Latest news with #biologicalsex
The Guardian
an hour ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
World Athletics mandates gene tests for female category eligibility
Athletes will be eligible to compete in the female category for world-ranking competitions such as the world championships only if they clear a one-time gene test. The test for the SRY gene, which needs to be taken only once and helps in determining biological sex, can be conducted via a cheek swab or blood test. World Athletics' testing protocol will be overseen by member federations and the new regulations come into effect on 1 September, in time for that month's world championships in Tokyo. 'It is really important in a sport that is permanently trying to attract more women that they enter a sport believing there is no biological glass ceiling,' the World Athletics president, Sebastian Coe, said. 'The test to confirm biological sex is a very important step in ensuring this is the case. We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female. 'It was always very clear to me and the World Athletics Council that gender cannot trump biology. We particularly want to thank our member federations for their support and commitment in the implementation of these new regulations.' Athletics has spent years debating eligibility criteria to compete in women's events, amid questions over biological advantages for transgender athletes and those with differences of sex development (DSD). World Athletics currently bans transgender women who have gone through male puberty from competing in women's events, while it requires female DSD athletes whose bodies produce high testosterone levels to lower them in order to be eligible. This year, a working group found that those rules were not tight enough, with a pre-clearance test for the SRY gene being one of several recommendations the group made for revised rules. The SRY gene reveals the presence of the Y chromosome, which is an indicator of biological sex. The test was also approved by World Boxing in May when they introduced mandatory sex testing for all boxers. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion This month, the European Court upheld a 2023 ruling that double 800m Olympic champion Caster Semenya's appeal to a Swiss Federal Tribunal against regulations that barred her from competing had not been properly heard. Semenya was appealing against World Athletics regulations that female athletes with DSDs medically reduce their testosterone levels.
Fox News
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Fox News
World Athletics introduces testing for gender eligibility requirements: 'Cannot trump biology'
The World Athletics Council announced Wednesday that athletes wishing to compete in female categories at the World Championships are required to undergo a "once-in-a-lifetime test" for eligibility. The test will be for the SRY gene, "a reliable proxy for determining biological sex" with a cheek swab or blood test, the organization said in a release. "The philosophy that we hold dear in World Athletics is the protection and the promotion of the integrity of women's sport. It is really important in a sport that is permanently trying to attract more women that they enter a sport believing there is no biological glass ceiling. The test to confirm biological sex is a very important step in ensuring this is the case," World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said. "We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female. It was always very clear to me and the World Athletics Council that gender cannot trump biology." The organization announced the potential test in March, when Coe said the testing was "necessary" to protect women's sports. The specific gene "provides instructions for making a protein called the sex-determining region Y protein. This protein is involved in male-typical sex development, which usually follows a certain pattern based on an individual's chromosomes," according to Medline Plus. Coe, who was in the running to become the International Olympic Committee chief, said in November the Olympics needed a clear policy to protect female sports. World Athletics, the governing body for track and field sports around the globe, tightened its regulations on trans athletes to exclude transgender women who have gone through male puberty from competing in the female category. Since the organization decided on this testing months ago, the NCAA has faced calls to enact similar protocols. The NCAA changed its requirements on transgender athletes competing in female sports shortly after President Donald Trump signed an executive order. Trump signed the "No Men in Women's Sports" executive order in February to keep biological males from playing in girls and women's sports. The NCAA said a "student-athlete assigned male at birth may not compete on a women's team." The previous policy, which had been in place in 2010, allowed biological males to compete in the women's category after undergoing at least one year of testosterone suppression treatment.
The Independent
13 hours ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Athletes competing in female events to require test to determine biological sex
Athletes wishing to compete in female events at September's World Championships in Tokyo will need to take a test to determine their biological sex. World Athletics announced on Wednesday that it had approved the introduction of testing to avoid what its president Sebastian Coe called a "biological glass ceiling". From September 1, athletes will need to undergo a cheek swab or blood test - only once in their lifetime - to determine if they are biologically female and therefore eligible for the female category in world-ranking events. The World Championships get under way on September 13. World Athletics said the testing protocol would be overseen by national federations. The move to introduce testing followed the World Athletics Council's approval in March of recommendations from its Gender Diverse Athlete Working Group. Coe said: "The philosophy that we hold dear in World Athletics is the protection and the promotion of the integrity of women's sport. "It is really important in a sport that is permanently trying to attract more women that they enter a sport believing there is no biological glass ceiling. "The test to confirm biological sex is a very important step in ensuring this is the case. "We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female. It was always very clear to me and the World Athletics Council that gender cannot trump biology. "We particularly want to thank our member federations for their support and commitment in the implementation of these new regulations." Earlier this month, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled that two-time Olympic 800 metres champion Caster Semenya 's right to a fair hearing in the Swiss legal system had been violated. Semenya, an athlete with differences of sexual development (DSD), has fought a long legal battle since World Athletics introduced rules requiring her to lower her testosterone levels in order to compete. The ECHR ruling is almost certain to mean the case returns to the Swiss courts but at this stage has no impact on track and field's eligibility criteria. World Boxing, now recognised by the International Olympic Committee as that sport's official international federation, has also introduced mandatory sex testing in order to be eligible for its female events. IOC president Kirsty Coventry said last month there was "overwhelming support" within her organisation to ensure fairness in female sport, and said a working group had been set up to find "consensus" on the issue.
The Guardian
14 hours ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
World Athletics mandates gene tests for female category eligibility
Athletes will be eligible to compete in the female category for world-ranking competitions such as the world championships only if they clear a one-time gene test. The test for the SRY gene, which needs to be taken only once and helps in determining biological sex, can be conducted via a cheek swab or blood test. World Athletics' testing protocol will be overseen by member federations and the new regulations come into effect on 1 September, in time for that month's world championships in Tokyo. 'It is really important in a sport that is permanently trying to attract more women that they enter a sport believing there is no biological glass ceiling,' the World Athletics president, Sebastian Coe, said. 'The test to confirm biological sex is a very important step in ensuring this is the case. We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female. 'It was always very clear to me and the World Athletics Council that gender cannot trump biology. We particularly want to thank our member federations for their support and commitment in the implementation of these new regulations.' Athletics has spent years debating eligibility criteria to compete in women's events, amid questions over biological advantages for transgender athletes and those with differences of sex development (DSD). World Athletics currently bans transgender women who have gone through male puberty from competing in women's events, while it requires female DSD athletes whose bodies produce high testosterone levels to lower them in order to be eligible. This year, a working group found that those rules were not tight enough, with a pre-clearance test for the SRY gene being one of several recommendations the group made for revised rules. The SRY gene reveals the presence of the Y chromosome, which is an indicator of biological sex. The test was also approved by World Boxing in May when they introduced mandatory sex testing for all boxers. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion This month, the European Court upheld a 2023 ruling that double 800m Olympic champion Caster Semenya's appeal to a Swiss Federal Tribunal against regulations that barred her from competing had not been properly heard. Semenya was appealing against World Athletics regulations that female athletes with DSDs medically reduce their testosterone levels.
Daily Mail
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Moment squirming Gavin Newsom says the quiet part out loud about trans kids... it's as humiliating as it is shameless
For more than four hours the supremely self-assured governor of California held court, waxing lyrical about his policies, beliefs and vision. Then came the simple yes or no question which stumped him. Should eight-year-old children be given medical treatments to change their biological sex?
