The transgender category of the swimming World Cup has been canceled due to insufficient participation. Last year, regulations were put in place to prevent transgender women from taking part in elite female sports events, leading World Aquatics to introduce a new category for athletes whose gender identity differs from their assigned sex at birth.
The introduction of the Open category aimed to ensure fairness in sports. The swimming World Cup, scheduled to begin in Berlin on October 6th, implemented new guidelines for transgender swimmers, preventing biological males from competing in the women’s category unless they had completed their transition before the age of 12 and maintained testosterone levels below a specified threshold.
In response to this rule, transgender swimmers have expressed their desire to continue competing against women rather than entering the open category, which would involve competing against other transgender individuals. Consequently, on October 3rd, World Aquatics announced that no transgender swimmers had registered for the events, prompting a reconsideration of their policy for elite competitions.
Also Read: Django Unchained star dies aged 53 after cancer battle
“Following the close of registration for the open category competitions, World Aquatics can confirm that no entries have been received for the Open Category events,” they stated in a release.
“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 demand at the elite level, the working group is planning to explore the possibility of including open category races at masters events in the future.”
After the controversy involving American Lia Thomas, who became the first known transgender swimmer to win the top US national collegiate title, World Aquatics revised their rules last year.
Swimming was followed by other sports like athletics and cycling in prohibiting transgender women from competing in the female division. However, World Aquatics is the first to attempt to create a third division separate from men’s and women’s competitions.
Also Read: New hope as trial of HIV vaccine begins
