Thread by @fairplaywomen

Sports must now make a choice – they either prioritise the views of male-born people in female sport at the expense of women and girls. Or they can protect the future of women’s sport by looking for new ways to increase participation of transwomen. /1

The Sports Councils have put forward an option that is fair and inclusive for everyone in sport: an Open category for all alongside a fair and safe female sex category. If sports really want to be maximally inclusive, that’s what they’ll do. /2
equalityinsport.org/resources/inde…

Remember, trans people can already play sport. They are not excluded from sport. Most sports already have an open category and trans people can and do play there. /3

But what trans activists have wanted is for trans people to be able to play in the sex category they don’t belong in. That’s not how sport works – no one chooses where they belong in sport. Adults can’t choose to play in junior games. /4

...able-bodied athletes can’t choose to compete in Paralympic sports. The same should apply to trans people. People with male bodies shouldn’t be able to choose to compete in female sex category. /5

It’s great to see UK sport taking the bull by the horns. Everyone knows the current system is not fit for purpose. Even the IOC admitted that this Summer. But it’s our UK sports councils that have taken the lead to find a new way forward. They must be commended for that. /6

They didn’t quite go far enough to protect the future of sport for women & girls. They failed to give a clear signal that sport *must always* provide safe and fair access for females. It’s not optional or a ‘nice to have’. It must be the minimum requirement for women’s sport /7

Trans participation in female sport is not cost free. Women and girls pay the price. It cannot be right that a sports now continue to prioritise trans people’s preferences over fairness and safety for women. /8

Now seeing it in black and white means we can hold sports to account. Challenge them when the devalue women’s sport. They will have to own their decisions & face the wrath of women if they get it wrong. No more hand waving about balancing inclusion and fairness. You can’t. /9

Sports now face a stark choice. They either retain sex categories so that women’s sport is safe and fair OR they continue with an unfair and unsafe version of sport for women so male-born trans people can play in the category of their own choosing. /10

The sports who choose to devalue the integrity of women’s sports will now be exposed /11