New British Cycling trans policy

[PoshCoffee]

The new British Cycling policy goes public at 11am tomorrow. Anyone dare to speculate on the outcome? Will it be a win for women?

Anyone know where the author is buried so that there can be proper performative reproachful faces at the graveside?

I believe it's by the old barn in farmer Jenks' field.

BCcoach race licences do not ask for sex (or didn’t when I got a race licence last year). BC ask for gender and record it as such. They are going to have to do some serious work on their database to ensure so is recorded correctly otherwise there will be male cyclists with female gender entering women’s races.

@BCCoach

That makes sense. Thanks for clarifying.

Can this all be done effectively at a grass roots level?

Yes you are right, they ask for gender but then only give ‘male’ and ‘female’ as options, which no doubt adds to the confusion.

So this person races under the female gender, however they are male, they are a transwoman. How will BC know this person is to be excluded from the female category?
When signing up for a race licence or membership, the relevant questions are not asked. Which begs the question, how many riders like Bev are out there?

Does then sex at birth have to be explicitly added to the registration form. Possibly the new guidelines will implement this? It may take some digging to prove lying to this question though?

I think it's loopholes and the tools to ensure the policy is policed that are my concern.

It seems there still will be a burden of proof at some level on the sport orgaisers to prevent trans women competing. At some level the registrars need to prove someone is a man and is that entirely straight forward (strange as it seems)?

This is a good example of where sex and gender need to be defined properly and so rules can be clear going forward. A good example to discuss on 12th June in Parliament.

@mids2019 the race entry and registration process is the same at all levels. You login to the BC website and select the race you want to enter, then on the day when you register to get your number etc you show your licence and the details are checked again. Some races also offer entry on the day, but most require pre-entry via the BC website. I doubt very much any of this will change or that there will be any additional checks. What it means is that if anyone is suspected of entering into the wrong race there will be grounds for a commissaire (the officials that oversee a race and ensure rules are being followed) to intervene. Commissaires are absolute sticklers for the rules and have no truck with hurt feelings so I don’t doubt that they will enforce rigorously.

I should also perhaps add that the highest level races in the U.K., although they are run by BC, are actually sanctioned by the UCI and the new policy will not apply to these (until the UCI changes it’s policy). Effectively these are international races that happen to be running in the U.K. and UCI rules trump BC ones.

Additionally there are many other non-BC races in the U.K.: time trials have their own governing body (CTT), and most mountain bike races are run by for-profit companies with no affiliation to any governing bodiy and who are obviously free to make up their own rules.

Local, grassroots races are run by volunteers, usually from cycling clubs who operate under the auspices of British Cycling. They are not run directly by British Cycling. So are BC relying on volunteers on the ground to police these regulations?
It’s a mess. The change of policy announcement is just the beginning of unravelling this.

@PoshCoffee

I agree. I think the policing is a challenge as to disqualify a trans person who incorrectly registers is going to take forceful regulation. There has to be proof of sex at birth possibly as retrospective challenge to a person's race status would require (a) suspicion the rider is not of the declared sex (gender muddied the waters) (b) sufficient resource to prove the declared sex is incorrect (obviously can be done but apart from elite level sport can this be done?).

I think the more towards grass roots you get the more difficult it will be to find regu ladies with the strength and conviction to apply the rules .

@PoshCoffee the example of the rider you gave will have to change their ‘gender’ to male when their current licence expires. How this will be done and how it will be enforced is anyone’s guess at this point.

Regarding enforcement at races, there is always a BC comm supporting the club who are hosting the race and it’s their job to make unpopular decisions about DQing riders.

@BCCoach

Not a lawyer but is there a danger that such an approach could lead to legal challenge as from a trans point of view you effectively forcing them to misgender themselves? In the work place misgendering can be viewed as discriminatory so by forcing registrants to identify their gender with sex you would have to be careful about law.

Is there a danger that the disqualification of a trans athlete ends up in some sort of court?

@mids2019 it’s not up to the local club volunteers to enforce the rules luckily. This is what the commissaire is for and there will always be (at least) one at any race. They are (overwhelmingly) grumpy middle-aged blokes with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the rules and regs and everyone is a bit scared of them.

