transgender people in sports#Olympics

Transgender participation in sports has evolved alongside broader social and medical developments since the mid-twentieth century.{{cite book |last1=Love |first1=Adam |date=2017 |title=The tenuous inclusion of transgender athletes in sport |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315304274-17/tenuous-inclusion-transgender-athletes-sport-adam-love |archive-url=https://archive.ph/643lW |archive-date=May 27, 2025 |location=Taylor & Francis Group |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781315304274 |access-date=May 27, 2025}} Early policies often excluded transgender athletes or required them to compete according to their sex assigned at birth, reflecting the binary gender enforcement that historically defined sports participation.{{cite journal |last1=Harper |first1=Joanna |date=2022 |title=TRANSGENDER ATHLETES AND INTERNATIONAL SPORTS POLICY |url=https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5035&context=lcp |journal=Law and Contemporary Problems |volume=85 |issue=151 |publisher=Duke University Press |access-date=May 28, 2025}} As gender-affirming medical treatments became more available, sports organizations introduced eligibility criteria such as hormone requirements and sex verification procedures to regulate participation in gendered categories.{{cite web |last1=Simpson |first1=Joe Leigh |last2=Ljungqvist |first2=Arne |date=October 23, 2012 |title=Gender Verification in Competitive Sports |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.2165/00007256-199316050-00002 |archive-url=https://archive.ph/Eokx6 |archive-date=May 28, 2025 |website=Springer Nature Link |publisher=Springer Nature |access-date=May 28, 2025}}{{cite journal |last1=Rastogi |first1=Janvhi |last2=Milia Islamia |first2=Jamia |date=2020 |title=Sports Doesn't Have a Gender, but Sportspersons Do: The Nuances of Sex Verification in Sports |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/gblspr1&div=13&id=&page= |archive-url=https://archive.ph/uHEnv |archive-date=May 28, 2025 |journal=Global Sports Policy Review |volume=1 |issue=1 |publisher=HeinOnline |issn=25828886 |access-date=May 28, 2025}}

Historically, sport has been seen as a male domain. The masculine perception of sport was first moderated with the rise of women's sports and further challenged with the gradual acceptance of gay sportsmen. A third departure from tradition occurred with the emergence of trans athletes, many of whom challenge the culturally accepted binary gender norms of male and female.{{Cite book|title=Transgender Athletes in Competitive Sport|last1=Anderson|first1=Eric|last2=Travers|first2=Ann|date=2017-05-25|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781315304250|language=en|chapter=Introduction}}

{{Main|Renée Richards}}

One of the earliest high-profile transgender athletes was tennis player Renée Richards. Richards was a promising tennis player in the men's circuit. She then underwent gender reassignment therapy in 1975 and started playing in women's tournaments a year later. Her discovery resulted in a media frenzy which sparked protests.{{Cite book|title=Transgender Athletes in Competitive Sport|editor-last=Anderson|editor-first=Eric|editor2-last=Travers|editor2-first=Ann|date=2017-05-25|publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781315304250|language=en|first=Lindsay|last=Pieper|chapter=Advantage Renee?}} After she accepted an invitation to a warm-up tournament for the US Open, the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and the United States Tennis Association (USTA) withdrew their support and 25 of the 32 women pulled out of the tournament.{{Cite journal|last1=Birrell|first1=Susan|last2=Cole|first2=Cheryl L.|title=Double Fault: Renee Richards and the Construction and Naturalization of Difference|journal=Sociology of Sport Journal|language=en|volume=7|issue=1|pages=1–21|doi=10.1123/ssj.7.1.1|year=1990}}

[[Renée Richards in 1976|thumb]]

As a result, the United States Tennis Association and Women's Tennis Association introduced the Barr body test, which identifies a person's sex chromosomes. Richards refused to take the test and was banned from the U.S. Open.

She filed a lawsuit in 1977, claiming that her civil rights were violated and that the policy was unfair. The New York Supreme Court ruled in her favor, saying that the Barr body test as the sole determinant of sex was "grossly unfair" and ruled Richards legally female.{{cite journal |last1=Pieper |first1=Lindsay Parks |s2cid=143605833 |title=Gender Regulation: Renée Richards Revisited |journal=The International Journal of the History of Sport |date=April 2012 |volume=29 |issue=5 |pages=675–690 |doi=10.1080/09523367.2012.675202 }}

She competed in the 1977 US Open at the age of 43. She reached the doubles final and subsequently retired four years later. At the time, the ruling in Richards's case did not lead to major changes for transgender athletes outside of tennis.

{{Main|Lia Thomas}}

File:Lia Thomas in Boston, Massachusetts.jpg swam for the University of Pennsylvania men's swim team and later the women's swim team]]

Since 2021, media has widely covered University of Pennsylvania student Lia Thomas, who swam for the men's team in 2018–2019, and for the women's team in 2021.{{Cite web |date=2021-12-25 |title=Olympic Champion, Women's Sports Advocate Nancy Hogshead-Makar Details Issues With Lia Thomas Situation |url=https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/olympic-champion-womens-sports-advocate-nancy-hogshead-makar-explains-problems-with-lia-thomas-situation/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227170842/https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/olympic-champion-womens-sports-advocate-nancy-hogshead-makar-explains-problems-with-lia-thomas-situation/ |archive-date=27 December 2021 |access-date=2021-12-27 |website=Swimming World News |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2021-12-22 |title=Penn Parents Express Further Concerns Over Lia Thomas Competing On Women's Team |url=https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/penn-parents-express-further-concerns-over-lia-thomas-competing-on-womens-team/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227170839/https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/penn-parents-express-further-concerns-over-lia-thomas-competing-on-womens-team/ |archive-date=27 December 2021 |access-date=2021-12-27 |website=Swimming World News |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Webb |first=Karleigh |date=2021-12-09 |title=Anti-trans panic comes to an Ivy League pool |url=https://www.outsports.com/trans/2021/12/9/22825418/lia-thomas-ncaa-swimming-fox-ivy-telfer-trans-athletes-post-mail-transphobes |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226233844/https://www.outsports.com/trans/2021/12/9/22825418/lia-thomas-ncaa-swimming-fox-ivy-telfer-trans-athletes-post-mail-transphobes |archive-date=26 December 2021 |access-date=2021-12-27 |website=Outsports}} The Washington Post wrote that Thomas was "shattering records".{{Cite news |last=Maese |first=Rick |title=A transgender college swimmer is shattering records, sparking a debate over fairness |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/01/10/lia-thomas-penn-transgender-swimmer/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220112220728/https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/01/10/lia-thomas-penn-transgender-swimmer/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |access-date=2022-01-15 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}} In December 2021, USA Swimming official Cynthia Millen resigned in protest, because of her belief that Thomas has an unfair advantage over her competitors.{{Cite web |last=Edmund |first=Emma |date=2021-12-24 |title=Official Cynthia Millen Quits, Protesting Lia Thomas' Swimming Participation |url=https://swimswam.com/official-cynthia-millen-quits-protesting-lia-thomas-swimming-participation/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226190659/https://swimswam.com/official-cynthia-millen-quits-protesting-lia-thomas-swimming-participation/ |archive-date=26 December 2021 |access-date=2021-12-27 |website=SwimSwam |language=en-US}} In February 2022, CNN called Thomas "the face of the debate on transgender women in sports".{{Cite web |last=Levenson |first=Eric |date=2022-02-23 |title=How an Ivy League swimmer became the face of the debate on transgender women in sports |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/22/us/lia-thomas-transgender-swimmer-ivy-league/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109171951/https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/22/us/lia-thomas-transgender-swimmer-ivy-league/index.html |archive-date=9 January 2023 |access-date=2022-03-02 |website=CNN}} In March 2022, she became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship in any sport after winning the women's 500-yard freestyle event.{{Cite web |last=Barnes |first=Katie |date=2022-03-17 |title=Thomas first transgender athlete to win D-I title |url=https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/33529775/amid-protests-pennsylvania-swimmer-lia-thomas-becomes-first-known-transgender-athlete-win-division-national-championship |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318004806/https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/33529775/amid-protests-pennsylvania-swimmer-lia-thomas-becomes-first-known-transgender-athlete-win-division-national-championship |archive-date=18 March 2022 |access-date=2022-03-18 |website=ESPN |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2022-03-18 |title=Lia Thomas becomes first known transgender athlete to win NCAA swimming title |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/swimming/60792875 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318140032/https://www.bbc.com/sport/swimming/60792875 |archive-date=2022-03-18 |access-date=2022-03-18 |work=BBC Sport |language=en-GB}}{{cite web |last=Owens |first=Jason |date=March 17, 2022 |title=Swimmer Lia Thomas becomes NCAA's first transgender D-I champion in any sport |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/swimmer-lia-thomas-becomes-nca-as-first-transgender-d-i-champion-011654483.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320063122/https://sports.yahoo.com/swimmer-lia-thomas-becomes-nca-as-first-transgender-d-i-champion-011654483.html |archive-date=20 March 2022 |access-date=March 20, 2022 |website=Yahoo! Sports |publisher= |quote=}}

Thomas lost muscle mass and strength through testosterone suppression and hormone replacement therapy. Her time for the 500 freestyle is over 15 seconds slower than her personal bests before medically transitioning.{{Cite news |last1=Witz |first1=Billy |date=24 January 2022 |title=As Lia Thomas Swims, Debate About Transgender Athletes Swirls |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/24/sports/lia-thomas-transgender-swimmer.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129141652/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/24/sports/lia-thomas-transgender-swimmer.html |archive-date=29 January 2022 |access-date=4 April 2022 |newspaper=The New York Times}}{{Cite web |date=3 March 2022 |title='I Am Lia': The Trans Swimmer Dividing America Tells Her Story | Sports Illustrated |url=https://www.si.com/.amp/college/2022/03/03/lia-thomas-penn-swimmer-transgender-woman-daily-cover |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403233822/https://www.si.com/.amp/college/2022/03/03/lia-thomas-penn-swimmer-transgender-woman-daily-cover |archive-date=3 April 2022 |access-date=4 April 2022}} Thomas's winning time of 4:33.24 was 9.18 seconds short of Katie Ledecky's NCAA record of 4:24.06.{{Cite web |date=18 March 2022 |title=Swimmer Lia Thomas becomes NCAA's first transgender D-I champion in any sport |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/swimmer-lia-thomas-becomes-nca-as-first-transgender-d-i-champion-011654483.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320063122/https://sports.yahoo.com/swimmer-lia-thomas-becomes-nca-as-first-transgender-d-i-champion-011654483.html |archive-date=20 March 2022 |access-date=31 March 2022 |website=sports.yahoo.com}} In other races, Thomas has been beaten by multiple cisgender women as well as by Iszac Henig, a transgender man not on hormones.{{Cite web |date=17 March 2022 |title=Iszac Henig, Lia Thomas are All-Americans in women's 100-free |url=https://www.outsports.com/2022/3/17/22982977/lia-thomas-iszac-henig-transgender-swimmer-ncaa-championships-penn |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925153549/https://www.outsports.com/2022/3/17/22982977/lia-thomas-iszac-henig-transgender-swimmer-ncaa-championships-penn |archive-date=25 September 2022 |access-date=4 April 2022}} According to Swimming World, by the conclusion of Thomas's swimming career at UPenn in 2022, her rank had moved from 65th on the men's team to 1st on the women's team in the 500-yard freestyle, and 554th on the men's team to 5th on the women's team in the 200-yard freestyle.{{cite web |last=Lohn |first=John |date=April 5, 2022 |title=A Look At the Numbers and Times: No Denying the Advantages of Lia Thomas |url=https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/a-look-at-the-numbers-and-times-no-denying-the-advantages-of-lia-thomas/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324072711/https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/a-look-at-the-numbers-and-times-no-denying-the-advantages-of-lia-thomas/ |archive-date=24 March 2022 |access-date=9 June 2022 |publisher=Swimming World |quote=During the last season Thomas competed as a member of the Penn men's team, which was 2018-19, she ranked 554th in the 200 freestyle, 65th in the 500 freestyle and 32nd in the 1650 freestyle. As her career at Penn wrapped, she moved to fifth, first and eighth in those respective events on the women's deck.}}

In 1996, the Iron Ladies, a men's volleyball team made up of gay men and transgender women from Thailand, won the national championship. The Iron Ladies were not allowed to join Thailand's national volleyball team because of the way they dressed.Finlay, Leslie (27 July 2018). [https://theculturetrip.com/asia/thailand/articles/the-iron-ladies-thailands-fierce-lgbt-volleyball-champions/ "The Iron ladies: Thailand's Fierce LGBT Volleyball Champions"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124210522/https://theculturetrip.com/asia/thailand/articles/the-iron-ladies-thailands-fierce-lgbt-volleyball-champions/|date=24 January 2022}}. The Culture Trip. Retrieved 10 October 2019.

The first out transgender person to make a US national team was Chris Mosier, who in 2016 qualified for Team USA in duathlon. Mosier is considered the catalyst for the change{{cite web|last1=Rinkunas|first1=Susan|title=The Trans Athlete Behind the Olympic Committee's New Gender Policy|url=https://www.thecut.com/2016/01/chris-mosier-transgender-athletes-olympics.html|access-date=25 November 2019|website=The Cut|date=28 January 2016|archive-date=6 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006233141/https://www.thecut.com/2016/01/chris-mosier-transgender-athletes-olympics.html|url-status=live}} in the IOC policy on transgender athletes in 2015, when he challenged the policy after initially being banned from the world championship race. Mosier also became the first known transgender athlete to compete in the Olympic Trials in the gender with which they identify, and the first trans man to make a men's Olympic Trials, when he competed in January 2020 in the US Olympic Team Trials in the 50k Racewalking event.{{cite web|last1=Ennis|first1=Dawn|date=27 January 2020|title=Chris Mosier makes history at Olympic trials, calling it 'incredible and heartbreaking'|url=https://www.outsports.com/2020/1/27/21083208/chris-mosier-transgender-olympic-trials-tokyo-2020-race-walking|access-date=22 June 2020|website=Outsports.com|archive-date=27 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527183846/https://www.outsports.com/2020/1/27/21083208/chris-mosier-transgender-olympic-trials-tokyo-2020-race-walking|url-status=live}}

In 2017, Mack Beggs, a teenager from Texas, was required to wrestle against girls throughout the season of his transition from female to male up through the state championship, despite wanting to wrestle against boys. This was due to state sport regulations requiring athletes to compete alongside athletes of their assigned sex. Some opponents say the testosterone prescribed as part of his transition gives him an unfair advantage and made it unsafe for the other wrestlers. (He finished the regular season at 52–0 and won the state championship.){{cite news|date=26 February 2017|title=Transgender teenage wrestler Mack Beggs wins Texas girls title|work=The Guardian|agency=Reuters|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/26/transgender-teenage-wrestler-mack-beggs-wins-texas-girls-title|access-date=29 January 2018|archive-date=3 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803145905/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/26/transgender-teenage-wrestler-mack-beggs-wins-texas-girls-title|url-status=live}}

