?

It'll be their current / former membership list I'm guessing.

British Rowing has 45% female membership.

Meanwhile....
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rowing/2023/05/11/transgender-rower-sarah-gibson-womans-cambridge-boat-race/

The Daily Telegraph reports today "Trans rower took woman's place in history" back in 2015 when Sarah Gibson, a trans woman rowed for Cambridge University's women's reserve crew back in 2015 and it was hailed as a victory for equality. Who knew? This shit has been going on longer than we thought. Page 3 of today's paper complete with pix.

And another article today
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cycling/2023/05/12/inga-thompson-sack-urge-take-knee-against-trans-cyclists/
The three-time Olympian rower Inga Thompson has been publicly accused by Cynisca in a statement of "affecting its brand and reputation" for opposing biological males in women's sport.

Thompson has hit back saying she is "gobsmacked and horrified" by the statement and promised to continue advocating for fairness in the female category.

it's so poor. I quickly googled the men's and women's rowing world records, surprisingly to me they're not nearly so far apart as the pure strength sports such as weightlifting, but, still, they're a little further apart than is the case in athletics, making it baffling that rowing would even contemplate being more TW friendly/less female friendly.

I told rowing DD that the Green Party once called women 'non-men', she was appalled and said "that's outrageous - why don't they call men 'non-women'"

If I tell her about this she'll self exclude from rowing for sure. She HATES mixed training even, even though there are single sex changing rooms and the boys all seem lovely.

Mind you, I'll probably enjoy the money I'm not spending on rowing any more and will put it towards self defence classes for us all I think.

In the Telegraph article www.telegraph.co.uk/rowing/2023/05/10/rowing-umpires-uproar-henley-trans-womens-regatta/ about the rules of junior categories at Henley Regatta it mentions this:
In 2008, the British women's quad selected for the Beijing Olympics staged a warm-up race against a crew of 15-year-old boys from the local William Borlase School, and lost.
Don't be under any illusion that there's hardly any difference in performance between men and women.

It's genuine - one of my DDs rows (not for much longer if categories aren't sex based because competing with boys is a safeguarding risk in about 5 different ways) and I've been sent an email.

That's good news that you recognise the form as legitimate. I was aware of the vote but I couldn't see any way of verifying that the form that has been shared above is the official form. Anyone can set up a Google form, hence my caution.

Mails version of the story (ie not behind a paywall)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12076161/Biologically-male-transgender-rower-Cambridge-University-female-reserve-crew.html

Last para:
Jane Sullivan, a recently-retired rowing coach, told The Telegraph's Planet Normal podcast, being part of the team provided certain accolades.
She said: 'When you're in Blondie or one of the top boats, you're part of an exclusive club. You're allowed to get your Blondie blazer.
'It gives you access to this club of Blues and Half-Blues, and that stays with you for life.
'The woman who missed out in 2015 will never have her place in history. She won't be part of that club. And I think that's a shame. I feel for her.'

Now you're making me question this! But it looks like other British Rowing emails and they've got my email in order to send it to me which I don't see how they'd have otherwise.

All good 👍 It's just something I'm very mindful of - links sent within a known context (e.g. many people on here know about the vote today) can sadly be a great way to hook people in to a phishing scam, particularly if there is an element of haste to it such as that close time at 5pm. As there was nothing but the Google form on the link above, I was wary.

I looked on their website, and did not see a link to the google form link posted on this site.

Thank you
18 minutes to go. There's literally only 2 questions it takes 5 seconds.

I got the email from British Rowing on this some time ago (I'm thinking 2 weeks but I could be wrong).

But there is option for ticking other (ie not a member, not a rower) so millions of trans supporters could tick this and vote - and probably will.

I'm genuinely broken about the Blondie thing. I know it hardly matters, its a tiny little thing in the world of sport and is a sign of privilege etc etc, but I rowed in Blondie, years ago. I learned to row at Cambridge, I went to a state school where I was never any good at any of the sports they did. I was big and clumsy and physically awkward and unfit and looked a mess. Then I went to university and discovered I was good at something physical, and it changed my life. Blondie means a lot to me. I am close to my Blondie crewmates, they are my sisters. I don't want to be angry with Sarah Gibson as an individual but she is NOT my sister. She was given my sister's place.