World Athletics will introduce cheek swabs and tighten rules

[Theeyeballsinthesky]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/feb/10/world-athletics-plans-tougher-rules-for-transgender-and-dsd-athletes

hurrah and at last!!!

From the above article.

'“The required test will be for the SRY gene and, if required, testosterone levels, either via cheek swab with any necessary follow-up or via dry blood spot analysis,” World Athletics says in its consultation document. “In this context, the SRY gene, which is almost always on the Y chromosome, is used as a highly accurate proxy for biological sex but makes room for an additional diagnostic process at the athlete’s discretion.”
World Athletics says the cheek-test proposal was recommended by the special rapporteur’s report on female eligibility to the UN general assembly in October last year and is supported by many athletes.
“Available surveys of both the general population and elite female athletes show strong opposition, either steady or growing, to XY athletes competing in the female category.”
As thing stands, DSD athletes are allowed to compete in the female category, providing they lower their testosterone levels to 2.5 n/mol. Those athletes, including Caster Semenya, have undergone male puberty but were reported as female at birth.'

Sean ingle is always an oasis of sanity at the guardian

Yay!

About damn time.

Am I missing something or are they still only talking about elite level?

See that wasn't difficult was it? Zero genital inspections required.

about bloody time.

I think that’s reasonable and pragmatic. It’s not feasible practically or financially to test the karyotype of every single woman and girl in every single event run under the auspices of World Athletics’ rules unfortunately.

A compromise would be strong recommendations that any female athlete who has primary amenorrhoea to seek medical advice.

Gosh! If WA do this, will this roll through to put pressure on sports who have so far not budged? Like Football?

Fingers crossed!

Excellent news!

I'm hoping that although they only mention elite sports for testing, they will make the female category only open to actual females at all levels.

You would hope that any national athletics organisation with sense would at least try to do so.

Why have athletes win at lower levels who would then be ineligible to compete at elite level? Why risk turning actual girls and women off athletics and thus risk reducing the talent pipeline?

I just hope this 'test' isn't able to be falsified.

Can someone please explain what a 46XY transgender is I mean I know what a diagnosis of 46XY dsd is but not this new trans category

It’s a way of saying men without being accused of transphobia and without bowing to gender ideology by calling them “trans women”. Makes it clear that males are males, regardless of whether they have DSD or a self-declared woman essence.

Provided the cheek swab is taken under strict conditions, as they are for e.g. forensic tests, I'd be fairly confident.

Athletics organisations already have very strict procedures for urine tests for drugs. I mean, the tester has to see the urine leaving the athlete's body and going into the test pot. That strict.

Wonderful wonderful news!!

If this is enforced at elite level the it should filter down - there is no point in high level organisations and clubs training up people who would be ineligible at elite level, and anyone trying to enforce biological reality at casual amateur level can cite the elite criteria as to why it's unfair for people assigned a penis shouldn't compete against women or girls.