In October 2018, Veronica Ivy (then known as Rachel McKinnon) won a gold medal at the cycling Masters World Track Championship in Los Angeles.{{Cite news|date=2018-10-16|title=McKinnon is First Transgender Woman to Win World Title|language=en-GB|work=Cyclingnews.com|url=http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/mckinnon-is-first-transgender-woman-to-win-world-title/|access-date=2018-11-04|archive-date=2 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102080120/http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/mckinnon-is-first-transgender-woman-to-win-world-title/|url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Brassil |first1=Gillian R. |last2=Longman |first2=Jeré |title=Who Should Compete in Women's Sports? There Are 'Two Almost Irreconcilable Positions' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/18/sports/transgender-athletes-womens-sports-idaho.html |access-date=January 24, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=August 18, 2020 |archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124211407/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/18/sports/transgender-athletes-womens-sports-idaho.html |url-status=live }}

In August 2022, USA Cycling, citing new regulations on trans athletes, retroactively stripped trans woman Leia Genis of her silver medal earned at the Track National Championships that had taken place in 2022.{{Cite web |last1=Alexander |first1=Dan |date=2022-08-02 |title=USA Cycling accused of "transphobia" after individual pursuit medallist stripped of national championships medal |url=https://road.cc/content/news/usa-cycling-accused-transphobia-294905 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802153317/https://road.cc/content/news/usa-cycling-accused-transphobia-294905 |archive-date=2022-08-02 |website=road.cc}}

In 2024, the San Jose State Spartans (SJSU) women's volleyball team received national attention due to the inclusion of a transgender player on the team and lawsuits that have attempted to rule the player ineligible. These lawsuits were filed not only by players from other teams but also an SJSU teammate and coach.{{cite web |last=Barnes |first=Katie |date=November 25, 2024 |title=Judge denies request to rule SJSU volleyball player ineligible |url=https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/42608207/judge-denies-request-rule-sjsu-volleyball-player-ineligible |accessdate=November 28, 2024 |publisher=ESPN |quote=The lawsuit was filed Nov. 13 by SJSU co-captain Brooke Slusser, SJSU associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose, and 10 other current and former Mountain West volleyball players. It asked for emergency injunctive relief to render an SJSU volleyball player, who is alleged to be transgender, ineligible.}} The volleyball teams of Southern Utah, Boise State, Wyoming, Utah State, and Nevada canceled their games with the team, with Nevada's players stating that they "refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes." The 2024 team finished with a 12–6 record, with 6 of their wins coming via forfeit.{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Mark |date=2024-11-28 |title=Boise State withdraws from Mountain West volleyball tournament rather than play San Jose State |url=https://apnews.com/article/san-jose-state-boise-state-mountain-west-volleyball-e568628c57805bb26f1be1fdf8f1e7a7 |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=AP News |language=en}}

{{Div col}}

• Kye Allums, basketball{{cite magazine |last1=Steinmetz |first1=Katy |title=Meet The First Openly Transgender NCAA Division I Athlete |url=https://time.com/3537849/meet-the-first-openly-transgender-ncaa-athlete/ |magazine=Time |access-date=May 4, 2015 |date=October 28, 2014 |archive-date=May 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501210225/http://time.com/3537849/meet-the-first-openly-transgender-ncaa-athlete/ |url-status=live }}
• Schuyler Bailar, swimming{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
• Hergie Bacyadan, boxing, wushu and vovinam{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
• Mack Beggs,{{cite web|url=http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/high-school/high-schools/2017/02/18/transgender-teen-wins-regional-wrestling-title-despite-attempt-ban-competing|first=Michael|last=Florek|title=Transgender teen wins regional wrestling title despite attempt to ban him from competing|date=18 February 2017|work=The Dallas Morning News|access-date=18 April 2017|archive-date=9 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809071043/http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/high-school/high-schools/2017/02/18/transgender-teen-wins-regional-wrestling-title-despite-attempt-ban-competing|url-status=live}} wrestling
• Harrison Browne, ice hockey{{cite web |last1=Pruski |first1=Scout |date=28 November 2018 |title=Harrison Browne talks Ovi, activism in visit to American University |url=https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/other-sports/harrison-browne-talks-ovi-activism-visit-american-university |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116100541/https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/other-sports/harrison-browne-talks-ovi-activism-visit-american-university |archive-date=January 16, 2019 |accessdate=16 January 2019 |website=NBC Sports Washington}}
• Balian Buschbaum,{{cite web|url=http://transgenderuniverse.com/2016/03/31/people-profile-balian-buschbaum/|title=People Profile: Balian Buschbaum|first=Savannah|last=Luke|date=31 March 2016|work=TransgenderUniverse.com|access-date=18 April 2017|archive-date=26 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026232801/http://transgenderuniverse.com/2016/03/31/people-profile-balian-buschbaum/|url-status=live}} pole vault
• Willy De Bruyn, cycling{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
• Keelin Godsey, hammer throw{{cite web |last1=Stark-Mason |first1=Rachel |title=A Time of Transition |url=http://www.ncaa.org/static/champion/a-time-of-transition/ |website=NCAA |access-date=25 November 2019 |archive-date=22 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191122205617/http://www.ncaa.org/static/champion/a-time-of-transition/ |url-status=dead }}
• Iszac Henig, swimming{{cite news |last1=Li |first1=Yanyan |title=NCAA All-American Iszac Henig Competing On Yale Men's Team For His Senior Season |url=https://swimswam.com/ncaa-all-american-iszac-henig-competing-on-yales-mens-team-for-his-senior-season/ |access-date=January 9, 2023 |work=SwimSwam |date=January 6, 2023 |archive-date=January 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109214402/https://swimswam.com/ncaa-all-american-iszac-henig-competing-on-yales-mens-team-for-his-senior-season/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Henig |first1=Iszac |title=Opinion {{!}} I Chose to Compete as My True, Trans Self. I Win Less, but I Live More. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/05/opinion/trans-athlete-swimming.html |access-date=January 5, 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=January 5, 2023 |archive-date=January 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105100705/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/05/opinion/trans-athlete-swimming.html |url-status=live }}
• Zdeněk Koubek, track{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
• Andreas Krieger, shot put{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/26/sports/drug-testing-east-german-steroids-toll-they-killed-heidi.html | work=The New York Times | first=Jere | last=Longman | title=DRUG TESTING; East German Steroids' Toll: 'They Killed Heidi' | date=26 January 2004 }}
• Patricio Manuel, boxing{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
• Chris Mosier, triathlon and duathlon{{Cite web|url=https://www.advocate.com/sports/2015/06/08/triathlete-chris-mosier-joins-men-team-usa-making-transgender-sports-history|title=Triathlete Chris Mosier Joins Men of Team USA, Making Transgender Sports History|website=www.advocate.com}}{{cite news|url=http://www.outsports.com/2015/6/7/8743157/chris-mosier-trans-duathlon-team-usa|title=Trans endurance athlete Chris Mosier earns spot on Team USA|publisher=Outsports|last=Zeigler|first=Cyd|date=June 7, 2015|access-date=June 8, 2015}}

{{Div col end}}

{{Div col}}

• Tifanny Abreu, volleyball{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
• Mianne Bagger, golf{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
• Savannah Burton, dodgeball{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/07/05/toronto-transgender-woman-represents-canada-in-dodgeball.html|title=Toronto transgender woman represents Canada in dodgeball {{!}} The Star|website=thestar.com|date=5 July 2015|language=en|access-date=2019-07-10}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailyxtra.com/trans-athlete-added-to-canadian-womens-dodgeball-team-67477|title=Trans athlete added to Canadian women's dodgeball team|date=2015-05-22|website=Xtra|access-date=2019-07-10}}
• Parinya Charoenphol, Thai boxing{{Cite web |last=King |first=Susan |date=2005-02-14 |title=A kickboxer's fight for sexual identity |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-feb-14-et-weekmovie14-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022161130/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-feb-14-et-weekmovie14-story.html |archive-date=2023-10-22 |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}
• Roberta Cowell, motor sports{{cite book |last =Kennedy |first=Pagan |title = The First Man–Made Man | publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2008 |isbn =978-1596910164}}
• Michelle Duff, motorcycle road racing{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
• Michelle Dumaresq, downhill mountain biking{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
• Fallon Fox, mixed martial arts{{cite web |last=Noble |first=McKinley |title=UFC's Joe Rogan to Transgender MMA Fighter Fallon Fox: 'You're a F***ing Man' |url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1573044-ufc-joe-rogan-to-transgender-mma-fighter-fallon-fox-youre-a-man |date=March 19, 2013 |work=Bleacher Report |publisher=Turner Broadcasting System |access-date=May 12, 2013 |archive-date=April 19, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419014118/http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1573044-ufc-joe-rogan-to-transgender-mma-fighter-fallon-fox-youre-a-man |url-status=live}}
• Natalie van Gogh, cycling{{cite web|url=https://www.ad.nl/ad/nl/1018/Wielrennen/article/detail/2046878/2009/10/11/Van-Gogh-vindt-titel-na-geslachtsoperatie-normaal.dhtml|title= Van Gogh vindt titel na geslachtsoperatie normaal|trans-title=Van Gogh finds title after sex surgery normal|date=11 October 2009|language=nl|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150414110522/https://www.ad.nl/ad/nl/1018/Wielrennen/article/detail/2046878/2009/10/11/Van-Gogh-vindt-titel-na-geslachtsoperatie-normaal.dhtml|archive-date=14 April 2015}}{{cite web |url=https://road.cc/content/news/212281-transgender-cyclist-first-female-finisher-arizona-race |title=Transgender cyclist is first female finisher at Arizona race |work=Road CC |access-date=2 March 2019 |date=23 November 2016 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306042912/https://road.cc/content/news/212281-transgender-cyclist-first-female-finisher-arizona-race |url-status=live }}
• Laurel Hubbard, weightlifting{{cite news |last=Ingle |first=Sean |title=Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard will be first trans athlete to compete at Olympics |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jun/21/olympics-tokyo-laurel-hubbard-trans-weightlifter-new-zealand |access-date=21 June 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=21 June 2021}}
• Veronica Ivy, cycling{{cite news |last1=Ballinger |first1=Alex |title=Rachel McKinnon becomes first transgender woman to win track world title |url=https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/rachel-mckinnon-becomes-first-transgender-woman-win-track-world-title-397473 |access-date=24 November 2018 |work=Cycling Weekly |date=17 October 2018 |archive-date=24 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124105901/https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/rachel-mckinnon-becomes-first-transgender-woman-win-track-world-title-397473 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|url=http://veronicaivy.com/|title=Dr Veronica Ivy – Academic, Athlete, Activist|access-date=26 December 2019|archive-date=22 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222101958/http://veronicaivy.com/|url-status=live}}
• Lauren Jeska, fell running{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
• Janae Kroc, powerlifting{{cite web |url=http://www.roverradio.com/watch/interviews/item/2734-transgender-champion-bodybuilder-janae-marie-kroc-full-interview |date=July 30, 2015 |title=Transgender champion bodybuilder Janae Marie Kroc – full interview |website=RoverRadio.Com |quote=It was quite a shock, I'm sure, for everyone. I was known as this Ultimate Alpha Male, which is definitely an aspect of my personality. But for a lot of years I've been hiding a part of who I am. I've been out to my family and friends for about a decade now .. me being the Manliest of the Manly Men .. they've known since they were two, four and six |access-date=February 11, 2016 |archive-date=February 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216080236/http://www.roverradio.com/watch/interviews/item/2734-transgender-champion-bodybuilder-janae-marie-kroc-full-interview |url-status=dead }}
• Bobbi Lancaster, golf{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
• Charlie Christina Martin, motor sports{{cite web |url= https://www.skysports.com/more-sports/motor-racing/news/15749/12079933/charlie-martin-will-be-first-transgender-competitor-in-nurburgring-24-hour-race |title= Charlie Martin will be first transgender competitor in Nurburgring 24-hour race |website= www.skysports.com | publisher= Sky Sports |date= 24 September 2020}}
• Danielle McGahey, cricket{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/66597000|title=Danielle McGahey: Transgender cricketer set to play in women's T20 international for Canada|website=BBC Sport|first=Timothy|last=Abraham|date=31 August 2023|access-date=1 September 2023|archive-date=1 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901024433/https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/66597000|url-status=live}}
• Cate McGregor, cricket
• Hannah Mouncey, handball and Australian football{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
• Valentina Petrillo, Paralympic sprinting{{cite news |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/an-italian-sprinter-will-be-the-first-transgender-woman-to-compete-at-the-paralympics |access-date=27 August 2024 |date=24 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240903121824/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/an-italian-sprinter-will-be-the-first-transgender-woman-to-compete-at-the-paralympics |url-status=live |archive-date=3 September 2024 |title=An Italian sprinter will be the first transgender woman to compete at the Paralympics |via=PBS |agency=Associated Press |first=Daniella |last=Matar}}
• Apayauq Reitan, Iditarod{{cite news |last1=Oliver |first1=Shady Grove |title='Proud to be an Iñupiaq woman': Apayauq Reitan makes history as first out trans woman in the Iditarod |url=https://www.alaskapublic.org/2022/03/10/proud-to-be-an-inupiaq-woman-apayauq-reitan-makes-history-as-first-out-trans-woman-in-the-iditarod/ |access-date=21 March 2022 |work=Alaska Public Media |date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=20 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320221017/https://www.alaskapublic.org/2022/03/10/proud-to-be-an-inupiaq-woman-apayauq-reitan-makes-history-as-first-out-trans-woman-in-the-iditarod/ |url-status=live }}
• Renée Richards, tennis[http://www.tennispanorama.com/archives/9472 "Renée Richards Documentary Debuts at Tribeca Film Festival"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403155400/http://www.tennispanorama.com/archives/9472 |date=April 3, 2012 }}. April 22, 2011.{{cite news|title=21 Transgender People Who Influenced American Culture|url=https://time.com/130734/transgender-celebrities-actors-athletes-in-america/|publisher=Time Magazine|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805093258/http://time.com/130734/transgender-celebrities-actors-athletes-in-america/|archive-date=August 5, 2016}}
• Nyla Rose, pro wrestling{{Cite web |date=2024-04-18 |title=Oklahoma Commission Takes Issue With All Elite Wrestling Hosting Transgender Match |url=https://www.si.com/wrestling/2024/04/17/oklahoma-commission-takes-issue-aew-trans-wrestler |access-date=2024-11-13 |website=SI |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2021-12-23 |title=AEW Fan Ejected For Aiming Transphobic Sign At Openly Transgender Wrestler Nyla Rose |url=https://www.tmz.com/2021/12/23/nyla-rose-fan-ejected-transphobic-sign-aew-wrestling/ |access-date=2024-11-13 |website=TMZ |language=en}}
• Cece Telfer, track and field
• Lia Thomas, swimming{{Cite news|last=Witz|first=Billy|date=January 24, 2022|title=As Lia Thomas Swims, Debate About Transgender Athletes Swirls|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/24/sports/lia-thomas-transgender-swimmer.html|access-date=January 29, 2022|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=January 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129141652/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/24/sports/lia-thomas-transgender-swimmer.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |last=Levenson |first=Eric |date=2022-02-23 |title=How an Ivy League swimmer became the face of the debate on transgender women in sports |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/22/us/lia-thomas-transgender-swimmer-ivy-league/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109171951/https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/22/us/lia-thomas-transgender-swimmer-ivy-league/index.html |archive-date=January 9, 2023 |access-date=2022-03-02 |website=CNN}}{{cite news |last1=Ingle |first1=Sean |title=Sport's trans issue is here to stay. But at last, the debate is starting to change |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2021/dec/13/swimming-trans-debate-starting-to-change |access-date=January 29, 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=December 13, 2021 |archive-date=January 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129163737/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2021/dec/13/swimming-trans-debate-starting-to-change |url-status=live }}
• Andraya Yearwood, track and field (high school){{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Cam |date=2017-06-07 |title=Connecticut transgender sprinter Andraya Yearwood wins two state titles amidst controversy |url=https://www.usatodayhss.com/2017/connecticut-transgender-sprinter-andraya-yearwood-wins-two-state-titles-amidst-controversy |access-date=2024-09-06 |website=USA TODAY High School Sports |language=en-US}}

