Members of the Harvard-Radcliffe Women’s Heavyweight Crew team train on the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
LAUSANNE, February 6, 2023 – A group of former Olympic rowers are enraged at the updated Gender Identity Policy of US Rowing which they say “so blatantly discriminates against female athletes in rowing”. In an article published in Newsweek, they condemned the policy which “rejected fairness for female rowers of all ages and levels”. The three-page US Rowing Gender Identity Policy which became effective from December 1, 2022 permits athletes to compete in the gender they identify with “irrespective of the sex listed on the athlete’s birth certificate or student records, and regardless of whether the athlete has undergone any medical treatment”.
ADVANTAGES This means that a biological male can compete in girls’ and women’s events with or without testosterone suppression, as long as he identifies as a woman at the start of the rowing season – January 1st for the Spring/Summer season and September 1st for the Fall/Winter season. Meanwhile a biological female who has begun a transition with testosterone should compete in the men’s category. US Rowing said the policy is intended “to foster inclusion, safety, and fairness in rowing” and will be reviewed on an annual basis.
Source: (Aips newletter)
Link: www.aipsmedia.com