Swimming’s world governing body, Fina, has voted to ban all transgender athletes that have gone through any part of male puberty from taking part in elite women’s races.
Fina’s new policy, which passed with 71% of votes from 152 Fina members, has been described as “only a first step towards full inclusion” for transgender athletes, and was made at an extraordinary general congress at the World Championships currently ongoing in Budapest.
Furthermore, Fina also aims to establish an ‘open’ category at its competitions for swimmers whose gender identities differ from their birth sex.
The new policy will require that transgender competitors must have completed their transition by the time they are 12 years old in order to take part in women’s competitions.
Before casting their votes, Fina members heard a report from a transgender task force containing leading figures in the worlds of sport, medicine, and law.
Speaking after news of the vote broke, Fina’s executive director Brent Nowicki said that the governing body had “emphasized competitive fairness” in its approach to drafting the policy, which was comprehensive, science-based and inclusive.