England Hockey to ban trans women from women’s competitions
England Hockey says it intends to ban trans women from female competitions. (Getty)
England Hockey intends to ban trans women from competing in women’s competitions from the beginning of next season.
The sport’s governing body announced on Wednesday (8 January) that it will place trans women in an “open” category instead.
The decision comes after a policy review on trans inclusion, which began in July 2023. The new regulations are expected to take effect by 1 September.
“Based on this evidence, we have determined that the trans and non-binary participation policy should restrict trans participation in order to secure fair competition,” a spokesperson said. “We are committed to supporting all affected players to ensure they find the right path to continue to participate in hockey.”
The decision follows similar moves by the governing bodies of a number of other sports, including rugby and swimming.
Concerns over the “fairness” of allowing trans women to compete in the female category derive from the belief that testosterone levels disadvantage cisgender women, although there is no definitive evidence to suggest this is true.
In fact, a study backed by the International Olympics Committee last year showed that transgender women could be at a disadvantage in several areas, including lung function and strength.
The England Hockey spokesperson said the decision was taken after guidance from the Sports Council’s Equality Group.
“Based on the current available evidence, and that hockey requires the physical capabilities of strength, endurance, speed and acceleration as key factors for success, hockey is considered a gender-affected sport.”
The update had been developed to “ensure everyone can participate in the playing of hockey in a fair way”, they added.
Historically, open categories have been unpopular. When World Aquatics created theirs for trans and non-binary athletes, no one signed up to compete.
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