Swim England announces transgender policy with ‘open’ and ‘female’ categories

Swim England has announced a new transgender policy with “open” and “female” categories for all its licensed events – after arguing that “fair competition” must be the backbone of its approach.

From September athletes with a birth sex of male, or who are transgender or non-binary, must compete in the new “open” category for all Swim England’s licensed events – while athletes with a birth sex of female have their own protected category.

The new rules – which follows a consultation of more than 2,000 members, stakeholders and advocacy groups – will apply across swimming, artistic swimming, diving and water polo in all events where times and competition are considered important.

However, unlike World Swimming, Swim England has decided against a complete ban on transgender women in female sport. Instead its new policy contains provision for athletes to self-ID in low-level “unlicensed” events, such as intra-club recreational races. But the timings and scores posted at these events will not be applicable to Swim England rankings, or eligible as records.

Mike Hawkes, Swim England’s head of diversity and inclusion, told the Guardian that the new policy allowed for a “two-tier” approach that would preserve the sanctity of competition while also ensuring the sport remained inclusive as possible.

“As a result of the strength of feeling displayed via our independent consultation, we recognise that fair competition is considered the backbone of our aquatic sports and therefore must be prioritised,” he said.

“We do believe, however, that any measures put in place should be minimally obstructive and only go as far as is necessary to maintain sporting integrity across our competition and talent pathways.”

Last year World Swimming