30/09/2021

At Kyniska, one of our core values is equity in sport. By equity in sport, we mean sport tailored to different needs. We want to see an equitable sporting culture from grassroots clubs to the Olympics, and everything in between. 

This morning’s guidance published by the UK Sports Councils highlights the need and desire for change with regards to the current approach to transgender athlete inclusion in domestic sport. We are very pleased that the UK Sports Councils have come together to commission this research to assist the governing bodies of sport across the UK when updating their guidance.

We welcome the need for a closer and more comprehensive understanding of the ‘gender-affected’* nature of individual sports. Equestrian, for example, is not gender segregated and there is no requirement to identify or test for a specific gender for competition at any level. However, other sports should take a distinct approach because of the ‘gender-affected’ nature of their sports; in other words, how much there is a “retained differences in strength, stamina and physique between the average woman compared with the average transgender woman or non-binary person registered male at birth”.

We therefore concur that it is paramount that NGBs question the purpose of sex divisions in their sport. NGBs should consult with partner organisations and relevant stakeholders and also engage with the workshops to be offered by the Sports Councils to develop policies that ensure equitable sporting environments.

To achieve true equity, there can be no “one size fits all” approach to trans-inclusion in sports. We encourage NGBs to be malleable and consider diverse and inclusive approaches for each level of sport; participatory, club-level and elite sports may well benefit from diverse policy implementation. 

NGBs must face these policy changes head-on. This issue is complex and must also consider the implications for women’s sport. The evidence is increasingly suggesting that the approach of simply measuring testosterone levels in the blood is not taking into account the full breadth of biological differences between people who have gone through male versus female puberty. 

Let us shape policies for transgender athletes and sportspeople to partake in sport, with science and research in mind. We hope that this issue is dealt with with the utmost respect and sensitivity that it rightly deserves. 

Mhairi Maclennan Kate Seary 

Co-Founder &         Co-Founder &

General Manager   Director 

*In accordance with the Equality Act 2010: A gender-affected activity is a sport, game, or other activity of a competitive nature in circumstances in which the physical strength, stamina, or physique of average persons of one sex would put them at a disadvantage compared with average persons of the other sex as competitors in events involving the activity.