{{Div col end}}

{{Div col}}

• Timothy LeDuc, figure skating{{Cite news|url = https://www.outsports.com/olympics/2022/1/10/22876671/out-lgbtq-gay-figure-skaters-non-binary-2022-winter-olympics-beijing-timothy-leduc-jason-brown|title = Record number of out figure skaters headed to Olympics|newspaper = Outsports|date = 10 January 2022|access-date = 19 January 2022|archive-date = 20 January 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220120042607/https://www.outsports.com/olympics/2022/1/10/22876671/out-lgbtq-gay-figure-skaters-non-binary-2022-winter-olympics-beijing-timothy-leduc-jason-brown|url-status = live}}
• Robyn Lambird, wheelchair racing{{Cite web|last=Bell|first=Brian C.|date=2021-08-24|title=Paralympian Robyn Lambird brings mission of visibility to Tokyo|url=https://www.outsports.com/paralympics/2021/8/24/22638251/robyn-lambird-2020-summer-paralympics-lgbtq-nonbinary-australia-wheelchair-racing-fashion|access-date=2021-08-25|website=Outsports|language=en|archive-date=27 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527115030/https://www.outsports.com/paralympics/2021/8/24/22638251/robyn-lambird-2020-summer-paralympics-lgbtq-nonbinary-australia-wheelchair-racing-fashion|url-status=live}}
• Max Lindsey, pro wrestling{{Cite web |last=Ramachandran |first=Naman |date=2024-06-19 |title=Max the Impaler, Seann William Scott, Fabianne Therese-Starring Horror 'Dolly' Wraps, Blue Finch Boards Sales (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/global/max-the-impaler-seann-william-scott-horror-dolly-1236040712/ |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}
• Quinn, soccer
• Alana Smith, skateboarding
• Maria "Maz" Strong, Paralympic seated shot put{{Cite web|date=2021-08-16|title=At least 31 out LGBTQ Paralympians competing in Tokyo, a record number|url=https://www.outsports.com/2021/8/16/22623849/lgbtq-paralympics-out-athletes-tokyo|access-date=2021-08-25|website=Outsports|language=en|archive-date=17 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817001335/https://www.outsports.com/2021/8/16/22623849/lgbtq-paralympics-out-athletes-tokyo|url-status=live}}

{{Div col end}}

{{main|Sex verification in sports}}

Sports organizations have sought a test for sex verification to ensure fairness across all sports. This began in the 1940s with "femininity certificates" provided by a physician. In the 1960s, visual genital inspections were used to confirm gender, followed by chromosomal analysis to detect the presence of the SRY and DYZ1 genes, normally found on the Y chromosome.{{cite journal |last1=Reeser|first1=J C|date=October 2005 |title=Gender identity and sport: is the playing field level? |journal= British Journal of Sports Medicine|volume=39 |issue=10|pages=695–9|doi=10.1136/bjsm.2005.018119|pmid=16183763|pmc=1725041}} These tests were all designed to ensure that athletes were only allowed to compete as their sex, but mostly resulted in the exclusion of intersex athletes.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/magazine/the-humiliating-practice-of-sex-testing-female-athletes.html?_r=0|title=The Humiliating Practice of Sex-Testing Female Athletes|author=Ruth Padawer|date=June 28, 2016|access-date=August 25, 2016|newspaper=The New York Times|archive-date=26 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026134433/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/magazine/the-humiliating-practice-of-sex-testing-female-athletes.html?_r=0|url-status=live}} Some LGBTQ advocates have referred to sex verification policies as "genital inspection" and "gender policing" of female athletes.{{cite web |date=2021-04-16 |title=Florida passes bill requiring some girls to undergo genital inspections for school sports |url=https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2021/04/florida-passes-bill-requiring-girls-undergo-genital-inspections-school-sports/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422135334/https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2021/04/florida-passes-bill-requiring-girls-undergo-genital-inspections-school-sports/ |archive-date=2022-04-22 |access-date=2022-05-10}}{{cite web | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/lia-thomas-long-tradition-gender-policing-female-athletes-rcna20091 | title=Lia Thomas isn't the first female athlete whose victories have been questioned, experts say | website=NBC News | date=16 March 2022 | access-date=10 May 2022 | archive-date=11 May 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511140446/https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/lia-thomas-long-tradition-gender-policing-female-athletes-rcna20091 | url-status=live }}

The first mandatory sex test issued by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the world's track and field governing body, for woman athletes was in July 1950 in the month before the European Championships in Belgium. All athletes were tested in their own countries.{{cite web | url = http://www.foekjedillema.nl | title = Foekje Dillema | last1 = Dohle | first1 = Max | last2 = Ettema | first2 = Dick | date = 2012 | access-date = 28 May 2016 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160422082250/http://www.foekjedillema.nl/ | archive-date = 22 April 2016 }} Sex testing at the actual games began with the 1966 European Athletics Championships' response to suspicion that several of the best women athletes from the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe were actually men. At the Olympics, testing was introduced in 1968.{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1136/bmj.g2926| issn = 1756-1833| volume = 348| issue = apr28 9| pages = –2926–g2926| last1 = Jordan-Young| first1 = R. M.| last2 = Sonksen| first2 = P. H.| last3 = Karkazis| first3 = K.| author-link1= Rebecca Jordan-Young | author-link3= Katrina Karkazis |title = Sex, health, and athletes| journal = BMJ| date = April 2014 | pmid=24776640| s2cid = 2198650}}{{Cite journal|last=Martínez-Patiño|first=Maria José|date=December 2005|title=Personal Account: A Woman Tried and Tested|journal=The Lancet|volume=366|pages=366–538|doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(05)67841-5|pmid=16360746|s2cid=8742433|doi-access=free}}{{Citation | last2 = Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health | title = Sport and healthy lifestyles and the right to health. Report A/HRC/32/33 | last1 = Pūras | first1 = Dainius | publisher = United Nations | date = 4 April 2016 | url = http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/32/33 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161215111551/http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A%2FHRC%2F32%2F33 | archive-date = 15 December 2016 }} In some cases, these policies have led to athletes undergoing unnecessary surgery such as female genital mutilation and sterilization. Subsequent reports have shown that the tests could cause psychological harm. Sex verification—identifying athletes whose hormone levels are abnormal compared to others of their purported sex — can cause sex identity crises, elicit demeaning reactions (publicly and privately), isolate athletes socially, and lead to depression and sometimes suicide.{{Citation |last=Wiesemann |first=Claudia |date=1 April 2011|title=Is there a Right Not to Know One's Sex? The Ethics of 'Gender Verification' in Women's Sports Competition |url=http://jme.bmj.com/content/37/4/216 |periodical=Journal of Medical Ethics |volume=37| issue=4 |pages=216–220 |doi=10.1136/jme.2010.039081 |issn=0306-6800 |pmid=21367768 |s2cid=26775385 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207112637/http://jme.bmj.com/content/37/4/216 |archive-date=7 February 2017|url-access=subscription }}

More recently, testosterone levels have become the focus and, at the same time, new guidelines have been sought that would allow successfully-transitioned athletes to compete. Since the proposition in 2003 to use testosterone levels, reputable organizations such as the IOC have adopted strict policies that employ testosterone as a metric to allow successfully transitioned female athletes to compete.{{cite journal |last1=Sykes |first1=Heather |title=Transsexual and Transgender Policies in Sport |journal=Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal |date=April 2006 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=3–13 |id={{ProQuest|230686774}} |doi=10.1123/wspaj.15.1.3 }} More recent guidelines have focused entirely on testosterone levels, such as the IOC's current guidelines, originally set in November 2015, which set limits on transgender athletes' testosterone levels for them to be permitted in women's competition categories.{{cite news |last1=Ingle |first1=Sean |title=IOC delays new transgender guidelines after scientists fail to agree |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/sep/24/ioc-delays-new-transgender-guidelines-2020-olympics |work=The Guardian |date=24 September 2019 |access-date=20 December 2019 |archive-date=3 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803145913/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/sep/24/ioc-delays-new-transgender-guidelines-2020-olympics |url-status=live }} Controversy surrounding the 2020 Tokyo Olympics also centered around testosterone levels, specifically over whether the IOC's guidelines should be amended to set stricter testosterone limits, although this proposed change has been strongly debated. The testing of testosterone alone as a marker for athleticism has been debated.{{cite journal |last1=Sudai |first1=Maayan |title=The testosterone rule—constructing fairness in professional sport |journal=Journal of Law and the Biosciences |pages=181–193 |doi=10.1093/jlb/lsx004 |date=3 April 2017|volume=4 |issue=1 |pmid=28852563 |pmc=5570685 }}

The increased visibility of trans women in professional sports has led to debates on the IOC policies.{{cite news |last1=Ingle |first1=Sean |title=How can we end the current impasse over transgender athletes? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2019/jul/22/current-impasse-transgender-athletes |work=The Guardian |date=22 July 2019 |access-date=8 August 2019 |archive-date=3 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803145909/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2019/jul/22/current-impasse-transgender-athletes |url-status=live }} Many scientists criticize the policies because of published papers showing that people who went through male puberty retain significant advantages even after a year of testosterone suppression.{{cite news |last1=Ingle |first1=Sean |title=Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard will be first trans athlete to compete at Olympics |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jun/21/olympics-tokyo-laurel-hubbard-trans-weightlifter-new-zealand |access-date=21 June 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=21 June 2021 |quote=the IOC's decision has recently come under fire after scientific papers were published which said that people who have undergone male puberty retain significant advantages, including in power and strength, even after taking medication to suppress their testosterone levels. |archive-date=2 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802040111/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jun/21/olympics-tokyo-laurel-hubbard-trans-weightlifter-new-zealand |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|date=31 May 2021|title=Transgender weightlifter Hubbard's presence in Tokyo unfair: rival|url=https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/transgender-weightlifter-hubbards-presence-tokyo-unfair-rival-2021-05-31/|website=Reuters|accessdate=4 June 2021|quote=Many scientists have criticised these guidelines, saying they do little to mitigate the biological advantages of those who have gone through puberty as males, including bone and muscle density.|archive-date=31 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531090331/https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/transgender-weightlifter-hubbards-presence-tokyo-unfair-rival-2021-05-31/|url-status=live}} In July 2021, the IOC's medical and science director, Richard Budgett, stated that the 2015 guidelines were outdated.{{cite news |last1=Ingle |first1=Sean |title=IOC admits guidelines for transgender athletes are not fit for purpose |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/30/ioc-admits-guidelines-for-transgender-athletes-are-not-fit-for-purpose |access-date=4 August 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=30 July 2021 |language=en |archive-date=3 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803150417/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/30/ioc-admits-guidelines-for-transgender-athletes-are-not-fit-for-purpose |url-status=live }} In 2022, new guidelines were released.{{Cite magazine |last=Cretaz |first=Frankie de la |title=The IOC Has a New Trans-Inclusion Framework, but Is the Damage Already Done? |url=https://www.si.com/olympics/2022/03/23/transgender-athletes-testosterone-policies-ioc-framework |access-date=2022-10-06 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |language=en-us |archive-date=6 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006182400/https://www.si.com/olympics/2022/03/23/transgender-athletes-testosterone-policies-ioc-framework |url-status=live }} According to reporting by Sports Illustrated, the new framework "places the responsibility of establishing guidelines for trans inclusion on each individual sport. It also concludes that sporting bodies should not assume that transgender women have an inherent advantage over cisgender women, nor should transgender women have to reduce their testosterone levels to compete." The framework has been criticized by some medical experts who work for sports federations as ignoring the science on sex, gender, and performance and leading to unfair competition. They suggested that rules based on testosterone could vary based on sport and called on the IOC to set standards for sports to follow.{{cite news |last1=Ingle |first1=Sean |title=IOC's new transgender guidance criticised as unfair towards female sport |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jan/17/iocs-new-transgender-guidance-criticised-as-unfair-towards-female-sport |access-date=8 October 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=17 January 2022 |language=en |archive-date=3 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803150416/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jan/17/iocs-new-transgender-guidance-criticised-as-unfair-towards-female-sport |url-status=live }}

Sex differences in human physiology impact performance in sports. Debate over whether and how transgender women should compete in female sports often has to do with whether they have an unfair advantage over cisgender women due to higher testosterone levels and skeletal, muscle and fat distribution differences. Testosterone regulates many different functions in the body, including the development and maintenance of bone and muscle mass.{{cite web|last1=Anawalt, MD|first1=Bradley|last2=Kirk, MD|first2=Susan|last3=Shulman, MD|first3=Dorothy|title=Endocrine Glands and Types of Hormones|url=http://www.hormone.org/hormones-and-health/the-endocrine-system/endocrine-glands-and-types-of-hormones|website=Hormone Health Network|access-date=11 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518101241/http://www.hormone.org/hormones-and-health/the-endocrine-system/endocrine-glands-and-types-of-hormones|archive-date=2015-05-18|url-status=dead}}

A 2017 systematic review of literature relating to sport participation and competitive sports policies reported that there is no direct or comprehensive evidence of transgender women having an athletic advantage over their cisgender counterparts at any stage of transition (e.g. cross-sex hormones or sex reassignment surgery), due to the lack of quantitative research on the subject; this made it "difficult to draw any definite conclusions". Only one of the papers in the systematic review took any physical attributes into account.{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Bethany Alice |last2=Arcelus |first2=Jon |last3=Bouman |first3=Walter Pierre |last4=Haycraft |first4=Emma |title=Sport and Transgender People: A Systematic Review of the Literature Relating to Sport Participation and Competitive Sport Policies |journal=Sports Medicine |date=April 2017 |volume=47 |issue=4 |pages=701–716 |doi=10.1007/s40279-016-0621-y |pmid=27699698 |pmc=5357259 |doi-access=free }} A 2018 extended essay analyzed the current IOC rule set in 2015 (testosterone below 10 nmol/L for trans women) and found that "the advantage to trans women afforded by the IOC guidelines is an intolerable unfairness", while they propose to abandon male/female categories in favor of a more nuanced division.{{cite journal|last1=Knox|first1=Taryn|last2=Anderson|first2=Lynley C.|last3=Heather|first3=Alison|author-link3=Alison Heather|date=1 June 2019|title=Transwomen in elite sport: scientific and ethical considerations|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics|volume=45|issue=6|pages=395–403|doi=10.1136/medethics-2018-105208|pmid=31217230|s2cid=195187653}}

A 2021 literature review concluded that for trans women, even with testosterone suppression, "the data show that strength, lean body mass, muscle size and bone density are only trivially affected. The reductions observed in muscle mass, size, and strength are very small compared to the baseline differences between males and females in these variables, and thus, there are major performance and safety implications in sports where these attributes are competitively significant." After 24 months of testosterone suppression, bone mass is generally preserved. The review states that no study has reported muscle loss greater than 12% with testosterone suppression even after three years of hormone therapy.{{Cite journal|last1=Hilton|first1=Emma N.|last2=Lundberg|first2=Tommy R.|date=2021-02-01|title=Transgender Women in the Female Category of Sport: Perspectives on Testosterone Suppression and Performance Advantage|url= |journal=Sports Medicine|language=en|volume=51|issue=2|pages=199–214|doi=10.1007/s40279-020-01389-3|issn=1179-2035|pmc=7846503|pmid=33289906}} It found that trans women are in the top 10% of females regarding lean body mass and possess a grip 25% stronger than most females. They suggest that instead of universal guidelines, each individual sport federation decide how to "balance between inclusion, safety and fairness" due to differences between sports.