I guess my concern is for the Commissaires. If the system for registration isn’t robust then their having to police riders sex. And I worry that it will be very awkward and fraught with dangers, leading to upset riders. What if they mis-sex someone?

No idea! If someone thought that the rules were a breach of the Equalities Act they could report to the EHRC I guess. If they thought that they had been unfairly DQd under the rules (ie challenging the decision rather than the rule) then they can appeal to BC and ultimately to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

I think the fear is that trans riders will view this as their gender equivalent of their 'Rosa Parks' moment and deliberately circumvent rules to enter for a political point. I think the grumpy old men would be excellent for judging on technical infringements for bike racing but are they going to be supported when essentially being dragged into contentious culture wars (not my phrase)? Will the regulators feel they are being dragged into a sexual minefield?

Having seen comms deal with an extremely angry/aggressive/threatening parent after DQing a youth rider with an over-geared bike I think they will cope! Obviously just one deeply unpleasant incident but there was absolutely no backing down.

Thanks for the interesting discussion, signing out now so I can get a quick ride in before dinner. 🚴‍♂️💨

One thing to remember is that cycling is a very very small world. And female cycling is tiny. Everyone knows everyone. If someone suddenly appears out of nowhere then they will be noticed. Especially if they do well.

I guess it is possible that a trans woman could appear for one local race, come 9th out 16 and disappear again without being noticed.

But if you race regularly then people will want to chat to you. It is a sociable sport.

British cycling are quite happy to disqualify people after events. I know of a pre teen who was disqualified weeks after a race when it became obvious that he had broken a rule.

Wonderful. Hope other sports follow

I'm not sure Furious Cat Wrestling is something for the MN Games. It looks more like it's from Ancient Roman gladiatorial games

I think it is. I think it will build resilience. Much like sports day does for kids.
You know you're outmatched and have no claws to speak of. But hell will you feel good when you're bleeding and bandaged.

You can dress how you like, have whatever hairstyle you like and call yourself whatever you like - you can even have surgery and take hormones - your biological sex will still be blindingly obvious in almost every case

I agree. But we ordinary folk are so polite we wouldn't say so. Which leads TW to think that they're passing. Which is pretty unfair to them tbh because it's misleading them into a false sense of security. But what can you do? Ignore the fact that it's obvious? and just play the game for the sake of politeness? So in day to day life they 'pass' (because we're all being polite)?
but when push comes to shove and it's a matter of fairness, then you have to call it?

I work alongside a TW. And I know it. But it's never been said.
Does s/he know I know? I don't know. hard to say. Either s/he knows I'm playing along with it, or thinks s/he's passing!!? I don't know which it is. I'm late 60s. I don't care a jot because it makes no difference to me.

If I was an elite woman cyclist I'd be shouting from the rooftops.

No need to try to 'out' my work colleague because that doesn't matter at all. We are both doing the same job. Retail staff is all we are and we can do our job just as well with a vagina or a penis. All our customers can see he's a man in a frock and a wig and that makes him happy. But it really doesn't matter. Not to anybody. Although it's obvious to everybody.

But if your life ambition is to be an Olympian, then it really, really does matter so very very much. Physical prowess in men has always exceeded that of women. They are stronger and faster. It's biological fact. Perhaps because women are winning the fight to be more equal in today's world, this is the pushback?

Perhaps these people have been indulged too much as children. Who knows?

Whatever it is, they're on a loser.

Comms will not be expected to make such decisions. From BC's FAQs:
"What should I do if I believe that somebody is competing in a category which they’re
ineligible for?
British Cycling remains fully committed to providing a positive and welcoming environment, where everyone can feel like they belong and are respected in our community. If an event organiser, participant or volunteer has any concerns regarding another participant’s eligibility to compete in a certain category, they should not seek to deal with these concerns themselves.
These concerns should instead be directed to the British Cycling Compliance team after the event.
Where queries surrounding a participant’s eligibility are raised at the event or out of office hours, the participant should be permitted to race and following the event, the Compliance team can be contacted. Volunteers and participants should ensure that any communications regarding a participant’s eligibility are not shared at the event or otherwise. Given the sensitive nature of these matters, volunteers and participants who have raised concerns will not be informed of any conclusion reached.
It is a participant’s responsibility to know whether they are eligible to compete in a particular category/event."

Well that’s a completely opaque procedure.