Is there really a competitive advantage? Debate over trans athletes tests science and inclusion

Aria McGowan picks up a football and gingerly takes a couple of steps back before throwing it to a teammate down the field.

It's a Saturday morning and the Edmonton Storm, a women's tackle football team, is holding a practice at Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre. 

McGowan, 46, is their quarterback.

She loves playing football, and it's clear the football field is a place McGowan feels safe. But she and other trans athletes in the province could potentially see their athletic pursuits curtailed. 

In late January, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith proposed a slew of policies that could affect trans youth and adults, ranging from restrictions on gender-affirming health care to classroom pronoun policies. Among the proposed policies is a ban on transgender girls and women competing against girls and women in athletic competitions.

"There are some sports where the physical differences make a difference," Smith said at a press conference on Feb. 1.

"In those cases, we do want to have biological women — women who are born biologically female — have the choice of being able to participate in a biological-female-only category while still preserving the gender-neutral categories and co-ed opportunities so that everyone has the ability to participate."

Details on these proposed policies are slim. Legislation for the suite of policies is expected to be introduced in the fall. If passed, Alberta would be the first province in the country to implement this type of ban.

"Being told I'm not allowed to [play] would really suck," McGowan said, holding back tears. "It's just a lot of emotions."

In the last few years, debate has been raging in North America over who should be allowed to compete in sports. While the discussion revolves around concepts of fairness and inclusion, researchers say the science around whether trans athletes have a competitive advantage is unsettled.

The Edmonton Storm is part of the Western Women's Canadian Football League and often plays in other Prairie provinces.

Storm president Laura Hayne said the team is fully behind McGowan, but acknowledges the political situation could complicate their season.  

"If this legislation moves forward in the way that we think it will, it will very much affect our ability to compete," Hayne said.

McGowan said she had questioned her gender identity ever since she was a child.