A 2021 systematic review found that significant decreases in measures of strength, lean body mass and muscle area were observed after 12 months of hormone therapy, while the values remained above those observed in cisgender women, even after 36 months, suggesting that trans women "may retain strength advantages over cisgender women." Effects of longer duration therapy were unclear due to scarcity of data.{{Cite journal|last1=Harper|first1=Joanna|last2=O'Donnell|first2=Emma|last3=Khorashad|first3=Behzad Sorouri|last4=McDermott|first4=Hilary|last5=Witcomb|first5=Gemma L.|date=2021-02-28|title=How does hormone transition in transgender women change body composition, muscle strength and haemoglobin? Systematic review with a focus on the implications for sport participation|url=https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2021/02/28/bjsports-2020-103106|journal=British Journal of Sports Medicine|volume=55|issue=15|pages=865–872|language=en|doi=10.1136/bjsports-2020-103106|issn=0306-3674|pmid=33648944|pmc=8311086|s2cid=232082518|access-date=25 June 2021|archive-date=25 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625110856/https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2021/02/28/bjsports-2020-103106|url-status=live}}

A 38-page draft document from World Rugby's transgender working group in 2020 acknowledged that rugby players who are cisgender women, when tackled by a player who has gone through male puberty, are at a significantly greater risk of injury. The working group calculated that increased injury risk for typical players with female characteristics when tackled by a typical player with male characteristics was between 20 and 30%, and potentially reaching "levels twice as large" in extreme cases where the players are unusually small and large, respectively. Consequently, the document proposes that in the absence of persuasive evidence to the contrary, International Olympic Committee (IOC) guidelines regarding a minimum 12-month lowering of testosterone are "not fit for purpose" in the context of rugby.{{cite news |last1=Ingle |first1=Sean |title=Trans women face potential women's rugby ban over safety concerns |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jul/19/transwomen-face-potential-womens-rugby-ban-over-safety-concerns |work=The Guardian |date=19 July 2020 |access-date=15 August 2020 |archive-date=3 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803150420/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jul/19/transwomen-face-potential-womens-rugby-ban-over-safety-concerns |url-status=live }} This move was criticized because there were "no examples of transgender women causing serious injuries to cisgender women".{{Cite news|last1=Brassil|first1=Gillian R.|last2=Longman|first2=Jeré|date=2020-10-26|title=World Rugby Bars Transgender Women, Baffling Players|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/26/sports/olympics/world-rugby-transgender-women.html|access-date=2021-08-03|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=3 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803082418/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/26/sports/olympics/world-rugby-transgender-women.html|url-status=live}}

In 2003, a committee convened by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Medical Commission drew up new guidelines for participating athletes who had undergone gender reassignment. The report listed three conditions for participation. First, athletes must have undergone sex reassignment surgery, including changes in the external genitalia and gonadectomy. Second, athletes must show legal recognition of their gender. Third, athletes must have undergone hormone therapy for an appropriate time before participation, with two years being the suggested time.{{cite web |url=http://www.pdga.com/files/StockholmConsensus_0.pdf |title=Statement of the Stockhold consensus on sex reassignment in sports |website=Pdga.com |date=2003 |access-date=August 25, 2016 |archive-date=11 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011091510/http://www.pdga.com/files/StockholmConsensus_0.pdf |url-status=live }}

It was not until 2004 that the IOC allowed transgender athletes to participate in the Olympic Games.

In 2015, the IOC modified these guidelines in recognition that legal recognition of gender could be difficult in countries where gender transition is not legal, and that requiring surgery in otherwise healthy individuals "may be inconsistent with developing legislation and notions of human rights".{{cite web |url=https://stillmed.olympic.org/Documents/Commissions_PDFfiles/Medical_commission/2015-11_ioc_consensus_meeting_on_sex_reassignment_and_hyperandrogenism-en.pdf |title=IOC consensus meeting on sex reassignment and hyperandrogenism |website=stillmed.olympic.org |date=November 2014 |access-date=August 24, 2016 |archive-date=11 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011091515/https://stillmed.olympic.org/Documents/Commissions_PDFfiles/Medical_commission/2015-11_ioc_consensus_meeting_on_sex_reassignment_and_hyperandrogenism-en.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.outsports.com/2016/1/21/10812404/transgender-ioc-policy-new-olympics|title=Exclusive: Read the Olympics' new transgender guidelines that will not mandate surgery|author=Cyd Zeigler|date=Jan 21, 2016|website=www.outsports.com|access-date=August 24, 2016|archive-date=2 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302014745/http://www.outsports.com/2016/1/21/10812404/transgender-ioc-policy-new-olympics|url-status=live}} The new guidelines require only that trans woman athletes declare their gender and not change that assertion for four years, as well as demonstrate a testosterone level of less than 10 nanomoles per liter for at least one year prior to competition and throughout the period of eligibility. Athletes who transitioned from female to male were allowed to compete without restriction. These guidelines were in effect for the 2016 Rio Olympics, although no openly transgender athletes competed.{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/sports/features/chris-mosier-first-trans-team-usa-member-w432272 |title=Chris Mosier First Trans Team USA Member - Rolling Stone |newspaper=Rollingstone.com |date=August 2, 2016 |author=Lauren Steele |access-date=August 25, 2016 |archive-date=August 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160824212335/http://www.rollingstone.com/sports/features/chris-mosier-first-trans-team-usa-member-w432272 |url-status=dead }}

In 2021, the IOC approved Laurel Hubbard, a trans woman, to compete in the 2020 Summer Olympics in weightlifting. Hubbard became the first out trans woman to compete at the Olympics; she did not complete her lifts and won no medals.{{Cite web|last1=Ellingsworth|first1=James|last2=Ho|first2=Sally|date=2021-08-02|title=Transgender weightlifter Hubbard makes history at Olympics|url=https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-sports-weightlifting-laurel-hubbard-e721827cdaf7299f47a9115a09c2a162|access-date=2021-08-02|website=AP News|language=en|archive-date=2 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802132133/https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-sports-weightlifting-laurel-hubbard-e721827cdaf7299f47a9115a09c2a162|url-status=live}} Katelyn Burns, an MSNBC Opinion Columnist, suggested Hubbard's performance demonstrates that transgender athletes do not always win.{{Cite web |last=Burns |first=Katelyn |date=2 August 2021 |title=Olympic athlete Laurel Hubbard just shattered a transphobic myth |url=https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/olympic-athlete-laurel-hubbard-just-shattered-transphobic-myth-n1275693 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220115053532/https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/amp/ncna1275693 |archive-date=2022-01-15 |access-date=2022-01-15 |website=MSNBC}} Hubbard competed with the support of her fellow Olympian competitors. Australian weightlifter Charisma Amoe-Tarrant said "I have so much respect for her and wish her and the other lifters the best and hope we can all come together and enjoy the Olympics, because this Olympics right now is quite different compared to others. I've competed with her previously and always had good chats with her, I just wish her well."{{Cite web |last=Kemp |first=Emma |date=2021-06-22 |title=Trans weightlifter Laurel Hubbard backed by Australian rival and New Zealand PM |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jun/22/trans-weightlifter-laurel-hubbard-backed-by-australian-rival-and-new-zealand-pm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803145912/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jun/22/trans-weightlifter-laurel-hubbard-backed-by-australian-rival-and-new-zealand-pm |archive-date=2024-08-03 |access-date=2022-01-15 |website=The Guardian}}{{cite news |last1=Azzi |first1=Alex |url=https://onherturf.nbcsports.com/2021/07/22/soccer-player-quinn-is-the-first-out-trans-olympian-but-wont-be-the-last/ |title=Soccer player Quinn is the first out trans Olympian, but won't be the last |date=22 July 2021 |access-date=29 July 2021 |work=NBC Sports |archive-date=29 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729085857/https://onherturf.nbcsports.com/2021/07/22/soccer-player-quinn-is-the-first-out-trans-olympian-but-wont-be-the-last/ |url-status=live }}

File:Quinn June 2018.jpg was one of the first transgender athletes in the Olympics and the first to medal and win a gold medal]]

On 21 July 2021, at the same Games, Canadian soccer player Quinn became the first non-binary transgender person to compete and to win a medal competing at the Olympics, playing for the Canadian women's soccer team.{{cite web |date=2021-07-26 |title=First openly transgender Olympians are competing in Tokyo |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/first-openly-transgender-olympians-are-competing-tokyo-rcna1507 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729100952/https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/first-openly-transgender-olympians-are-competing-tokyo-rcna1507 |archive-date=2021-07-29 |access-date=2021-07-29 |website=NBC News}}{{cite web |title=Quinn: Canada's transgender footballer on being 'visible' and playing at the Olympics |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54233946 |website=BBC Sport |access-date=2021-07-29 |date=2020-09-23 |archive-date=23 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923152224/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54233946 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Football - Japan vs Canada - Group E Results |url=https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/football/results-women-gpe-000200-.htm |work=Tokyo 2020 Olympics |access-date=2021-07-29 |date=2021-07-21 |archive-date=2021-07-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726212839/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/football/results-women-gpe-000200-.htm |url-status=dead }} At the 2020 Summer Olympics, they became the first out, transgender Olympian to medal and win a gold medal.{{cite web|last1=Ring|first1=Trudy|date=26 July 2021|title=Quinn Is World's First Out Trans, Nonbinary Olympian|url=https://www.advocate.com/sports/2021/7/26/quinn-worlds-first-out-trans-nonbinary-olympian|access-date=4 August 2021|publisher=The Advocate|archive-date=3 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803210652/https://www.advocate.com/sports/2021/7/26/quinn-worlds-first-out-trans-nonbinary-olympian|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Hart|first1=Robert|date=6 August 2021|title=Canada's Quinn Makes History As First Openly Transgender And Nonbinary Athlete To Win Olympic Medal|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/08/06/canadas-quinn-makes-history-as-first-openly-transgender-and-nonbinary-athlete-to-win-olympic-medal/?sh=46d6911ad61e|access-date=6 August 2021|work=Forbes|archive-date=6 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806153148/https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/08/06/canadas-quinn-makes-history-as-first-openly-transgender-and-nonbinary-athlete-to-win-olympic-medal/?sh=46d6911ad61e|url-status=live}} Alana Smith, a non-binary skateboarder, represented the United States in the women's skateboarding semifinals of the 2020 Summer Olympics.{{cite web |last=Parsons |first=Vic |date=2021-07-30 |title=Non-binary Olympian Alana Smith shares moving message |url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/07/30/alana-smith-non-binary-olympics/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801111336/https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/07/30/alana-smith-non-binary-olympics/ |archive-date=2021-08-01 |access-date=2021-08-01 |website=pinknews.co.uk}}

In November 2021 the IOC issued a non-legally binding framework that focuses on ten principles of inclusion: "prevention of harm, non-discrimination, fairness, no presumption of advantage, evidence-based approach, primacy of health and bodily autonomy, stakeholder-centered approach, right to privacy and periodic reviews". The new guidelines have been described as loosening rules that impede transgender and intersex athlete's participation in Olympic sports, with enforcement of sport-specific rules governing inclusion.{{Cite web|date=2021-11-16|title=IOC sets new guidance for gender identity policies|url=https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/32645620/ioc-provides-framework-international-federations-develop-their-own-eligibility-criteria-transgender-intersex-athletes|access-date=2021-11-16|website=ESPN.com|language=en|archive-date=3 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803145915/https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/32645620/ioc-provides-framework-international-federations-develop-their-own-eligibility-criteria-transgender-intersex-athletes|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |date=2021-11-16 |title=IOC gives sports new guidance on transgender athlete rules |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/ioc-gives-sports-guidance-transgender-205037104.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116213107/https://sports.yahoo.com/ioc-gives-sports-guidance-transgender-205037104.html |archive-date=2021-11-16 |access-date=2021-11-16 |website=sports.yahoo.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=IOC walks back transgender and intersex athlete policy, but passes buck on ensuring inclusion|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/olympics-transgender-athlete-rules-ioc-policy-framework-194620455.html|access-date=2021-11-16|website=sports.yahoo.com|date=16 November 2021|language=en-US|archive-date=16 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116213103/https://sports.yahoo.com/olympics-transgender-athlete-rules-ioc-policy-framework-194620455.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=IOC Framework On Fairness, Inclusion, and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations |url=https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/Beyond-the-Games/Human-Rights/IOC-Framework-Fairness-Inclusion-Non-discrimination-2021.pdf |website=stillmed.olympics.com |publisher=International Olympic Committee |access-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922175628/https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/Beyond-the-Games/Human-Rights/IOC-Framework-Fairness-Inclusion-Non-discrimination-2021.pdf |archive-date=22 September 2022 |date=16 November 2021 |url-status=live}}

On February 18, 2022, Timothy LeDuc became the first openly non-binary athlete to compete in a Winter Olympics in Beijing. They competed in pairs figure skating alongside their skating partner Ashley Cain-Gribble for Team USA.{{Cite web | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/timothy-leduc-nonbinary-winter-olympics_n_6210889ce4b0f93b2618c1da | title=Timothy LeDuc Makes History as 1st Openly Nonbinary U.S. Winter Olympian | date=19 February 2022 | access-date=19 February 2022 | archive-date=19 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219073723/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/timothy-leduc-nonbinary-winter-olympics_n_6210889ce4b0f93b2618c1da | url-status=live }}{{Cite web | url=https://www.outsports.com/olympics/2022/2/1/22912014/timothy-leduc-nonbinary-2022-winter-olympics-figure-skating-lgbtq-beijing-china-ashley-cain-gribble | title=Timothy LeDuc breaks the binary in Beijing | date=February 2022 | access-date=19 February 2022 | archive-date=19 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219073723/https://www.outsports.com/olympics/2022/2/1/22912014/timothy-leduc-nonbinary-2022-winter-olympics-figure-skating-lgbtq-beijing-china-ashley-cain-gribble | url-status=live }}

