This announcement on Tuesday, June 21 comes two days after that of the International Swimming Federation which decided to set up an “open category” to allow transgender athletes to compete separately. IRL authorities have said they need further consultation and research to finalize a new policy for 2023, citing a “legal, reputational and welfare risk” game and players.
Waiting, “players who have changed from male to female (transgender) cannot participate in women’s international rugby matches”, the IRL said in a statement. International sports bodies are in the midst of thinking about putting in place regulatory measures on this subject. The International Olympic Committee announced last year that it was letting each sport determine how athletes could have a “disproportionate advantage”.
This topic sparks controversy between those who defend the right of transgender athletes to compete freely as women and those who believe they have an unfair physiological advantage. The IRL announcement means trans people will not be able to take part in the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England in November. “The IRL reaffirms its belief that Rugby League is a game for everyone and everyone can play our sport.”she said.
She felt that it was her responsibility to find the right balance between each player’s right to participate and the risk perceived by other players, as well as “to ensure that everyone receives a fair hearing”.
The governing body said it is working with the eight countries that qualify for the next Women’s Rugby League World Cup for a “future policy of inclusion of transgender women in 2023”taking into account the “unique characteristics” of this sport. On Sunday, the International Swimming Federation (Fina) had decided that athletes born male and who became female could only compete in the female categories, or set female world records, if they became female before puberty, while creating an “open” category to allow them to access the highest level.
According to its medical committee, men, who became women, retained advantages, including “bigger lungs and hearts, longer bones, bigger feet and hands”which are not lost “with the suppression of hormones”.
Caroline Layt, a transgender former rugby player from New South Wales, reacted angrily to Fina’s decision on Monday, tweeting that she was “discriminatory against a minority group whose rights are already in the gutter”.
I’m over being respectful! This FINA bullshit ruling’s about discriminating against minority group who’s rights are in gutter in this country or any other. It’s policing women’s bodies & if not woman enough in their you’re out! @KirstiMiller30 @ChardonnayM @RefJackie @outsports pic.twitter.com/vifAwvHjDs
—Caroline Layt (@CarolineLayt) June 20, 2022
The president of the International Athletics Federation Sebastian Coe has for his part hinted that his discipline could follow the position of FINA by adopting a stricter policy towards transgender athletes participating in women’s events. “My responsibility is to protect the integrity of women’s sport,” said Sebastian Coe, present on Sunday at the world swimming championships currently taking place in Budapest.
“If we need to adjust the protocols in the future, we will”he added, specifying that if he was forced to choose between “equity” and “inclusion”he would line up”always on the side of fairness“. According to the rules of the International Athletics Federation, transgender women must have sufficiently low testosterone levels for at least twelve months before a competition.