Lia Thomas: Women's Sports Policy Group Protects Female Sports<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As the Lia Thomas debate continues, it is worth noting the efforts of The Women's Sports Policy Working Group to protect female athletes.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/lia-thomas-debate-womens-sports-policy-working-group-focused-on-protection-of-female-sports\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lia Thomas Debate: Women's Sports Policy Working Group Focused on Protection of Female Sports\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As the Lia Thomas debate continues, it is worth noting the efforts of The Women's Sports Policy Working Group to protect female athletes.\" 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{"id":493338,"date":"2021-12-13T17:17:23","date_gmt":"2021-12-14T00:17:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=493338"},"modified":"2021-12-13T17:18:19","modified_gmt":"2021-12-14T00:18:19","slug":"lia-thomas-debate-womens-sports-policy-working-group-focused-on-protection-of-female-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/lia-thomas-debate-womens-sports-policy-working-group-focused-on-protection-of-female-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Lia Thomas Debate: Women’s Sports Policy Working Group Focused on Protection of Female Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lia Thomas Debate: Women’s Sports Policy Working Group Focused on Protection of Female Sports<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Lia Thomas situation<\/a>, in which the transgender athlete is flourishing for the University of Pennsylvania women\u2019s swimming program, is garnering major headlines around the world. The story has been picked up by news outlets in multiple continents and, as the season continues, the debate concerning Thomas\u2019 eligibility is not going away.<\/p>\n

As a refresher, Thomas was a member of Penn\u2019s men\u2019s swimming team for three years, earning All-Ivy League honors. But after transitioning from male to female and following a season in which COVID-19 canceled Ivy League athletics, Thomas is now representing the women\u2019s squad. During the early portion of the season, she has produced several top performances, including No. 1-ranked national times in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle.<\/p>\n

Thomas became eligible to compete for the Penn women based on NCAA guidelines, which require one year of testosterone suppressants for individuals born as males. However, Thomas continues to benefit from the biological advantages of being born as a male, and from nearly 20 years of testosterone production.<\/p>\n

The Women\u2019s Sports Policy Working Group, which features former elite athletes and administrators, has been addressing the issue of transgender women competing against biological females. The group includes a pair of Olympic-champion swimmers, Donna de Varona<\/strong> and Nancy Hogshead-Makar<\/strong>. Tennis champion Martina Navratilova is also a member of the group, which has established the following mission statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur mission is to affirm the legal permissibility of separate girls\u2019 and women\u2019s competitive sport teams while including all trans girls and trans women under the girls\u2019 and women\u2019s sports umbrella. We reject both the effort to exclude trans girls and trans women from girls\u2019 and women\u2019s sport and the effort to disadvantage females by forcing them to compete against some trans athletes with male sex-linked physical advantages. There is a middle way.\u201d<\/p>\n

On its comprehensive website, the Women\u2019s Sports Policy Working Group details considerable information related to transgender athletes competing in women\u2019s sports. Ample discussion is spent on the implementation of Title IX and the protection it affords women\u2019s sports. Additionally, data is presented which highlights the differences between biological female athletes and trans women who experienced male puberty.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaw and sports policy makers understood that from the onset of male puberty, male bodies develop such that they are, as a group, faster, stronger, and more powerful than female bodies as a group,\u201d the website states. \u201cThe performance gap between male and female athletes that emerges from that point typically ranges from 8-20% depending on the sport and event, and up to 50% where explosive power and complex movement skills are pivotal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Women\u2019s Sports Policy Working Group has made it clear that it is focused on providing a fair playing field for biological female athletes while simultaneously providing athletic opportunities for trans women.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is essential that we continue to safeguard girls\u2019 and women\u2019s sport. It is also good policy to be inclusive when doing so does not harm the female sports competition or the individuals separate sex sport is designed to protect. Congress and the Administration should make it clear that institutions governed by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX), the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act (the Sports Act), and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) will:<\/p>\n

\u201c(1) continue to be obligated to provide males and females with equal sporting opportunities on the basis of biological sex, and<\/p>\n

\u201c(2) be newly obligated to provide ways to include trans girls\/women in girls\u2019\/women\u2019s sports that ensure competitive fairness and playing-safety without diminishing the protection of biological females.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis two-step approach safeguards the integrity of the existing competitive sport process in which millions of girls and women participate annually. It also incrementally and thoughtfully expands the development of additional sports opportunities for emerging trans girls\/women.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about its position, visit the Women\u2019s Sports Policy Working Group website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"