Transgender breakthrough
Transgender athletes will be able to participate in sport in the gender they identify with, and will not need to ‘‘prove or ... justify’’ their identity according to new guiding principles released by Sport New Zealand.
The principles only apply to community level sport – not elite level sport – but it will be up to sports bodies to define where and how the trans athletes will participate.
Sports bodies will not lose funding if they do not adopt the principles within their inclusion and diversity policies, and some organisations may have policies that reflect safety over inclusion, Sport New Zealand chief executive Raelene Castle said.
Castle said the principles are a good ‘‘start point for conversation’’.
‘‘The reality is, we’re living in a world now where we have lots of diversity, and what the aspiration is that the diversity piece is identified, and then the inclusion piece is satisfied,’’ she said.
‘‘These guidelines are looking to try and help . . . our sports and volunteers understand what ‘good’ looks like when engaging with our transgender community so that they can feel safe in having conversations and ultimately our transgender community can walk into community sport, and know they’re going to get supported.’’
Transgender people can take part in sports in the gender they identify with rather than the sex assigned at birth, the document says, meaning transgender women are able to participate in women’s sport and vice versa.
Sports bodies are being encouraged by Sport NZ to write, update or expand their own transgender inclusion policies based on the guiding principles, to make spaces like changing rooms and toilets more accessible, and to reflect on
uniforms and registration form design.
The release of the principles follows a lengthy consultation period, with the drafting of the new document starting in November 2020.
A petition and a letter signed by several prominent athletes calling for further consultation was submitted to parliament in June 2021.
Among the letter signatories was University of Otago Emeritus Professor of Sports and former Olympic athlete Medicine David Gerrard. He said there could have been more ‘‘biological scientific objectivity’’ to the consultation process.
Gerrard is concerned about the transition between community and elite level sport, and has called for Sport NZ to be part of the process with national sports organisation.
Castle has confirmed Sport NZ and High Performance Sport NZ would offer guidance for sports balancing the community principles with its global governing body’s policies for elite level competitions.
Transgender and gender diverse communities make up a small percentage of the general New Zealand population. The number of those who participate in sport is even smaller.
Youth 19 research found approximately 1% of Kiwi high school students are transgender or gender diverse, while those aged 15+, it’s about 0.8%, according to the StatsNZ Household Economic Survey.
Jack Byrne, co-principal investigator of Counting Ourselves said trans and non-binary people described personal experiences of discrimination, or how they gave up playing sport because they worried they would not be accepted.
‘‘The guiding principles released today are important because they emphasise inclusion for everyone, whether you are trans or non-binary or cisgender.’’
‘‘We hope to find out more about the difference it can make when sports bodies, clubs, coaches and players welcome and include trans and non-binary people,’’ Byrne said.
‘‘Sport gives so many people a sense of belonging and pride, and that can be life-changing for some trans and non-binary people’’.