'Open category' for transgender swimmers scrapped due to lack of interest at World Cup in Germany

OutKick founder Clay Travis argues female athletes are terrified of speaking out for fear of being labeled as transphobic which could impact their futures.

An "open category" swimming event to accommodate transgender athletes has been canceled in Germany due to a lack of interest.

World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA, originally announced in July that the Berlin Swimming World Cup would be the first competition to have an "open category" for all swimmers. The event announcement followed backlash from LGBTQ activists to its "gender inclusion policy" established in 2022 that only permitted transwomen swimmers who began transitioning before age 12 to compete in women’s categories.

Days before it was set to begin on Oct. 6, the "open category" event was dropped with the organization citing "zero" entries.

"Following the close of registration for the open category competitions at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup – the Berlin 2023 meet scheduled for October 6-8th – World Aquatics can confirm that no entries have been received for the open category events," the organization said in a statement.

Trans University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas swims in the 500 Freestyle finals during the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 17th, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta Georgia. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

‘OPEN CATEGORY’ FOR TRANSGENDER SWIMMERS SET FOR DEBUT AT WORLD CUP IN GERMANY

Despite the lack of interest, World Aquatics said they would continue to work on providing open category events in the future. 

"The World Aquatics Open Category Working Group will continue its work and engagement with the aquatics community on Open Category events. Even if there is no current