Following years of controversy and debate over transgender and athletes with disorders in sex development (DSD)’s participation in female competition, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has now published ‘a new Policy on the Protection of the Female (Women’s) Category in Olympic Sport.’
The new policy was announced by the IOC president Kirsty Coventry this past Thursday. Under the policy, ‘all disciplines on the Sports Programme of an IOC Event, including individual and team sports, eligibility for any Female Category is limited to Biological Females.’
In her announcement, the IOC president said while the topic is ‘very sensitive topic,’ the policy ‘is based on science. And it has been laid by medical experts with the best interests of the athletes at its heart.’
‘The scientific evidence is very clear. Male chromosomes give performance advantages in sports that rely on strength, power, or endurance. At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports, it would simply not be safe,’ Coventry said.
Addressing the issue of advantage bestowed by male chromosomes, the IOC said ‘there is a 10-12 per cent performance advantage in most running and swimming events, 20+ per cent in most throwing and jumping events, while the advantage in events that involve explosive power, such as collision, lifting and punching sports ‘can be greater than 100 per cent.’
It says that to protect fairness in such sports and events, as well as safety particularly in contact sports like combat, collision or projectile sports, ‘it is necessary and adequate to base eligibility for competition on biological sex.’
As such, under the new policy, female athletes will be expected to undergo a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ sex test to determine their eligibility to participate in any Olympic sport.
‘Every athlete must be treated with dignity and respect. And athletes would only need to be screened once in a lifetime. There must be clear education around the process, with counselling available alongside expert medical advice,’ Coventry says.
With dignity of the athletes and respect in mind, the IOC says the ‘least intrusive way’ of biological sex screening currently available, which is ‘screening for the SRY Gene,’ will be undertaken on female athletes.
To this end, the IOC says the screening to be done ‘via saliva, cheek swab or blood sample,’ which it says ‘is minimally intrusive.’ According to the IOC, ‘the presence of the SRY Gene is fixed and thus provides better evidence of biological sex than measuring testosterone levels, which are variable and can be changed.’ It further states that ‘SRY Gene screening is almost always sufficient to determine sex for eligibility purposes.’
‘All Biological Female athletes screened will be negative and eligible, and virtually all athletes who screen positive will have testes/testicles that naturally produce testosterone at adult Male levels,’ the IOC says.
While barred from competing in female sports, transgender and DSD athletes will not be completely shut out from competing. The IOC says athletes with an SRY-positive screen, including XY transgender and androgen-sensitive XY-DSD athletes, will ‘continue to be included in all other classifications for which they qualify.’
These may include ‘any male category, including in a designated male slot within any mixed category, and any open category or in sports and events that do not classify athletes by sex.’
According to the IOC, the policy ‘applies to all IOC Events and enters into force at the date of its adoption by the IOC Executive Board. It is not retroactive and shall be applicable for the first time at the LA28 Olympic Games.’
‘The IOC recognises the importance of widespread participation in grassroots and recreational sports programmes, and the impact that sport has in society. However, the Olympic games has a focus on elite sport. And in elite sport, we must ensure the fairness, safety and integrity of all competitions within the games.’