Alberta ban on trans women in female sports advances as athletic association questions need
CBC
A new bill that would ban transgender athletes from competing in female sports divisions is intended to protect the integrity of female athletic competitions, according to the Alberta government.
The bill would establish "biological female-only" divisions, and Tourism and Sport Minister Joseph Schow said sex registration at birth would determine competitive eligibility.
The government also said it would support the formation of mixed-gender divisions so that all athletes can compete.
Debate over the inclusion of transgender athletes in female sports has been a highly charged issue in recent years. It revolves around questions tied to whether trans athletes have a competitive advantage, but also arguments that inclusion in sport is essential in affirming one's gender identity and ensuring one's mental health.
Schow says it's unknown how many female transgender athletes there are in the province.
"We don't keep track of those specific numbers," he told reporters Thursday.
Major sporting bodies like the NCAA and the IOC require transgender athletes to meet certain guidelines, but rules vary. There are 25 U.S. states that have laws that ban transgender students from participating in sports that are consistent with their gender identity, according to the Movement Advancement Project, a non-profit focused on equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
Terms like "biological female" and "biological male" can be used to imply that transgender people are still their assigned sex at birth, despite their identity.
Many sports organizations in Alberta are, for the most part, taking a wait-and-see approach to the impact of the new legislation.
Mark Kozak, the chief executive officer of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference, the governing body for collegiate sports in Alberta, told CBC News the association doesn't ask students to identify their gender.
"I don't know if we have any transgender athletes in the ACAC, but if you're asking me to give you my estimate, I don't believe there's any transgender athletes currently competing in the ACAC," he said.
He said the provincial government's announcement in February took the ACAC by surprise. Subsequent to that, he said the ACAC participated in a telephone town hall and in an in-person consultation.
"This is not something that anyone identified as an urgent matter that required immediate attention, or any attention, to be frank," he said.
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