England’s Swimming Governing Body Adds ‘Open’ Category for Transgender Athletes

File photo of a swimming competition in London. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

A new “open” category will be added from September to cater for swimmers who identify as “transgender” or “non-binary,” Swim England said on Monday.

It comes after UK Athletics confirmed it will apply World Athletics’ rules on exclusion of transgender women from elite female competitions.

The swimming governing body said the “female” category will be reserved for “athletes who have declared a birth sex of female.”

The “open” category, “which will be for athletes with a birth sex of male, trans or non-binary competitors,” will be added in all of Swim England’s disciplines, including swimming, artistic swimming, diving, and water polo, the body said.

“This will apply for all licensed events, where times are submitted to official rankings or talent pathway competitions,” it added.

This includes Swim England competitions organised by its member regions, counties, clubs, and affiliated organisations, the body said.

But the policy doesn’t apply to recreational aquatic sports.

Mike Hawkes, Swim England head of diversity and inclusion, said the body will “continue to support operators to provide a varied pool programme, catering for the many demographics found in our communities across England.”

Swim England said it had consulted “more than 2,000 of its members, stakeholders, and advocacy groups” before updating the guidance.

It aims to prioritise “fair competition” while creating “an inclusive competitive environment,” Hawkes said in a statement.

“Transgender competition within sport is an emotive subject,” he said. “However, we believe we have created an inclusive competitive environment that will provide opportunities and enjoyment for everyone entering Swim England events.”

“As a result of the strength of feeling displayed via our independent consultation, we recognise that fair competition is considered the backbone of our aquatic sports and therefore must be prioritised.”

Hawkes said the new policy “will allow for inclusion up to the highest level possible, at which point competitive integrity across our events and talent pathways takes priority.”

The debate surrounding transgender athletes intensified last year when University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas became the first transgender National Collegiate Athletic Association champion in Division I history after winning the women’s 500-yard freestyle.

In an interview with The New York Times last year, Dr. Ross Tucker, a sports physiologist, questioned the idea that hormone therapy could negate the unfair physical edge, saying that Thomas is “the manifestation of the scientific evidence” that “the reduction in testosterone did not remove her biological advantage.”

University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas looks on after swimming the 500 freestyle during the 2022 Ivy League Womens Swimming and Diving Championships at Blodgett Pool, in Cambridge, Mass., on Feb. 17, 2022. (Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

A growing number of sports governmental bodies have updated their guidance to either ban transgender athletes in women’s sports or introduce restrictions.

In June last year, the International Swimming Federation said it would only allow biological male swimmers to compete in women’s events if they “have not experienced any part of male puberty beyond Tanner Stage 2 or before age 12, whichever is later,” and “have since continuously maintained their testosterone levels in serum (or plasma) below 2.5 nmol/L.”

In July last year, British Triathlon become the first sport in the UK to introduce an “open” category for “transgender and those non-binary who were male sex at birth.”

UK Athletics on Friday said it will apply World Athletics’ rules on exclusion of transgender women from elite female competitions, after the UK’s equality watchdog told it that it was “likely to be lawful” to do so.

In February, UK Athletics said it wants the women’s category to be reserved for those who were female at birth to ensure fair competition, while transgender athletes can compete in an “open” category alongside the men, but it cannot prevent transgender athletes from competing in the women’s category unless the government changes the law.

According to the UK’s Gender Recognition Act, UK Athletics is duty bound to “treat those trans women with a Gender Recognition Certificate as female for all purposes.”

But the Equality and Human Rights Commission then issued a statement saying, “the Equality Act permits sporting organisations to discriminate on grounds of age and sex in relation to sporting activity and provides that sports can be lawfully segregated in certain circumstances.”

In its statement on Friday, UK Athletics said it had “received the required assurances from relevant bodies that the sporting exemption in the Equality Act 2010 applies to the Gender Recognition Act 2004.”

It added that it would enforce World Athletics’ regulations to competitions in the UK from March 31.

“[UK Athletics] will work with its Transgender Project Group and the Home Country Athletics Federations to develop a Transgender Eligibility Policy for use in the United Kingdom,” the body said.

“Consideration will be given to changing the current male category to an open category.”

Bill Pan and Reuters contributed to this report.