Rugby League bans transgender women from World Cup, other sports also struggling

Do female-born males have an unfair advantage in sports? For example because of greater muscle mass. More and more sports associations are grappling with this problem.

Followed by FINA swimming federation Rugby union IRL has also announced that trans people are no longer welcome in women’s competitions at this time. The IRL reports in a statement that it is working on an action plan on the participation of trans people. While this project is in progress, transgender people will not be allowed to participate in competitions of their new gender.

The ban will be in place at least until October, when the Women’s Rugby World Cup is held in England. The Rugby League should not be confused with the much larger Rugby Union. Rugby League is played mainly in Australia, New Zealand and the north of England.

“It is our responsibility to strike a balance between the individual right to participate and the risk to other participants,” writes the IRL. “We will ensure that all parties are heard.”

Rugby League isn’t the only sport to struggle with the theme. In November, the IOC announced that no athlete should be banned from competition for any unfair advantage. But the international sports umbrella organization has left it to the sports federations themselves to make the decisions.

In some other sports – cycling and rugby union, for example – there are already strict rules for the participation of trans people. They must have transitioned before puberty to be allowed to enter the class of their new gender.

The swimming association FINA announced on Sunday that only people who have completed their transition before the age of 12 are allowed to compete. A new class for trans people is being considered. Football association FIFA and athletics federation World Athletics have said they are also investigating how they want to apply rules on gender segregation to trans people.

The sensitivity of the issue was demonstrated last summer at the Tokyo Olympics. New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard has become the first trans person to compete in the Games. This sparked outrage from competitors, who felt Hubbard had an unfair advantage.

Hubbard has adhered to IOC guidelines set in 2015, which require his testosterone levels to be below a certain level for at least a year. The New Zealander stayed away from medals in Tokyo.

In November, the IOC decided to abandon the rules on testosterone levels established in 2015 and leave it up to the sports federations themselves. This decision was made because there are also women who naturally have very high testosterone levels.

South African runner Caster Semenya is the most famous example. Although she was born female, her testosterone levels and muscle mass are comparable to those of male athletes.

The decision by the swimming federation FINA was strongly criticized by organizations fighting for equality. Outspoken USA soccer star Megan Rapinoe has called the FINA guidelines “disgusting and cruel”. “Why do some people go to such lengths to prevent a trans person from succeeding in sport?” she wondered.

With the CIO now leaving it to the unions to make decisions on the sensitive subject, many unions are now grappling with the issue. This includes Rugby Union IRL, which in its statement writes: “We stress that Rugby League is a sport for all and that everyone should be able to play our sport. We will develop a set of criteria, based on evidence, which create the more level playing field possible for everyone involved.”

The IRL’s decision to ban trans people from the World Cup in October appears to have virtually no consequences. The top countries don’t have trans people in their rosters, and that’s not known for the smaller countries either.

Participating countries are Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cook Islands, England, France, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.