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BREAKING: British Cycling to ban cyclists born males from female events

British Cycling has announced that its new policy will prevent riders who were born male from racing in elite female events after it undertook a review of medial science and a consultation with cycling communities.  

In a statement issued today, Friday, the sports body said that the current Men’s category would now become an ‘Open’ category and that transgender athletes could compete in same.

“Transgender women, transgender men, non-binary individuals and those whose sex was assigned male at birth will be eligible to compete in the ‘Open’ category,” they said.

“The ‘Female’ category will remain in place for those whose sex was assigned female at birth and transgender men who are yet to begin hormone therapy,” British Cycling clarified. Transgender men are people who are born female.

“Those whose sex was assigned female at birth are also able to compete in the ‘Open’ category if they so wish,” they said.

“Our aim in creating our policies has always been to advance and promote equality, diversity and inclusion, while at the same time prioritising fairness of competition. This aim has not changed: it has been central to our review and we remain committed to this vital work.”

The cycling body said that a “nine-month policy review was led by an internal working group, made up of a broad range of representatives from across British Cycling, Scottish Cycling and Welsh Cycling.”

“During these nine months, the working group undertook a targeted consultation consisting of 14 focus groups and a number of one-to-one interviews (including dedicated sessions for female Race Licence holders and trans and non-binary members),” they said.

“We also conducted a full medical science review, followed by an assessment of the practical changes and support needed to ensure the policy’s successful implementation. The review process was independently audited to confirm the strength of its governance and supported by external legal advice.”

The statement explained that the review has led to two new policies being created: Policy for Competitive Activity, which relates to all British Cycling-sanctioned competitive events, and Policy for Non-Competitive Activity, which builds on the long-term commitment to inclusion set out in our equality, diversity and inclusion strategy, Our Ride.

Policy for Competitive Activity
The Policy for Competitive Activity covers all British Cycling-sanctioned competitive events. It will see the implementation of an ‘Open’ category alongside a ‘Female’ category. This means that the current men’s category will be consolidated into the ‘Open’ category.

Transgender women, transgender men, non-binary individuals and those whose sex was assigned male at birth will be eligible to compete in the ‘Open’ category. The ‘Female’ category will remain in place for those whose sex was assigned female at birth and transgender men who are yet to begin hormone therapy. At this stage, they will be eligible to compete in the ‘Open’ category only, and should ensure that they continue to adhere to the requirements of UK Anti-Doping. Those whose sex was assigned female at birth are also able to compete in the ‘Open’ category if they so wish.

Existing Race Licences held by transgender women will continue to be valid until the point at which the new policy comes into force, and we are working closely with those individuals to support their continued participation in events following the change in policy.

In the case of ‘International Events’ which are delivered in the UK on behalf of the UCI (such as the UCI Track Nations Cup), or events on the UCI calendar owned and delivered by independent organisers (such as The Women’s Tour), the UCI policy on eligibility will take precedence.

Policy for Non-Competitive Activity
The Policy for Non-Competitive Activity builds on our equality, diversity and inclusion strategy, Our Ride, and re-asserts our commitment to inclusion for trans and non-binary riders across our non-competitive activities.

This includes our Breeze programme, a women-only community programme, which will continue to remain open and inclusive for transgender women and non-binary people.

British Cycling CEO, Jon Dutton, said: “Our new policies are the product of a robust nine-month review process which we know will have a very real-world impact for our community both now and in the future. We understand that this will be particularly difficult for many of our trans and non-binary riders, and our commitment to them today is twofold.

“I am confident that we have developed policies that both safeguard the fairness of cyclesport competition, whilst ensuring all riders have opportunities to participate,” she said.

The case of Emily Bridges, a born-male cyclist competing in the UK had been the source of much controversy in cycling.

In response to today’s announcement, many thought the right decision had been made.

However, Bridges hit out at the ban, accusing British Cycling of having “openly homophobic coaches” and saying the ban was a “violent act”.

 

 

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