Starting from 31 March 2023, all male-to-female transgender athletes who have been through male puberty were excluded from female World Rankings competitions.{{cite web |title=World Athletics Council decides on Russia, Belarus and female eligibility {{!}} PRESS-RELEASES {{!}} World Athletics |url=https://worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/council-meeting-march-2023-russia-belarus-female-eligibility |website=worldathletics.org |access-date=15 May 2023 |archive-date=14 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514072244/https://worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/council-meeting-march-2023-russia-belarus-female-eligibility |url-status=live }} Previously in October 2019, World Athletics had allowed trans athletes with a testosterone level limited at 5 nmol/L.{{Cite web|url = https://runningmagazine.ca/the-scene/iaaf-rules-on-trans-athletes-testosterone-levels/|title = IAAF rules on trans athletes' testosterone levels|date = 16 October 2019|access-date = 29 February 2020|archive-date = 29 February 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200229005751/https://runningmagazine.ca/the-scene/iaaf-rules-on-trans-athletes-testosterone-levels/|url-status = live}} According to regulations from October 2019, in order for a trans woman to compete in the women's category: "3.2.1 she must provide a written and signed declaration, in a form satisfactory to the Medical Manager, that her gender identity is female; 3.2.2 she must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Expert Panel (on the balance of probabilities), in accordance with clause 4, that the concentration of testosterone in her serum has been less than 5 nmol/L continuously for a period of at least 12 months; and 3.2.3 she must keep her serum testosterone concentration below 5 nmol/L for so long as she wishes to maintain her eligibility to compete in the female category of competition."https://www.iaaf.org/download/download?filename=63067c17-1ab4-4a08-a132-5e36bda5fc61.pdf&urlslug=Eligibility%20Regulations%20for%20Transgender%20Athletes%2C%20in%20force%20from%201%20October%202019 {{Dead link|date=February 2022}} World Athletics also has rules for intersex/differences of sex development (DSD) athletes. DSD athletes will be subjected to specific rules if they have XY male chromosomes, testes rather than ovaries, have circulating testosterone within the typical male range (7.7 to 29.4 nmol/L), and are androgen-sensitive so that their body makes use of that testosterone. World Athletics requires that any such athlete must reduce their blood testosterone level to 5 nmol/L or lower for a six-month period before becoming eligible for track running events from 400 metres to the mile run in international competition, though World Athletics publicly remains open to extending this to other events based on new scientific study. World Athletics created these rules as a way to ensure fair competition in the women's category.{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldathletics.org/news/press-release/questions-answers-iaaf-female-eligibility-reg|title=IAAF publishes briefing notes and Q&A on Female Eligibility Regulations | PRESS-RELEASE | World Athletics|access-date=29 February 2020|archive-date=16 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191116212813/https://www.worldathletics.org/news/press-release/questions-answers-iaaf-female-eligibility-reg|url-status=live}}

In June 2022, the International Swimming Federation (FINA), an organization that administers international aquatic sports competitions, voted to bar all transgender athletes from competing in professional women's swimming, with the exception of athletes who "can establish to FINA's comfortable satisfaction that they have not experienced any part of male puberty beyond Tanner Stage 2 (of puberty) or before age 12, whichever is later". FINA also announced the creation of an "open" category for transgender swimmers to compete in.{{Cite web |date=2022-06-19 |title=Transgender swimmers barred from women's events |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/19/world-swimming-body-adopts-new-policy-for-transgender-athletes |access-date=2022-06-20 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en |archive-date=20 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620183331/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/19/world-swimming-body-adopts-new-policy-for-transgender-athletes |url-status=live }}

World Rugby, the sport's governing body, released the "World Rugby Transgender Guideline" in 2020. The guideline is based on player safety and performance advantage. National Rugby governing bodies are encouraged to use the guideline with flexibility to set domestic rules. The Guideline operates as a policy in all World Rugby Tournaments.{{Cite web |title=Transgender Guidelines |url=https://www.world.rugby/the-game/player-welfare/guidelines/transgender |access-date=2022-08-10 |website=World Rugby |archive-date=21 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821145053/https://www.world.rugby/the-game/player-welfare/guidelines/transgender |url-status=live }}

As of 2022, transgender women are not allowed to participate in World Rugby sanctioned events. World Rugby states that trans women would retain performance advantage and put other athletes at risk of injury. Transgender men, regardless of whether they transitioned pre- or post-puberty, may play men's rugby if they provide confirmation they have the physical ability to ensure they are not putting themselves at unacceptable risk. Transgender men who have begun a sex reassignment process that includes supplementing with testosterone may not play women's rugby.

In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman said that the WBC would ban trans fighters from competing against cis fighters, and would instead introduce a separate trans category of competition wherein athletes would be divided by their gender assigned at birth. Sulaiman called for current fighters who may be trans to come forward and register accordingly.{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/boxing/2022/12/29/exclusive-boxing-introduce-new-transgender-category/ |title=Exclusive: Boxing to introduce new transgender category |last1=Davies |first1=Gareth |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=29 December 2022 |access-date=2 February 2023 |archive-date=2 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202132927/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/boxing/2022/12/29/exclusive-boxing-introduce-new-transgender-category/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/world-boxing-council-plans-create-090741074.html |title=The World Boxing Council plans to create transgender category |last1=Powell |first1=Jon |date=30 December 2022 |access-date=2 February 2023 |archive-date=3 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803150417/https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/world-boxing-council-plans-create-090741074.html |url-status=live }}

In 2023, the International Sport Fishing Confederation (Confédération Internationale de la Pêche Sportive) enacted a ban on trans women from competing in the women's competition category, citing a perceived physical advantage at fishing. This decision was criticised by some as discriminatory, while gender critical advocates hailed it as a victory for future generations.{{Cite news |last=Bowen |first=Flora |title=Trans anglers banned from women's competitions by world sporting body |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/09/30/trans-anglers-banned-womens-competitions-by-sporting-body/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231122160232/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/09/30/trans-anglers-banned-womens-competitions-by-sporting-body/ |archive-date=22 November 2023 |access-date=5 December 2023 |work=The Telegraph}}

In August 2023, the International Chess Federation, or FIDE, implemented a ban on trans women from playing chess in official FIDE women's tournaments as well as tournaments providing qualification spots to the Women's Chess World Cup. Additionally, they implemented rules stripping trans men of any women's titles they might have earned while competing as women.{{Cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/trans-gender-chess-players-lose-titles-biological-birth-jhfdckm0c |title=Trans women banned from top level female chess |work=The Times UK |access-date=5 December 2023 |archive-date=3 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803150428/https://www.thetimes.com/article/trans-gender-chess-players-lose-titles-biological-birth-jhfdckm0c |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |url=https://www.themarysue.com/transgender-chess-fide-transphobia/ |work=The Mary Sue |title=Oh Great, Now I Can't Play Chess Because I'm Trans |access-date=5 December 2023 |archive-date=14 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114155045/https://www.themarysue.com/transgender-chess-fide-transphobia/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=B. Permanent Commissions / 03. Regulations on Registration & Licensing of Players / Transgender Registration Regulations / FIDE Handbook |url=https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/TransgenderRegulations |website=International Chess Federation (FIDE) |access-date=20 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240122224709/https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/TransgenderRegulations |archive-date=22 January 2024 |language=en}}

In December 2024, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and the United States Golf Association (USGA) published new policies that state in order to compete as female in their tournaments, players must either be assigned female at birth, or have transitioned to female before undergoing male puberty. The policies go into effect in 2025.{{cite news |title=LPGA says its players must be female at birth or transition before puberty |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/dec/04/lpga-says-its-players-must-be-female-at-birth-or-transition-before-puberty |access-date=4 December 2024 |work=The Guardian |agency=Associated Press |date=4 December 2024}}

Canadian sport organizations must comply with the Canadian Human Rights Act, which includes gender identity and expression as a prohibited ground for discrimination.{{Cite web |title=Government Bill (House of Commons) C-16 (42-1) - First Reading - An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code - Parliament of Canada |url=https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/bill/C-16/first-reading/ |access-date=2022-08-10 |website=www.parl.ca |language=en-ca |archive-date=18 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818164321/https://parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/bill/C-16/first-reading |url-status=live }}{{synthesis inline|date=March 2024}}

In 2016, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) published guidance on Trans inclusion and participation in response to requests for information from various national and regional sports administration bodies. The guidance sets out that, until international rules apply, athletes should be able to participate in the gender with which they identify without being subject to any requirements that are different from those of cisgender athletes, unless there is a specific and legitimate reason for the requirement.{{Cite web |last=TransInclusion in SportExpert Working Group |date=August 10, 2022 |title="Creating Inclusive Environments for Trans Participants in Canadian Sport" |url=https://cces.ca/sites/default/files/content/docs/pdf/cces-transinclusionpolicyguidance-e.pdf |website=Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport |access-date=24 August 2022 |archive-date=17 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117201422/https://cces.ca/sites/default/files/content/docs/pdf/cces-transinclusionpolicyguidance-e.pdf |url-status=live }}

As an athlete moves into competitions governed by international rules, the athlete will decide whether to compete under the applicable international rules. Canadian sport organizations should not consider the athlete's ultimate decision when selecting athletes to represent Canada in international competitions.

Some sports organizations such as viaSport, Ringette Canada, and Gymnastics Canada have policies which align to the CCES guidance.{{cite web |title=Viasport Trans Athlete Inclusion Policy |url=https://www.viasport.ca/sites/default/files/LGBTQI2S_Trans_Athlete_Inclusion_Guidelines.pdf |website=viasport.ca |access-date=24 August 2022 |archive-date=25 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125195307/https://www.viasport.ca/sites/default/files/LGBTQI2S_Trans_Athlete_Inclusion_Guidelines.pdf |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |title=Ringette Canada Trans-inclusion Policy |url=https://www.ringette.ca/wp-content/uploads/policies/Trans-Inclusion-Policy.pdf |website=ringette.ca |access-date=24 August 2022 |archive-date=10 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810222835/https://www.ringette.ca/wp-content/uploads/policies/Trans-Inclusion-Policy.pdf |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Gymnastics Canada Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy |url=http://gymcan.org/uploads/programs/gymcan_dei_policy_june2021_en.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628230115/http://gymcan.org/uploads/programs/gymcan_dei_policy_june2021_en.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 June 2021 |website=gymcan.org |access-date=24 August 2022 }} Rugby Canada responded to World Rugby's guidance by releasing a statement recommitting to the "Rugby Canada TransInclusion Policy", which is aligned to the CCES guidance.{{cite web |title=RUGBY CANADA PROVIDES UPDATE ON FEEDBACK TO PROPOSED TRANSGENDER GUIDELINES |url=https://rugby.ca/en/news/2020/09/rugby-canada-provides-update-on-feedback-to-proposed-transgender-guidelines |website=Rugby Canada |date=3 September 2020 |access-date=24 August 2022 |language=en |archive-date=3 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803150917/https://rugby.ca/en/news/2020/09/rugby-canada-provides-update-on-feedback-to-proposed-transgender-guidelines |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Rugby Canada Trans Inclusion Policy |url=https://rugby.ca/uploads/Documents/TransInclusionPolicyEN_DEV_POL_20190101_FINAL.pdf |website=Rugby Canada |access-date=24 August 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004053130/https://rugby.ca/uploads/Documents/TransInclusionPolicyEN_DEV_POL_20190101_FINAL.pdf |url-status=live }} Others, like Swimming Canada, have not fully aligned to the CCES guidance. For example, to swim in national selection events, transgender swimmers must provide written proof that they are eligible for international competition from the international swimming federation to Swimming Canada.{{Cite web |title=Senior Teams Selection Criteria – Swimming Canada |url=https://www.swimming.ca/en/resources/teams-selection-policies/senior-teams-selection-criteria/ |access-date=2022-08-10 |website=www.swimming.ca |archive-date=10 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810222834/https://www.swimming.ca/en/resources/teams-selection-policies/senior-teams-selection-criteria/ |url-status=live }} Canadian Women and Sport, a group advocating for the advancement of women and girls in sport, does not believe the inclusion of transgender women and girls threatens the advancement of women in sport.{{Cite web |title=Position Statement: Trans Inclusion in Sport |url=https://womenandsport.ca/resources/research-insights/trans-inclusion-in-sport/ |access-date=2022-08-10 |website=Canadian Women & Sport |language=en-CA |archive-date=10 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810182623/https://womenandsport.ca/resources/research-insights/trans-inclusion-in-sport/ |url-status=live }}

Public opinion polling indicates most Canadians believe it is unfair for transgender women to compete in women's sports.{{Cite web |last=Lau |first=Ai-Men |date=2021-08-04 |title=By a four-to-one margin, Canadians believe transgender athletes' participation in women's sport is "unfair": New MLI poll |url=https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/gender-womens-sports-poll/ |access-date=2022-08-10 |website=Macdonald-Laurier Institute |language=en-US |archive-date=2 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702145022/https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/gender-womens-sports-poll/ |url-status=live }}

Most major sports in the UK ban transgender women from competing in the female category.

UK Athletics announced a ban in March 2023,{{Cite news |date=31 March 2023 |title=UK Athletics bans transgender athletes from female competition |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/mar/31/uk-athletics-bans-transgender-athletes-from-female-competition |work=The Guardian}} following a similar ban by World Athletics.{{Cite news |date=23 March 2023 |title=World Athletics bans transgender women from competing in female world ranking events |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/65051900 |access-date=1 June 2025 |work=BBC Sport |language=en-GB}}

The England and Wales Cricket Board announced in May 2025 that only those whose biological sex was female would be able to participate in women's and girls' cricket.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/articles/c0l0rje87y5o |title=ECB bans transgender women from women's cricket |date=2 May 2025 |accessdate=1 June 2025}}

The Football Association's policy, from 1 June 2025, is that transgender women are not allowed to play in women's football in England.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cz01z4rdx4no |title=FA bars transgender women from women's football |date=1 May 2025 |accessdate=1 June 2025}} The Scottish Football Association's policy is that only biological females will be permitted to play in competitive girls' and women's football which is governed by the Scottish FA from the start of season 2025/6.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj3xg4l7774o |title=SFA bans trans women competing in women's football |date=29 April 2025 |access-date=1 June 2025 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/news/scottish-fa-updates-participation-policy-following-supreme-court-judgement/#:~:text=Under%20the%20Scottish%20FA%20Player,start%20of%20the%20new%20season. |title=Scottish FA updates participation policy following Supreme Court judgement |date=1 May 2025 |accessdate=1 June 2025}}

England Netball policy, from 1 September 2025, will be to recognise female netball, male netball and mixed netball as three distinct gender participation categories with the female category exclusively for players born female, irrespective of their gender identity.{{cite web |url=https://help.centre.englandnetball.co.uk/wiki/spaces/EKC/pages/370802697/Gender+Eligibility+and+Participation+Policy+and+Documents |title=Gender Eligibility and Participation Policy and Documents |accessdate=1 June 2025}}

British Rowing announced a ban on transgender women competing in the female category from September 2023{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rowing/66393959 |title=British Rowing: Transgender women banned from competing in female category |work=BBC Sport |date=3 August 2023 |accessdate=1 June 2025}}

Both the Rugby Football League and the Rugby Football Union decided to ban transgender women from playing in women's rugby in 2022 in moves that followed a similar ban by World Rugby in 2020.{{Cite web |last=worldrugby.org |title=Transgender Guidelines {{!}} World Rugby |url=https://www.world.rugby/the-game/player-welfare/guidelines/transgender |access-date=1 June 2025 |website=www.world.rugby}} Both organisations described this as "a precautionary approach".{{Cite web|url= https://www.bbc.com/sport/62349297.amp|title= RFL and RFU ban transgender women from competing in female-only forms of their games|date= 29 July 2022|access-date= 2 February 2023|archive-date= 30 July 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220730145011/https://www.bbc.com/sport/62349297.amp|url-status= live}}

In July 2022, the British Triathlon issued a blanket policy banning any athletes not assigned female at birth above the age of 12 from competing, instead requiring them to compete in a newly announced "open" category.{{Cite web |url= https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/07/06/british-triathlon-open-category-trans-non-binary/ |title= British Triathlon bans trans athletes from women's competitions and announces 'open' category |last1= Baska |first1= Maggie |date= 6 July 2022 |access-date= 1 June 2025 |archive-date= 30 July 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220730144940/https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/07/06/british-triathlon-open-category-trans-non-binary/ |url-status= live }}

