Sport Ireland publishes guidance on transgender and non-binary inclusion in athletics

Sport Ireland, the main athletic development authority in Ireland, has just released new guidance on the inclusion of transgender and non-binary people in sport.

The document was published with the intention to provide information and insights to the Irish sport sector to aid with decision making and policy development concerning gender inclusion.

Sport Ireland says that the guidance provides recommended "steps and considerations" for policy formation on participation of transgender and non-binary people in sport and underscores practical considerations for policy execution and review.

The report took six months to bring to fruition, consulting a number of "key stakeholders," including "transgender and non-binary people and their families, advocacy and representative groups, the general public" and several figures of the Irish sport sector.  The participants - over 4,000 people - were called in for a mix of surveys, focus groups and interviews.

Sport Ireland said the findings revealed "very differing opinions about how best to include everyone in sport. While many from the LGBTI+ community, transgender and non-binary people and their families, are supportive of inclusion through self-identification, this view is not shared by the vast majority of people working and taking part in sport who favoured protection of a female category (as assigned at birth).

"Across all groups there was modest support for entry into the female category through requirement such as testosterone suppression. When the general public was surveyed through the Irish Sports Monitor, results were more spread, with some support for inclusion, but more so for categorisation based on sex assigned at birth."

CEO of Sport Ireland, Dr. Úna May, discussed the results, deeming the "issue" a difficult one: "This is a very important guidance document which is designed to provide support and education to National Governing Bodies when developing policies for the inclusion of transgender and non-binary people in their specific sport.

"We acknowledge that this is a complex issue and by the very nature of sport there is no one-size-fits-all approach that can be applied across the board. Equally it is an area that is constantly evolving, and as such we at Sport Ireland will evolve our support to the sector through a suite of resources which are regularly updated.

"Our ambition is always to make sport as inclusive as possible so that everyone, regardless of their background, can reap the many benefits that participation in sport brings. We would encourage all NGBs to put a policy in place if they don't already have one."

The organisation recognised the autonomy of national governing bodies to implement guidelines for eligibility and competition for their specific sport, and also accredited the international governing bodies' role when it comes to inclusion.

International federations for cricket, cycling, athletics, swimming and chess have already enacted stricter eligibility rules for women's, those assigned at birth, competitions over the last couple of years. Other bodies, at international and national levels, determine eligibility through evidence of decreased testosterone.

To be eligible for the 2020 Olympic games, the International Olympic Committee required testosterone concentrations to fall below a certain level, however it subsequently dropped that rule for this year's games, calling on national governing bodies to set their own regulations.

You read Sport Ireland's report in its entirety here.