{"id":461248,"date":"2021-02-03T09:00:57","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T16:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=461248"},"modified":"2021-02-03T12:53:45","modified_gmt":"2021-02-03T19:53:45","slug":"womens-sports-policy-working-group-officially-launched","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/womens-sports-policy-working-group-officially-launched\/","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s Sports Policy Working Group Officially Launched"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tuesday marked the launch of the Women\u2019s Sports Policy Working Group, an association seeking to<\/a> \u201cprotect girls and women\u2019s sports and accommodate transgender athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The six-member working group is led by a pair of Olympic swimmers in Donna de<\/strong> Varona<\/strong> and Nancy Hogshead-Makar,<\/strong> both with long histories of advocacy in this sphere<\/a>. The group was formed in response to the executive order passed by President Joe<\/strong> Biden<\/strong> on Jan. 20 aimed at \u201cPreventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Working Group has published a briefing book<\/a> that explores the issues as they relate to girls\u2019 and women\u2019s sports. It is looking to provide \u201cscience-based recommendations\u201d for policy makers.<\/p>\n

The Women\u2019s Sports Policy Working Group released this statement in announcing its founding:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe uncompromising vitriol in public conversations regarding the participation of transgender girls and women in girls\u2019 and women\u2019s sports is unacceptable. One side insists that transgender girls are \u2018boys\u2019 and seeks to ban them without regard to their physical sex-linked traits. Ten states have passed such laws and there are three federal bills proposing the same. The other side insists that transgender girls are \u2018girls, period\u2019 and seeks their full and unconditional inclusion, again without regard to their physical sex-linked traits. Seventeen states have adopted this approach and the Biden Administration has suggested that it may be considering doing the same. Both extremes ignore the reasons we have sex-segregated sports, and both are unnecessarily discriminatory. The first unnecessarily discriminates against all transgender women and girls. The second discriminates against biological females in a space that was designed specifically to secure and protect their opportunities. All girls, whether they are transgender or not, have a place within a fair, safe, and respectful women\u2019s sports environment. We ask the Biden Administration and Congress to reject \u2018either\/or\u2019 positions and instead to adopt an ethical, science-based approach to the protection of girls\u2019 and women\u2019s sport.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The six inaugural members of the Women\u2019s Sports Policy Working Group are:<\/p>\n