‘A game for everyone’ NZ Rugby OKs transgender players for 2022

Decisions are still to be made on whether transgender women will play women’s rugby or against men, but it’s all go for 2022.

As of next season, transgender athletes will have a place in rugby, but just what that place is New Zealand Rugby is still figuring out.

NZ Rugby is currently working through the design of its transgender player policy.

Participation development manager Mike Heston is unsure whether transgender women will be able to play women’s rugby, or will be restricted to men’s.

‘‘We want to include as many people as we can. Rugby is meant to be a game for everyone,’’ he says.

‘‘How can we include players safely? That’s been the main issue moving forward.’’

NZ Rugby started working on its inclusion guidelines last year. It readdressed transgender inclusion following World Rugby’s decision to ban transgender women at international level.

World Rugby noted ‘‘that safety and fairness cannot presently be assured for women competing against transwomen in contact rugby’’.

But the global body added it would be up to individual national federations to rule on whether to enforce the policy at grassroots levels.

NZ Rugby’s goal was to have its policy ‘‘more advanced’’ than currently. Heston says work hasn’t progressed as quickly as he had hoped, but it’s important to engage with experts on the complex issue.

‘‘It’s a very vexed issue and there’s obviously a lot of views. But there is a level of understanding of all the issues, so it’s important that every conversation is supportive of raising people’s awareness ... and ensure conversations are constructively framed.’’

NZ Rugby will next month hold workshops in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch with ‘‘coaches, players and administrators’’ to discuss ‘‘safe inclusion’’ of transgender athletes.

A separate workshop with the transgender community – which may involve ‘‘transgender players’’ – will occur at a later date, Heston says.

A draft inclusion policy will be presented to provincial unions and the NZ Rugby board in the latter part of the year for sign-off, ready for implementation next season, he says.

There is currently ‘‘dispensation’’ for individuals ’’who find themselves excluded’’ outside the traditional ‘‘age and gender’’ structure of the sport.

That dispensation may be applied to transgender athletes on an ‘‘individual’’ basis, depending on the feedback NZR receives from its members during the next consultation period, Heston says.

He is unaware of any transgender rugby players in New Zealand currently.

New Zealand’s transgender and non-binary population is about 50,000.

Counting Ourselves research from the University of Waikato found 61 per cent of participants were worried about the way they would be treated in competitive sport. Approximately 50 per cent of this group actively avoid sport because of perceived discrimination.

One in five had been told they could participate in sport only based on their sex assigned at birth. This group, the research found, also have lower health outcomes and higher rates of mental health issues compared to the general population. Lead researcher Dr Jaimie Veale says World Rugby’s guidelines were ‘‘out of step’’ with many sports’ governing bodies and clubs that are focusing on the inclusion of trans players. She urges sports bodies to ‘‘continue to prioritise this work’’.

‘‘It is really important that sporting codes have clear, evidence-based guidelines that enable trans and non-binary people to participate in sport,’’ she says.

She praises several Australian sports bodies – including Rugby Australia – who last year committed to implementing landmark trans and gender-diverse inclusion measures.

France this month became the first rugby-playing nation to allow transgender women to play women’s domestic rugby.

The French Rugby Federation do have some restrictions, saying transgender women ‘‘must certify that they have been on hormonal treatment for at least 12 months’’ and ‘‘must not exceed the testosterone threshold of 5 nanomole/ litre’’, which means transgender women still transitioning will also be allowed to play.

NZ Rugby is still looking at the options regarding restrictions on testosterone levels, Heston says.

NZ Rugby has also been working closely with Sport NZ on its guiding principles for transgender inclusion in sport, which will aim to get ‘‘consistency’’ across the sport sector, Heston says.

The transgender inclusion policy will be implemented for one year before it is reviewed.

‘‘It is really important that sporting codes have clear, evidence-based guidelines that enable trans and non-binary people to participate in sport.’’ Dr Jaimie Veale