British Cycling banned transgender women from participating in competitive events in the women's category in May 2023 stating, "Research studies indicate that even with the suppression of testosterone, transgender women who transition post-puberty retain a performance advantage,".{{cite news |title=British Cycling to ban trans women from female events |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/65718748 |access-date=1 June 2025 |work=BBC Sport |archive-date=26 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526100546/https://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/65718748 |url-status=live }}

Sport New Zealand and High Performance Sport New Zealand, crown agencies that lead active recreation and sport across New Zealand,{{Cite web |title=Sport NZ {{!}} High Performance {{!}} Sport New Zealand - Ihi Aotearoa |url=https://sportnz.org.nz/about/who-we-are/ |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=Sport New Zealand {{!}} Ihi Aotearoa |language=en |archive-date=15 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815065425/https://sportnz.org.nz/about/who-we-are/ |url-status=live }} are developing guiding principles for the inclusion of transgender participants in community sport.{{Cite web |title=Guiding Principles for the Transgender Participants {{!}} Sport New Zealand - Ihi Aotearoa |url=https://sportnz.org.nz/diversity-and-inclusion/transgender-inclusion/guiding-principles-for-the-inclusion-of-transgender-participants-in-community-sport/ |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=Sport New Zealand {{!}} Ihi Aotearoa |language=en |archive-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812211854/https://sportnz.org.nz/diversity-and-inclusion/transgender-inclusion/guiding-principles-for-the-inclusion-of-transgender-participants-in-community-sport/ |url-status=live }} This publication will guide sport and recreation organizations at a national level toward developing a policy within their respective sport codes covering transgender inclusion in community sport, but not elite sport.{{Cite web |title=Transgender Inclusion {{!}} Sport New Zealand - Ihi Aotearoa |url=https://sportnz.org.nz/diversity-and-inclusion/transgender-inclusion/ |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=Sport New Zealand {{!}} Ihi Aotearoa |language=en |archive-date=2022-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812211848/https://sportnz.org.nz/diversity-and-inclusion/transgender-inclusion/ |url-status=dead }}

New Zealand Rugby is reviewing its own transgender guidelines for grassroots community rugby with Sport New Zealand in consultation with stakeholders.{{Cite news |date=2022-06-22 |title=New Zealand Rugby consults on transgender policy |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/new-zealand-rugby-consults-transgender-policy-2022-06-22/ |access-date=2022-08-12 |archive-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812211847/https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/new-zealand-rugby-consults-transgender-policy-2022-06-22/ |url-status=live }} Their stance on elite sport remains consistent with World Rugby's transgender eligibility and participation policy for professional rugby.

In June 2019, Sport Australia and the Australian Human Rights Commission published a report together with the Coalition of Major Professional and Participation Sports (COMPPS).{{Cite web |date=June 2019 |title=Guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in sport |url=https://www.sportaus.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/706184/Trans_and_Gender_Diverse_Guidelines_2019.pdf |access-date=2022-08-24 |website=Australian Sports Commission |language=English}} The report is targeted to sporting organizations at all levels from community sport to elite sport in the context of promoting an inclusive environment for transgender and gender diverse people in sport across the country. The COMPPS consists of member organisations in Australia including: Australian Football League, Cricket Australia, Football Federation Australia, National Rugby League, Netball Australia, Rugby Australia and Tennis Australia.

Rugby Australia released guidelines which permit transgender participants to play the game on a case-by-case basis for community rugby competitions at the amateur level, but remain aligned with World Rugby's policy for professional rugby.{{cite web |title=Community Guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in rugby |url=https://d26phqdbpt0w91.cloudfront.net/NonVideo/6a1ddf88-90a8-40c3-86c6-d56083985674.pdf |website=Rugby Australia |access-date=24 August 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404211309/https://d26phqdbpt0w91.cloudfront.net/NonVideo/6a1ddf88-90a8-40c3-86c6-d56083985674.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Coetzee |first=Dylan |date=2022-07-25 |title=Rugby Australia: No change needed in gender participation policy |url=https://www.planetrugby.com/rugby-australia-no-change-needed-in-governing-bodys-gender-participation-policy |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=PlanetRugby |language=en |archive-date=16 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816221951/https://www.planetrugby.com/rugby-australia-no-change-needed-in-governing-bodys-gender-participation-policy/ |url-status=live }}

In August 2019, Cricket Australia released their guidelines for inclusion.{{Cite web |title=Guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in community cricket |url=https://www.community.cricket.com.au/-/media/communitycricketcomau/Files/Clubs/2020%20Website%20Updates/Protecting%20your%20club/Policies%20and%20Guidelines/Transgender/6104%20Gender%20Diverse%20People%20In%20Cricket%20Guidelines.ashx |access-date=2022-08-24 |website=www.community.cricket.com.au |archive-date=2022-10-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221019072041/https://www.community.cricket.com.au/-/media/communitycricketcomau/Files/Clubs/2020%20Website%20Updates/Protecting%20your%20club/Policies%20and%20Guidelines/Transgender/6104%20Gender%20Diverse%20People%20In%20Cricket%20Guidelines.ashx |url-status=dead }} The guidelines serve to promote an inclusive environment for gender diverse participants playing community cricket and allows players to participate in the gender with which they identify rather than their sex, without requiring medical examinations.{{Cite web |title=Sport |url=https://www.transhub.org.au/sport |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=TransHub |language=en-AU |archive-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812211848/https://www.transhub.org.au/sport |url-status=live }}

In terms of grassroots sport clubs, the Australian not-for-profit sporting inclusion program Pride In Sport maintains a directory of independent LGBTQ sporting clubs in Australia. This listing published an extensive number of sports having at least one club within each of the states and territories of the country.{{Cite web |title=LGBTQ Sports Club Directory |url=https://www.prideinsport.com.au/lgbtq-sports-club-directory/ |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=Pride in Sport |language=en-AU}}

{{expand section|information about transgender children and sports in other countries|date=August 2016}}

In July 2019, Sport Australia published guidelines on making sport more inclusive for transgender and gender-diverse people.{{Cite web |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2019-06-13-australia-seeks-to-bring-more-transgender-people-to-sports |title=Australia seeks to bring more transgender people to sports |date=2019-06-13 |website=Agence France-Presse |access-date=2019-07-22 |archive-date=22 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722202237/https://mg.co.za/article/2019-06-13-australia-seeks-to-bring-more-transgender-people-to-sports |url-status=live }}

Provincial governing bodies for high school sports have independent policies on the participation of transgender or non-binary athletes on sex-segregated teams. Organizations such as the Alberta Schools' Athletic Association, the Manitoba High Schools Athletics Association and BC School Sports each have policies that allow the participation of transgender student-athletes in accordance with their gender identity.{{Cite web|url=https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/2bc3fc_c35c84b268804cf7a7cd7b3d1279cdc7.pdf|title=Official Handbook - Alberta Schools' Athletic Association (2017-2018)|website=Alberta Schools' Athletic Association|access-date=25 September 2019|archive-date=3 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803150807/https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/2bc3fc_c35c84b268804cf7a7cd7b3d1279cdc7.pdf|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.mhsaa.ca/about/transgender-policy/|title=Transgender Policy|website=Manitoba High School Athletic Association|access-date=2019-09-25|archive-date=12 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512223324/https://www.mhsaa.ca/about/transgender-policy/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bcschoolsports.ca/sites/default/files/2019%20-%202020%20BCSS%20HANDBOOK%20FINAL.pdf|title=BC School Sports Handbook (2019-2020)|website=BC School Sports Handbook|access-date=25 September 2019|archive-date=9 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809163645/https://www.bcschoolsports.ca/sites/default/files/2019%20-%202020%20BCSS%20HANDBOOK%20FINAL.pdf|url-status=live}}

Transgender or non-binary student-athletes looking to compete in a team consistent with their gender identity in British Columbia must submit an application to the BC School Sports Executive Director, and are required to have a written statement from both the student-athlete and the principal of their high school confirming their gender identity.

{{further|2020s anti-LGBT movement in the United States#Sports bans}}

[[File:Map of US laws regarding transgender athletes.svg|350px|thumb|Map of state laws banning transgender athletes from competing under their gender identity, as of September 2022:

{{legend|#cc3333|Laws ban trans athletes from participating in sports based on gender identity; enforcing gender classification by registered biological sex}}

{{legend|#ef6548|Laws banning trans athletes from participating in sport under their gender identity are enacted, but currently blocked from enforcement via court order{{cite web | url=https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/bpj-v-west-virginia-state-board-education-order-granting-preliminary-injunction | title=B.P.J. V. West Virginia State Board of Education - Order Granting Preliminary Injunction | access-date=2 May 2023 | archive-date=5 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405054556/https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/bpj-v-west-virginia-state-board-education-order-granting-preliminary-injunction | url-status=live }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.aclu.org/cases/hecox-v-little|title=Hecox v. Little|website=American Civil Liberties Union|access-date=13 April 2023|archive-date=12 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512132024/https://www.aclu.org/cases/hecox-v-little|url-status=live}}}}]]

There are no rules federally to regulate inclusion of transgender children.{{cite journal |last1=Acklin |first1=Kayla |date=19 April 2017 |title='Hurdling' Gender Identity Discrimination: The Implications of State Participation Policies on Transgender Youth Athletes' Ability to Thrive |url=https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/jlsj/vol37/iss1/4/ |journal=Boston College Journal of Law & Social Justice |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=107–145 |id={{ProQuest|1903812536}} |access-date=16 August 2020 |archive-date=5 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805125606/https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/jlsj/vol37/iss1/4/ |url-status=live }} States vary widely on participation of transgender children in sports and which locker room those students should use.Sandhya Somashkhar (October 2, 2014). "A question for schools: Which sports teams should transgender students play on?". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 25, 2016.{{cite web |author=Katy Steinmetz |date=July 16, 2015 |title=The Case for Allowing Transgender Athletes in Youth Sports |url=https://time.com/3961696/transgender-athletes-school-sports/ |access-date=August 25, 2016 |newspaper=Time |archive-date=26 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826052506/http://time.com/3961696/transgender-athletes-school-sports/ |url-status=live }} Many states have tried to mimic the NCAA and IOC rules that rely on testosterone level tests to determine when a trans woman can participate in women's sports competitions. These kinds of rules are more difficult to enforce in secondary education because of the lack of resources to test testosterone levels, and medical professionals are often hesitant to prescribe minors hormones.

An anti-LGBT movement in the United States emerging in the early 2020s has advocated against allowing transgender children to play in sports under their gender identity.{{Cite news |last=Chung |first=Andrew |date=2023-04-07 |title=U.S. Supreme Court declines to allow West Virginia transgender athlete ban |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-declines-allow-west-virginia-transgender-athlete-ban-2023-04-06/ |access-date=2023-08-25 |archive-date=29 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230829103506/https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-declines-allow-west-virginia-transgender-athlete-ban-2023-04-06/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=McKee |first=Jake |date=2023-02-14 |title=Number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills filed by US lawmakers in 2023 already higher than 2022 |url=https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/02/14/anti-lgbtq-bills-us-legislative-tracking-dont-say-gay/ |access-date=2023-08-25 |website=PinkNews |language=en-US |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825230533/https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/02/14/anti-lgbtq-bills-us-legislative-tracking-dont-say-gay/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Susan |title='War' on LGBTQ existence: 8 ways the record onslaught of 650 bills targets the community |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/03/31/650-anti-lgbtq-bills-introduced-us/11552357002/ |website=USA Today |access-date=17 July 2023 |archive-date=July 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230717153641/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/03/31/650-anti-lgbtq-bills-introduced-us/11552357002/ |url-status=live }} 26 U.S. States have banned transgender people from sports under their gender identity in various capacities. These states include Texas,{{cite web | url=https://www.texastribune.org/2022/01/18/texas-transgender-sports-law/ | title=Trans kids and supporters say new Texas law will keep them out of school sports | date=January 18, 2022 }} Arkansas,{{cite web | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/arkansas-governor-signs-transgender-sports-ban-law-n1262162 | title=Arkansas governor signs transgender sports ban into law | website=NBC News | date=March 26, 2021 }} Florida,{{cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/2021/06/02/1002405412/on-the-first-day-of-pride-month-florida-signed-a-transgender-athlete-bill-into-l | title=On the First Day of Pride Month, Florida Signed a Transgender Athlete Bill into Law | website=NPR | date=June 2, 2021 }} Alabama,{{Cite web |title=Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey Signs Anti-Trans Sports Bill into Law |url=https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/alabama-gov-kay-ivey-signs-anti-trans-sports-bill-into-law |access-date=2022-06-03 |website=Human Rights Campaign|date=April 23, 2021 }} Oklahoma,{{cite web | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/oklahoma-governor-signs-transgender-sports-ban-rcna22210 | title=Oklahoma governor signs transgender sports ban | website=NBC News | date=March 30, 2022 }} Kentucky,{{cite web | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/kentucky-legislature-overrides-governors-veto-transgender-sports-ban-rcna24303 | title=Kentucky Legislature overrides governor's veto of transgender sports ban | website=NBC News | date=April 13, 2022 }} Mississippi,{{cite web | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/mississippi-governor-signs-bill-banning-trans-athletes-school-sports-n1260709 | title=Mississippi governor signs bill banning trans athletes from school sports | website=NBC News | date=March 11, 2021 }} Tennessee,{{cite news | url=https://www.si.com/college/2022/05/06/tennessee-governor-signs-legislation-banning-collegiate-transgender-athletes | title=Tennessee Governor Signs Legislation Banning Collegiate Transgender Athletes | newspaper=Sports Illustrated | date=May 6, 2022 }} West Virginia,{{Cite web |title=West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice Signs Anti-Trans Sports Bill into Law |url=https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/west-virginia-gov-jim-justice-signs-anti-trans-sports-bill-into-law |access-date=2022-06-03 |website=Human Rights Campaign|date=April 28, 2021 }} South Carolina,{{cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/2022/05/17/1099501287/south-carolina-trans-transgender-sports-ban | title=South Carolina becomes the latest state to enact a transgender sports ban | website=NPR | date=May 17, 2022 }} Utah,{{cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/2022/03/25/1088908741/utah-transgender-athletes-veto-override | title=Utah bans transgender athletes in girls sports despite governor's veto | website=NPR | date=March 25, 2022 }} South Dakota,{{cite web | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/south-dakota-governor-signs-2022s-first-trans-athlete-ban-law-rcna14725 | title=South Dakota governor signs 2022's first trans athlete ban into law | website=NBC News | date=February 4, 2022 }} Montana,{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/07/montana-transgender-student-athletes-ban-bill | title=Montana governor signs bill banning transgender students from sports teams | website=TheGuardian.com | date=May 8, 2021 }} Iowa,{{cite news | url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2022/03/03/trans-transgender-girls-banned-womens-sports-kim-reynolds-lgbtq-iowa-signs-bill/9349887002/ | title=Kim Reynolds bans transgender girls from female sports, signing Republican-backed law | website=The Des Moines Register }} Arizona,{{cite news | url=https://www.si.com/college/2022/03/30/arizona-governor-signs-bill-banning-transgender-girls-sports | title=Arizona Governor Becomes Second Official to Sign Anti-Trans Sports Bill Wednesday | newspaper=Sports Illustrated | date=March 30, 2022 }} Idaho,{{cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/2021/05/03/991987280/idahos-transgender-sports-ban-faces-a-major-legal-hurdle | title=Idaho's Transgender Sports Ban Faces a Major Legal Hurdle | website=NPR }} Wyoming,{{cite web | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/wyoming-bans-transgender-youth-girls-sports-teams-rcna75894 | title=Wyoming bans transgender youths from girls' sports teams | website=NBC News | date=March 21, 2023 }} Indiana,{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/24/us/indiana-legislature-transgender-sports-ban.html | title=Indiana Lawmakers Override Transgender Sports Veto | newspaper=The New York Times | date=May 24, 2022 | last1=Smith | first1=Mitch }} Louisiana,{{cite web | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/louisiana-transgender-ban-girls-school-sports_n_62a090b2e4b0c770989a73ea | title=Louisiana Becomes Latest State to Ban Transgender Athletes in Schools | date=June 8, 2022 }} Kansas, Georgia,{{Cite web |title=Georgia High School Association Chooses to Discriminate Against Transgender Student Athletes, Issuing Ban Against Competing in High School Sports |date=May 4, 2022 |url=https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/georgia-high-school-association-chooses-to-discriminate-against-transgender-student-athletes-issuing-ban-against-competing-in-high-school-sports |access-date=2022-06-03}} North Dakota,{{cite news |title=North Dakota Bars Trans Girls and Women From Female Sports Teams |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/12/us/north-dakota-trans-women-girls-sports-ban.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=12 April 2023 |first=David W.|last=Chen}} New Hampshire,{{Cite web |date=2024-07-19 |title=Sununu signs bans on trans girls in girls' sports, gender affirming surgeries for minors |url=https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2024/07/19/sununu-signs-bills-limiting-transgender-youth-rights-sports-surgeries/ |access-date=2024-07-20 |website=New Hampshire Bulletin |language=en}} North Carolina, Alaska and Ohio. The passage of legislation against transgender youth has seen increases in calls to Trans Lifeline, a suicide crisis hotline run by and for transgender people.{{cite web | url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/texas-is-pushing-the-most-anti-trans-bills-in-the-country-advocates-fear-deadly-consequences | title=Texas is pushing the most anti-trans bills in the country. Advocates fear deadly consequences | website=PBS | date=September 13, 2021 }} Some of these bans only apply to school sports and some only apply to transgender women, but not transgender men. The US Department of Education has said transgender students are protected under Title IX.{{cite web | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trans-students-title-ix-biden_n_60cac64ee4b0587266d83004 | title=Trans Students Protected Under Title IX, Biden Administration Says | date=June 17, 2021}}

