No Advantage

If you want a hot topic that generates heated discussion then talk about trans people in sports.

Trans women athletes have no unfair advantage under current rules, report finds
‘The performance advantages from social factors, training and access to equipment are far greater than testosterone,' paper concludes
Cycling Weekly
By Anne-Marije Rook
January 25, 2023


A report on transgender women athletes in elite sport has found that if UCI rules are adhered to, there is currently no substantial evidence of any biological advantages for trans women competing in elite women’s sport.

It found there was little evidence that biomedical factors related to male puberty such as lung size, bone density and hip-to-knee joint angle predict an unfair advantage. But some evidence that social factors like nutrition, training and access to equipment do.

These are just some of the key findings listed in an 86-page report titled Transgender Women Athletes and Elite Sport: A Scientific Review, which was published in late 2022 and commissioned by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES), an ethical sport advocacy non-profit with a vision of fair, safe, accessible, and inclusive sport for everyone.

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The report is an in-depth review of all scientific literature published between 2011 and the end of 2021 in English, regarding transgender women and their participation in elite sport. 

Relying only on peer-reviewed articles or syntheses of academic literature in reputable academic journals, the study explores both the biomedical and sociocultural perspectives when it comes to the question of trans inclusion in sports.

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The analysis did not show support for the argument that testosterone exposure and the biomedical factors related to male puberty such as lung size, bone density and hip-to-knee joint angle lead to athletic advantages. 

“There is not one discrete biomarker that allows easy comparison of athletes’ bodies to each other in terms of performance,” the study concludes.

I am from the old school where sports in K-12 is about: leadership, team building, sportsmanship, builds self-confidence. So when you say that trans students cannot participate in high school sports you are saying you do not want us to learn those skills.

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Legal:

Breaking down the federal ruling on transgender athletes in Connecticut
Connecticut Public Radio
By John Henry Smith
January 31, 2023


A federal appeals court recently dismissed a challenge to Connecticut’s policy allowing transgender girls to compete in girls high school sports, rejecting arguments by four cisgender runners who said they were unfairly forced to race against transgender athletes.

A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City ruled in favor of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC), the state’s governing body for high school sports, and several local school districts sued by the cisgender girls and their families. The ruling upheld a lower court judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the policy.

The court found the lawsuit moot and ruled the cisgender girls lacked standing to sue, in part because their claims were speculative that they were deprived of wins, state titles and athletic scholarship opportunities. The court also noted that the cisgender girls won races in which a transgender athlete competed.

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The CIAC argued that its policy is designed to comply with a state law requiring all high school students to be treated according to their gender identity. It also said the policy is in accordance with Title IX.