New Zealand to update inclusion guidelines for transgender athletes

9/10/2024 12:44

        New Zealand will update its guidelines on transgender athletes in community sport following criticism from Olympians that the principles ignore female athletes' rights and undermine fairness and safety.
        
        New Zealand's sport minister Chris Bishop said he had asked governing body Sport NZ to update the two-year-old guidelines which encourage transgender athletes to compete in amateur-level sport in the gender they identify with and not need to prove or justify their identity.
        
        Bishop said in a statement, "It is important that transgender people feel able to participate in community sport – but there are obviously difficult issues for sporting bodies to grapple with around fairness and safety as a result of that participation."
        
        "I have come to the view that the Guiding Principles do not reflect legitimate community expectations that sport at a community level should not just be focused on diversity, inclusion and equity – but also prioritise fairness and safety."
        
        The minister's statement comes a month after he received an open letter from more than 50 New Zealand Olympians, doctors and sport administrators calling for an urgent review of the guidelines, saying they undermined "fundamental tenets of fairness and safety" in sport.