• In Indiana, schools rely on anatomical sex, requiring gender reassignment surgery for trans athletes to compete as their identified gender.{{cite news |last1=Andrews |first1=Malika |date=8 November 2017 |title=How Should High Schools Define Sexes for Transgender Athletes? |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/08/sports/transgender-athletes.html |access-date=22 October 2019 |archive-date=7 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407154919/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/08/sports/transgender-athletes.html |url-status=live }}
• Nebraska formed a Gender Identity Eligibility Committee that decides on a case-by-case basis.
• Texas, Alabama, North Carolina, Kentucky,{{cite journal |last1=Hacke |first1=Ray D. |year=2018 |title='Girls Will Be Boys, and Boys Will Be Girls': The Emergence of the Transgender Athlete and a Defensive Game Plan for High Schools That Want to Keep Their Playing Fields Level – For Athletes of Both Genders |journal=Texas Review of Entertainment & Sports Law |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=131–153}} Idaho, and Florida{{cite news |title=Florida governor bans transgender women and girls from school sports |language=en |work=www.nbcnews.com |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/florida-governor-bans-transgender-women-girls-school-sports-n1269238 |access-date=2 June 2021 |archive-date=1 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601234527/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1269238 |url-status=live }} require trans athletes to compete based on sex assigned at birth.
• In Alaska, Connecticut, Georgia, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, each school district makes their own decision on how to include trans athletes.
• Maine gives approval for students to choose which team they wish to play on, based on safety and fairness.
• New Jersey and New Mexico require that trans athletes provide evidence that they have transitioned or are transitioning.
• Missouri and Ohio require athletes to undergo hormone treatment. Ohio requires treatment for at least a year prior to competing.
• Oregon allows trans boys and men to participate on male teams. Trans girls and women must be on estrogen replacement therapy for at least a year.
• Iowa allows trans boys and men to participate on male teams, but bans trans girls and women from competing on female teams.{{cite news |title=Transgender girls and women now barred from female sports in Iowa |language=en |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/03/03/1084278181/transgender-girls-and-women-now-barred-from-female-sports-in-iowa |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-date=3 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303233313/https://www.npr.org/2022/03/03/1084278181/transgender-girls-and-women-now-barred-from-female-sports-in-iowa |url-status=live }}
• Oklahoma requires any student participating in sports to submit a notarized affidavit of gender assigned at birth, under penalty of perjury.{{Cite web |url= https://kfor.com/news/local/parents-of-student-athletes-required-to-sign-gender-form-by-state-law/ |title= Parents of student athletes required to sign gender form by state law |last1= Goins |first1= Adria |date= July 28, 2022 |access-date= 2 February 2023 |archive-date= 4 June 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230604193539/https://kfor.com/news/local/parents-of-student-athletes-required-to-sign-gender-form-by-state-law/amp/ |url-status= live }}

In March 2020, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed into law the "Fairness in Women's Sports Act", also known as House Bill 500. This legislation, the first of its kind in the United States, prohibits transgender athletes from competing in sports against athletes of the other biological sex. In April 2020, the ACLU and the Legal Voice filed a lawsuit, Hecox v. Little, arguing that this law violates the US Constitution and Title IX.{{cite news |last1=Moreau |first1=Julie |date=April 16, 2020 |title=Idaho's transgender sports ban challenged in federal court |work=NBC News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/idaho-s-transgender-sports-ban-challenged-federal-court-n1185381 |access-date=April 16, 2020 |archive-date=16 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200416175933/https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/idaho-s-transgender-sports-ban-challenged-federal-court-n1185381 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Kelley |first1=Alexandra |date=April 15, 2020 |title=Civil rights groups file federal lawsuit against Idaho's transgender sports ban |work=The Hill |url=https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/493020-civil-rights-groups-file-federal-lawsuit-against |access-date=April 16, 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Coyne |first1=Marley |date=April 15, 2020 |title=Idaho Banned Trans Athletes From Competing In Women's Sports—Now Federal Courts Will Weigh In |work=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/marleycoyne/2020/04/15/idaho-banned-trans-athletes-from-competing-in-womens-sports-now-federal-courts-will-weigh-in/#2cb0064c42d5 |access-date=April 16, 2020 |archive-date=17 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417014906/https://www.forbes.com/sites/marleycoyne/2020/04/15/idaho-banned-trans-athletes-from-competing-in-womens-sports-now-federal-courts-will-weigh-in/#2cb0064c42d5 |url-status=live }} On August 17, 2020, the United States District Court for the District of Idaho issued a preliminary injunction against the law pending trial, issuing an opinion that the plaintiffs were "likely to succeed in establishing [that] the Act is unconstitutional as currently written".{{Citation |title=Hecox v. Little |date=August 17, 2020 |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6821950830422058686&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr |issue=Case No. 1:20-cv-00184-DCN |access-date=2021-04-05 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411181223/https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6821950830422058686&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr |url-status=live }} On August 17, 2023, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this injunction.{{Cite news |last=Walsh |first=Mark |date=2021-05-04 |title=Appeals Court Weighs Idaho Law Barring Transgender Female Students From Girls' Sports |language=en |website=Education Week |url=https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/appeals-court-weighs-idaho-law-barring-transgender-female-students-from-girls-sports/2021/05 |access-date=2021-05-04}}{{cite web | url=https://www.aclu.org/cases/hecox-v-little | title=Hecox v. Little | access-date=13 April 2023 | archive-date=12 May 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512132024/https://www.aclu.org/cases/hecox-v-little | url-status=live }}

After women's high school competitions were won by transgender student Andraya Yearwood in Connecticut,{{Cite web |date=June 22, 2018 |title=Transgender track star teens cause controversy in Connecticut |url=https://abc7chicago.com/3637507/ |website=ABC7 Chicago |access-date=26 December 2019 |archive-date=26 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226134250/https://abc7chicago.com/3637507/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Transgender teens outrun track and field competitors but critics close behind |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/transgender-teens-outrun-track-field-competitors-critics-close/story?id=55856294 |website=ABC News |access-date=10 March 2019 |archive-date=12 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190312052808/https://abcnews.go.com/US/transgender-teens-outrun-track-field-competitors-critics-close/story?id=55856294 |url-status=live }} a lawsuit was filed against the Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) and several school boards in federal court to try to stop the participation of transgender athletes.{{Cite web |date=20 April 2021 |title=Girls sue to block participation of transgender athletes |url=https://apnews.com/article/danbury-us-news-ap-top-news-hartford-sports-general-8fd300537131153cc44e0cf2ade3244b |access-date=2021-05-04 |website=AP NEWS |archive-date=4 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504155152/https://apnews.com/article/danbury-us-news-ap-top-news-hartford-sports-general-8fd300537131153cc44e0cf2ade3244b |url-status=live }} The lawsuit was dismissed in April 2021 by the district court as moot, because Yearwood and Miller had graduated and the plaintiffs would not likely have to compete with transgender athletes in the next season.{{Cite web |last=Rondinone |first=Nicholas |date=2021-04-25 |title=Federal judge dismisses lawsuit seeking to bar transgender athletes from CT girls sports |url=https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Federal-judge-dismisses-lawsuit-seeking-to-bar-16128048.php |access-date=2021-05-04 |website=Connecticut Post |language=en-US |archive-date=2021-05-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504135344/https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Federal-judge-dismisses-lawsuit-seeking-to-bar-16128048.php |url-status=dead }}

In October 2021, women's sports icons Billie Jean King, World Cup Champion and United States women's national soccer team Co-Captain Megan Rapinoe, WNBA stars Brianna Turner, Layshia Clarendon, and over 150 athletes in women's sports spoke out in support of transgender athletes and filed an amicus brief in an appeal of the Soule v. CIAC trial court dismissal, along with the Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA), Athlete Ally, and the Women's Sports Foundation, in support of CIAC and affirming the dismissal.{{Cite web |date=14 October 2021 |title=Billie Jean King, Megan Rapinoe, Layshia Clarendon, and Brianna Turner Join More Than 150 Athletes and WNBPA in Supporting Trans Youth Participation in Sports |url=https://www.athleteally.org/bjk-rapinoe-clarendon-turner-ct-amicus-brief/ |access-date=18 October 2021 |archive-date=18 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018055547/https://www.athleteally.org/bjk-rapinoe-clarendon-turner-ct-amicus-brief/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/legal-docs/20211014_amicus-soule-v-ciac-0|title=Soule v. CIAC - Athletes in Women's Sports Amicus Brief|access-date=18 October 2021|archive-date=18 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018061529/https://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/legal-docs/20211014_amicus-soule-v-ciac-0|url-status=live}}

On December 16, 2022, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Appeals Court ruled against the plaintiffs, citing the 2020 decision Bostock v. Clayton County, in which the Supreme Court ruled discrimination against transgender employees violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.{{Cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/conn-rule-allowing-transgender-athletes-girls-school-sports-upheld-2022-12-16/ |title=Conn. rule allowing transgender athletes in girls' school sports upheld |website=Reuters |access-date=17 December 2022 |archive-date=17 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217070004/https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/conn-rule-allowing-transgender-athletes-girls-school-sports-upheld-2022-12-16/ |url-status=live }}

On June 1, 2021, Florida Governor DeSantis signed into law the "Fairness in Women's Sports Act" (SB 1028), which banned transgender athletes in public secondary schools and colleges from playing on girls' or women's sports teams.{{Cite web |title=Governor Ron DeSantis Signs Fairness in Women's Sports Act |url=https://www.flgov.com/2021/06/01/governor-ron-desantis-signs-fairness-in-womens-sports-act/ |access-date=2023-11-29 |language=en-US |archive-date=28 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128215233/https://www.flgov.com/2021/06/01/governor-ron-desantis-signs-fairness-in-womens-sports-act/ |url-status=live }}  On June 29, 2021, D.N., born male but identified as female, then 13 years old, filed a complaint with the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, challenging the law.{{Cite web |title=Florida Transgender Athlete Ban Violates Title IX, Lawsuit Says |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/florida-transgender-athlete-ban-violates-title-ix-lawsuit-says |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=news.bloomberglaw.com |language=en |archive-date=1 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601165219/https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/florida-transgender-athlete-ban-violates-title-ix-lawsuit-says |url-status=live }} According to the complaint, D.N. played soccer on the girls' team at middle school and sought to play on the girls' high school team. On November 6, 2023, the court upheld the Florida law.{{Cite news |title=Transgender Athlete Ban Survives Challenge From Florida Teenager |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/transgender-athlete-ban-survives-challenge-from-florida-teenager |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=news.bloomberglaw.com |language=en |archive-date=30 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130022047/https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/transgender-athlete-ban-survives-challenge-from-florida-teenager |url-status=live }} The court held that the law does not violate the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution and rejected D.N.'s claim that the law violates Title IX, which bars discrimination based on sex in educational programs that receive federal funds. The court cited Adams v. School Board of St. Johns County, a 2022 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit that upheld Florida's transgender bathroom bill and ruled that Title IX's reference to "sex" does not include "gender identity."{{Cite web |date=November 6, 2023 |title=D. N. et al v. Governor Ronald DeSantis et al, No. 0:2021cv61344 - Document 137 (S.D. Fla. 2023) |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/florida/flsdce/0:2021cv61344/595423/137/ |access-date=November 28, 2023 |website=Justia Law |archive-date=3 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803011926/https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/florida/flsdce/0:2021cv61344/595423/137/ |url-status=live }} The court granted D.N. leave to file an amended complaint.

