RMR reacts to World Rugby proposed transgender athlete guidelines

21 August 2021

In February 2020, World Rugby held a Transgender Workshop and formed a Transgender Guidelines Working Group for the purpose of changing guidelines to depart from the current International Olympic Committee policy. This draft policy bans trans women athletes from playing women’s rugby and imposes additional intrusive and non-inclusive restrictions on trans men and non-binary athletes. 
 
The proposed guideline was drafted after World Rugby called in a group with an established stance that trans women take away “women-only” spaces and excluded additional stakeholders such as transgender athletes, other scientists, and representatives from women’s rugby to the event. Studies used to drive the draft guidelines:

• Did not use appropriate scientific procedures of using a control group of cis women athletes; and
• Compared cis men to cis women; and
• Only looked at muscle mass of a subset of muscles, and not athlete performance; and
• Were not peer-reviewed; and
• Did not test hormonal levels; and
• Did not study transgender athletes.  

 
Rocky Mountain Rugby supports the current IOC policy, adopted by World Rugby on March 13, 2019.
 
Rocky Mountain Rugby believes in inclusion and the empowerment of women and girls in sport. Rocky Mountain Rugby does not support making circumstances more difficult for anyone to play rugby and to be included in our community. The draft guideline endangers the privacy of all women as it allows others to publicly call out women who appear “too masculine,” “not feminine enough,” “not woman enough,” or women who appear to have any perceived unfair advantage. The draft guideline will force untrained administrators, coaches, and officials to determine a player’s gender assigned at birth, which is inherently invasive, discriminatory, and dehumanizing to any athlete called into question. 
 
As such, Rocky Mountain Rugby firmly rejects the proposed draft guideline as it represents direct and active discrimination against transgender and non-binary athletes. Rocky Mountain Rugby believes that trans women are women and trans men are men.  
 
To trans and non-binary athletes, coaches, referees, and administrators: During this time of debate on whether World Rugby should adopt this policy change, Rocky Mountain Rugby is of mind that you are welcome here, and you are an important member of our community. Please feel free to reach out to the Board of Directors if you have any concerns or questions or if you would like to share ways in which we can support you.

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Rich Cortez
Chair

Erik V. Geib
President

Tracy Curtis
Vice-President, Operations

Jeanna Beard
Vice-President, Communications

Robert Lesnansky
Board At-Large