World swimming adopts new policy for transgender athletes

World swimming’s governing body has adopted new rules for transgender athletes, allowing only swimmers who have transitioned before the age of 12 to compete in the women’s events.

FINA members voted 71.5% in favor of the new “gender inclusion policy” at the organization’s extraordinary general congress on Sunday. This will be applicable to all its events from Monday.

The 24-page policy also includes proposals for a new “open contest” category. FINA said it is “setting up a new working group that will spend the next six months looking at the most effective ways to establish this new category.”

The members voted after hearing presentations from three expert groups – an athlete group, a science and medical group and a legal and human rights group – who were working together to create the following policy
Recommendations given by the International Olympic Committee last November,

Urged to deflect attention from individual testosterone levels and ask for evidence to prove when a performance benefit exists.

Originally published at Pen 18