In April 2023, the Biden administration proposed a Title IX rule change which would declare blanket "one size fits all" bans on trans athletes from teams consistent with their genders a violation of Title IX, but would authorize such bans if done for a number of reasons, including "fairness in competition". According to the proposal, this would most likely mean that bans that apply to elementary school students would be forbidden, but bans on high school and college students would be authorized under Title IX.{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/04/06/trans-athletes-school-sports-title-ix/ |work=WaPo |title=Biden administration says schools may bar trans athletes from competitive teams |date=April 6, 2023}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/06/us/transgender-athletes-title-ix-biden-adminstration.html |work=NYT |title=School Sports Cannot 'Categorically' Ban Transgender Athletes, Under Biden Proposal |date=April 6, 2023}}

After two delays, the final changes to Title IX were published in April 2024. The new changes cemented protections for LGBT students under federal law and reversed a number of Trump-era policies that dictated how schools should respond to cases of alleged sexual misconduct in K-12 schools and college campuses. They also effectively broadened the scope of Title IX by extending the law's reach to prohibit discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and widen the range of sexual harassment complaints that schools will be responsible for investigating. However, it did not explicitly say schools are forbidden from banning transgender women from competing in women's sports.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/19/us/politics/biden-title-ix-rules.html |work=NYT |title=Biden Administration Releases Revised Title IX Rules |date=April 19, 2024}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-dismantles-trump-era-title-ix-rules-sidesteps-issue-trans-athletes-girls-sports |work=Fox News |title=Biden dismantles Trump-era Title IX rules, sidesteps issue of trans athletes in girls' sports |date=April 19, 2024}} In response to these new changes, over 20 republican-led states sued the Biden Administration and refused to follow the new rules.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/20-gop-led-states-sue-biden-administration-title-ix-rules-lgbtq-studen-rcna151247 |work=NBC News |title=Over 20 GOP-led states sue Biden administration over Title IX rules for LGBTQ students |date=May 8, 2024}} In June 2024, a judge temporarily blocked President Biden's proposed changes to the interpretation of Title IX in Texas.{{Cite news |url=https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4716699-federal-judge-blocks-joe-biden-title-ix-transgender-protections/ |work=The Hill |title=Federal judge blocks Biden's Title IX transgender protections |date=June 11, 2024}} A few days later, a judge issued an injunction temporary blocking the rules in Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi and Montana.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/judge-blocks-bidens-title-ix-rule-four-states-lgbtq-protections-rcna157133 |work=NBC News |title=Judge blocks Biden's Title IX rule in four states, dealing a blow to protections for LGBTQ+ students |date=June 13, 2024}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.wbrz.com/news/federal-judge-sides-with-louisiana-attorney-general-against-joe-biden-s-new-title-ix-rules/ |work=WBRZ-TV |title=Federal judge sides with Louisiana Attorney General against Joe Biden's new Title IX rules |date=June 13, 2024}} The week after that, a judge temporarily blocked the law in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia and West Virginia.{{Cite news |url=https://www.highereddive.com/news/title-ix-rule-blocked-in-six-states-injunction/719282/ |work= Higher Ed Dive |title=Title IX rule blocked in 6 more states |date=June 18, 2024}} On July 2, 2024, a federal judge temporarily blocked the law in Kansas, Alaska, Utah and Wyoming.{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/jul/2/joe-biden-extends-losing-streak-third-judge-blocks/ |work=The Washington Times |title=Biden extends losing streak as third judge blocks rule adding 'gender identity' to Title IX |date=July 2, 2024}} This ruling also blocks the rule from taking effect in schools in Stillwater, Oklahoma, the home of a middle school student who joined the lawsuit, as well as any schools attended by members of the Young America's Foundation and the children of members of Moms for Liberty — two national conservative groups that signed onto the lawsuit.{{Cite news |url=https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/bidens-title-ix-rule-is-now-blocked-in-14-states/2024/07 |work=Education Week |title=Biden's Title IX Rule Is Now Blocked in 14 States |date=July 3, 2024 |last1=Stanford |first1=Libby }} On July 17, 2024, the Fifth and Sixth Circuits upheld two of the blocks.{{Cite web |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/biden-trans-rights-rule-is-likely-unlawful-sixth-circuit-says |work=Bloomberg Law |title=Block on Biden Trans Rights Rule Upheld by Two Appeals Courts |date=July 17, 2024}} On July 26, 2024, a federal court temporarily blocked the rule from taking effect in Iowa, Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.{{Cite web |url=https://www.aol.com/federal-court-blocks-title-ix-104323887.html |work=AOL |title=Federal court blocks new Title IX gender identity protections in Iowa, 5 other states |date=July 26, 2024}} On August 1, 2024, the rule went into effect in all the states that had blocked them.{{Cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/transgender-rights-title-ix-schools-2093e480783d207ee4ce9ffa7c74e932 |work=AP News |title=Federal protections of transgender students are in effect where courts haven't blocked them |date=August 1, 2024}}

On August 16, 2024, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, denied an emergency request from the Biden Administration to reinstate the law while further legal battles play out in the lower court. The ruling did not address the merits of the lawsuits or whether the new rules were constitutional.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/16/us/politics/supreme-court-transgender-discrimination-schools.html |first1=Abbie |last1=VanSickle |first2=Michael D. |last2=Shear |work=New York Times |title=Supreme Court, for Now, Blocks Expanded Protections for Transgender Students in Some States |access-date=August 17, 2024 |date=August 16, 2024}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg21x1j54mo |first=Max |last=Matza |work=BBC |title=US Supreme Court declines to lift block on expanded trans student protections |access-date=August 17, 2024 |date=August 16, 2024}}{{Cite web |url=https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4832117-supreme-court-denies-title-ix-doj-request/ |first=Zach |last=Schonfeld |work=The Hill |title=Supreme Court refuses DOJ request to partially reinstate new Title IX rule |access-date=August 17, 2024 |date=August 16, 2024}}

On January 9, 2025, U.S. District court judge Danny C. Reeves struck down the Biden administration's expanded protections nationwide in response to the lawsuit filed by the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.{{cite news |title=Biden's Title IX expansion protecting LGBTQ+ students struck down |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/09/bidens-title-ix-struck-down |access-date=January 9, 2025 |work=The Guardian |agency=Associated Press |date=January 9, 2024}}{{cite news |title=Judge Rejects Biden's Title IX Rules, Scrapping Protections for Trans Students |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/09/us/politics/biden-title-ix-ruling.html |access-date=January 11, 2025 |work=New York Times |date=January 9, 2025}}

On February 5, 2025, Donald Trump signed an executive order titled "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports", which directs federal agencies and state attorneys general to immediately enforce a prohibition of transgender girls and women from participating in women's sports.{{cite news |last1=Dunbar |first1=Marina |title=Trump signs executive order banning trans athletes from women’s sports |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/05/trump-trans-athletes-ban |access-date=February 5, 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=February 5, 2025}}{{cite web |title=Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/keeping-men-out-of-womens-sports/ |website=The White House |access-date=February 5, 2025 |date=February 5, 2025}}

In September 2018, U Sports, the governing body of intercollegiate and varsity athletics in Canada, released a policy addressing eligibility and best practices for the inclusion of transgender student-athletes at their member institutions.{{Cite web |title=U Sports Press Release - Transgender Student-Athletes |url=https://usports.ca/uploads/hq/Media_Releases/Members_Info/2018-19/Press_Release_-_Transgender_Policy.pdf |website=U Sports Press Release |access-date=26 September 2019 |archive-date=2 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302080545/https://usports.ca/uploads/hq/Media_Releases/Members_Info/2018-19/Press_Release_-_Transgender_Policy.pdf |url-status=live }} Under this new policy, U Sports student-athletes are able to compete according to their gender identity or sex assigned at birth provided they meet requirements of the Canadian Anti-Doping Program. Transgender student-athletes, like other U Sports athletes, are given five years of eligibility to compete and may only represent one gender of sports team per school year.

Under the Equality Act 2010, discrimination based on sex or gender reassignment is illegal, but certain sporting activities may be exempt if transgender athletes competing would put cisgender athletes at an unfair disadvantage or be unsafe to others. The UK Equality and Human Rights Commission cautions that "limiting or modifying access to, or excluding a trans person from, the separate or single-sex service of the gender in which they present will be unlawful if you cannot show such action is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. This applies whether or not the person has a Gender Recognition Certificate."{{Cite web |title=Gender reassignment discrimination |url=https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/equality/equality-act-2010/your-rights-under-equality-act-2010/gender-reassignment-discrimination |access-date=2023-01-12 |website=www.equalityhumanrights.com |language=en |archive-date=16 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216191534/https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/equality/equality-act-2010/your-rights-under-equality-act-2010/gender-reassignment-discrimination |url-status=live }}

In August 2011, the National Collegiate Athletic Association Office of Inclusion published the NCAA Inclusion of Transgender Student-Athletes resource outlining their best practices and policies for the inclusion for transgender student-athletes.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/Transgender_Handbook_2011_Final.pdf|title=NCAA Inclusion of Transgender Student-Athletes|website=NCAA Office of Inclusion|access-date=2019-09-27|archive-date=2019-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010040329/https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/Transgender_Handbook_2011_Final.pdf|url-status=dead}} This policy permits transgender athletes who are not using hormone therapy to continue to participate on the team that corresponds to their assigned sex at birth. A trans man student-athlete may participate on either a men's or women's team, unless receiving testosterone, in which case he may only compete on a men's team; athletes receiving doses of testosterone as a part of their transition must apply for a medical exemption through the league, as testosterone is considered a banned substance in the NCAA. A trans woman student-athlete is not permitted to compete on a women's team until after one year of testosterone suppression treatment. Ongoing monitoring of treatment and written documentation is required for student-athletes undergoing testosterone suppression.

In December 2024, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the NCAA, arguing that allowing trans women to compete in women's sporting events was "false, deceptive, and misleading" to attendees.{{cite news |last1=Chuck |first1=Ellizabeth |title=Texas attorney general sues NCAA over transgender athletes competing in women's sports |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/college-sports/texas-attorney-general-sues-ncaa-trans-athletes-womens-sports-rcna185256 |access-date=December 25, 2024 |work=NBC News |date=December 23, 2024}}

On February 5, 2025, Donald Trump signed an executive order titled "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports", which directs federal agencies and state attorneys general to immediately enforce a prohibition of transgender girls and women from participating in women's sports.

On February 6, 2025, the NCAA changed its policy to limit college competitions in women's sports to athletes who were assigned female at birth, effective immediately.{{cite news |last1=Dunbar |first1=Marina |title=NCAA bars transgender athletes from competing in women’s college sports |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/06/ncaa-ban-transgender-athletes |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=February 6, 2025}}

University and Tertiary Sport New Zealand (UTSNZ) has its own inclusion policy covering transgender and gender diverse athletes in sport.{{cite web |title=Advocacy and Public Relations Policy |url=https://www.utsnz.co.nz/files/COMP_008_Transgender_Policy.pdf |website=University and Tertiary Sport New Zealand |access-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812211847/https://www.utsnz.co.nz/files/COMP_008_Transgender_Policy.pdf |archive-date=12 August 2022 |date=Jan 2022 |url-status=live}} The policy allows transgender athletes to compete in the sport category that aligns to their gender identity. Transgender women are permitted to compete in a men's UTSNZ competition. If a transgender woman has undergone testosterone suppression for 12 months, she may also compete in women's competitions. Similarly, transgender males are eligible to participate in either men's or women's competition (but not both categories within one season), provided they are not undergoing hormone treatment for gender transition. For transgender men who have taken hormone treatment with testosterone related to gender transition, they may no longer participate in women's competitions but can still compete in men's competition.

In 2021, a poll conducted by Binary Australia, an organisation that opposes trans women competing in women's sports, found that 67.3% of Australians opposed allowing trans women to compete against cis women. The poll found that only a majority of Greens voters (52.1%) were in favour, while the majority of people who vote for Labor (62.9%), the Liberals (78.3%), the Nationals (79.4%) and One Nation (81.1%) were against.{{cite web | url=https://www.binary.org.au/binary_poll_australians_want_protections_for_women_s_sports | title=Binary Poll: Australians want protections for women's sports | access-date=6 June 2023 | archive-date=6 June 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606055211/https://www.binary.org.au/binary_poll_australians_want_protections_for_women_s_sports | url-status=live }}

In a 2021 poll in Canada, 62% of Canadians found it "unfair" to allow transgender athletes to participate in women's sports, while 15% found it "fair".

A 2021 Gallup poll showed that 62% of Americans opposed people playing on teams that matched their gender identity rather than their birth sex.{{cite web |last=McCarthy |first=Justin |date=26 May 2021 |title=Mixed Views Among Americans on Transgender Issues |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/350174/mixed-views-among-americans-transgender-issues.aspx |access-date=19 February 2022 |website=Gallup |language=en |archive-date=21 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621195544/https://news.gallup.com/poll/350174/mixed-views-among-americans-transgender-issues.aspx |url-status=live }} A 2023 Gallup poll found that this percentage had increased to 69%.{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Jeffrey M. |date=2023-06-12 |title=More Say Birth Gender Should Dictate Sports Participation |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/507023/say-birth-gender-dictate-sports-participation.aspx |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=Gallup |language=en |archive-date=13 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240713043509/https://news.gallup.com/poll/507023/say-birth-gender-dictate-sports-participation.aspx |url-status=live }}

A 2021 PBS/NPR/Marist poll found 67% of Americans, including 66% of Republicans, opposed legislation that would prohibit transgender student athletes from joining sports teams that match their gender identity.{{Cite web |date=17 May 2021 |title=Anti-LGBT legislation gaining traction in the US, again |url=https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/553870-anti-lgbt-legislation-gaining-traction-in-the-us-again |access-date=20 February 2022 |archive-date=20 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220100541/https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/553870-anti-lgbt-legislation-gaining-traction-in-the-us-again |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Loffman |first=Matt |date=April 16, 2021 |title=New poll shows Americans overwhelmingly oppose anti-transgender laws |work=PBS NewsHour |location= |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/new-poll-shows-americans-overwhelmingly-oppose-anti-transgender-laws |access-date=March 12, 2022 |archive-date=27 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221227064623/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/new-poll-shows-americans-overwhelmingly-oppose-anti-transgender-laws |url-status=live }}

A 2022 Washington Post poll found that 58% of Americans were against allowing transgender women to compete with other women in college and professional sports.{{Cite news |last1=Bahrampour |first1=Tara |last2=Clement |first2=Scott |last3=Guskin |first3=Emily |date=2022-06-13 |title=Most Americans oppose trans athletes in female sports, poll finds |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/06/13/washington-post-umd-poll-most-americans-oppose-transgender-athletes-female-sports/ |access-date=2022-06-15 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=14 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220614185352/https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/06/13/washington-post-umd-poll-most-americans-oppose-transgender-athletes-female-sports/ |url-status=live }}

A 2023 poll conducted by Gallup found that 69% of U.S. adults say transgender athletes should be allowed to compete only on sports teams that correspond with the sexes they were assigned at birth.{{Cite news |date=2023-06-12 |title=Most Americans oppose including trans athletes in sports, poll finds |language=en-US |work=NBC News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/americans-oppose-inclusion-trans-athletes-sports-poll-finds-rcna88940 |access-date=2025-02-08 }}

A 2024 poll by GLAAD found that more than half of both registered and likely voters surveyed said they would not support a candidate who "speaks frequently about restricting access to health care and participation in sports for transgender youth."{{cite news |last=Migdon |first=Brooke |title=Most voters oppose candidates who campaign against transgender people: Poll |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/lgbtq/4516762-voters-transgender-lgbtq-2024-poll/amp/ |access-date=August 21, 2024 |website=The Hill |date=March 7, 2024}}

In January 2025, a New York Times/Ipsos poll showed that 79% of respondents supported a ban on transgender athletes from women's sports.{{Cite web |date=January 2025 |title=A survey of the American general population (ages 18+) |url=https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/f548560f100205ef/e656ddda-full.pdf |website=New York Times}}{{cite news |last1=Kamisar |first1=Ben |title=What the polls say about the start of Trump's second term |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/polls-say-start-trumps-second-term-rcna189190 |access-date=February 9, 2025 |work=NBC News |date=January 29, 2025}}

• Gay Games
• List of LGBT sportspeople
• Mixed-sex sports

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/Transgender_Handbook_2011_Final.pdf NCAA Inclusion of Transgender Student-Athletes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401093846/http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/Transgender_Handbook_2011_Final.pdf |date=2016-04-01 }}
• [http://digitalcommons.law.wne.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1248&context=facschol Including Transgender Athletes in Sex-Segregated Sport]
• [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1646059 Transgender student-athletes and sex-segregated sport: Developing policies of inclusion for intercollegiate and interscholastic athletics]
• [http://digitalcommons.law.wne.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1333&context=facschol Hormone Check: Critique of Olympic Rules on Sex and Gender]

{{Transgender topics}}

Category:21st-century controversies

*

Category:LGBTQ-related controversies in sports

Category:2020s anti-LGBTQ movement in the United States