Alberta's transgender ban in women's sports won't apply to out-of-province athletes

Alberta is rolling out new regulations this fall banning transgender athletes from playing women's sports, but the province will still welcome out-of-province transgender competitors.

Tourism and Sport Minister Andrew Boitchenko said the discrepancy is out of his hands.

"We don't have authority to regulate athletes from different jurisdictions," he said in an interview.

In a followup statement, ministry spokeswoman Vanessa Gomez added it's due to outside sporting organizations being bound by out-of-province or international guidelines.

She added the rules allow the government "to do what is best for Albertan athletes, while also showcasing Alberta as a premier destination for national and international sport events."

Starting Sept. 1, the province will block transgender athletes from Alberta who are 12 and older from competing in female amateur sports. It's one of a suite of changes surrounding transgender health, education and sport introduced last year by Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservative Party government.

The laws sparked polarizing debate.

Proponents, including Smith, say it's about fairness on the playing field, so girls are not battling opponents with biological advantages. Detractors say it's about stigmatizing and punishing those in the transgender community.

Hannah Pilling, a track athlete who petitioned in favour of restricting transgender people in female sports, has welcomed the new regulations. She said in an interview she hopes Smith's government takes it further.

"It's kind of hard to enforce that on other athletes that are coming to compete in Alberta, but it's definitely still not completely fair," Pilling said.

She added that she would like to see future rules apply to men's divisions.

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