Is an 'Inclusive' Category the Solution to the IOC Ban on Trans Women in Sports?

Topic: Sport Climbing

Phoebe and Luce want to make sport climbing more inclusive for all.

Luce first felt proud to tell people they were non-binary at a ClimbingQTs event.

Luce felt comfortable in their identity for the first time.

It changed Luce's life.

ClimbingQTs is an LGBTQIA+ advocacy group and Australia's largest social climbing club.

ClimbingQTs holds monthly meet-ups at gyms where Luce and Phoebe act as friendly faces.

For many, it's their first experience of being surrounded by queer community.

Luce found a community in the ClimbingQTs social group.

Luce realized they were not alone in their experiences.

Phoebe had a positive experience in the group.

Phoebe was undertaking gender-affirming care and a psychologist recommended the group to her.

Phoebe appreciated having other queer people navigating the bureaucracy of gender-affirming care.

Phoebe fell in love with sport climbing, which didn't have a homophobic locker room culture.

Phoebe feels accepted as a trans woman in social climbing circles.

Luce and Phoebe's experience changed when they entered competitive pathways.

With ClimbingQTs' support, they are advocating for change at the elite level.

Homophobic jokes and misgendering occur in competitive climbing.

Competitive climbing was different from social climbing for Luce.

Luce participated in the women's category despite being non-binary.

Luce heard homophobic jokes and was misgendered while training.

Luce had negative experiences in competitive climbing environments.

Luce felt disrespected by other competitors.

Phoebe experienced misgendering, including at a tournament.

Luce stopped enjoying the sport due to negative experiences.

Luce wants an inclusive category introduced for top-level competitions.

Luce would like to see an inclusive category at national championships.

People of any gender can participate in inclusive categories, but these are generally only available as social competitions.

Victoria and New South Wales offer an inclusive category at the state level.

Other social categories, like the Masters competition, are offered at the national level.

Luce has been pushing for change.

An inclusive category would give more opportunities for people to experience high-level competition.

ClimbingQTs calls on the national body to introduce an inclusive category.

ClimbingQTs released a statement calling for change from the national governing body.

ClimbingQTs acknowledged that several climbing gyms offered inclusive categories in social competitions.

Inclusive categories improved the wellbeing and safety of trans and gender diverse climbers.

ClimbingQTs wants inclusive categories to be offered across all states and territories.

Nick Rippon wants to see change across Australia.

ClimbingQTs has cisgendered members competing at elite levels.

The absence of inclusive competition climbing categories means gender diverse members cannot progress.

The statement caught the attention of SCA chief executive Beck Hamilton.

Hamilton has been in the role for just over nine months.

Hamilton is the first chief executive of the organisation.

Hamilton applauded the statement and moved to strike up a formal partnership with ClimbingQTs.

Hamilton wants to create a culture where people can come forward with their stories without fear.

Hamilton does not want SCA to be a sport that people are afraid to speak up in.

SCA to introduce inclusive competition pathway.

Hamilton wants to establish an inclusive competition at national championships.

This would mean all states and territories would host an inclusive competition.

Hamilton is willing to go further and advocate for a world championships of inclusive climbing.

SCA's new CEO is acting to address the concerns of the climbing community.

The introduction of an inclusive category would be an exercise in learning about the size of the community at an elite level.

Hamilton believes that from small beginnings, big things can come.

Sport Climbing Victoria secretary Yvette Harrison welcomed Hamilton's commitment.

Harrison said an inclusive category would need time to grow its participant base.

Harrison believes that if you build it, people will come.

Victoria was the first state to adopt inclusive categories.

Harrison is proud of Victoria's adoption of inclusive categories.

People finding their community through sport can be life-affirming.

Campbell Harrison was homophobically trolled before the Paris Olympics.

Harrison's experience strengthened his conviction about the importance of queer role models in sport.

Harrison is the mother of Campbell Harrison, the first openly LGBTQI+ climber to compete in the Olympics.

For Luce, the introduction of an inclusive competition would be a dream come true.

Luce did not think an inclusive category would ever happen.

The introduction of an inclusive category would open up possibilities for young climbers.

IOC ruling means trans women are still on the outer.

For Phoebe, the decision is bittersweet.

Phoebe wants to participate in the women's category.

Phoebe was unable to compete in the women's category due to a minor hormonal fluctuation.

Trans women must maintain a testosterone level under 10 nanomoles per litre for at least 12 months prior to competition.

Phoebe's situation was affected by the IOC's announcement that all women athletes will be subjected to SRY gene testing.

The decision bans trans women from participating and impacts women with innate variations of sex characteristics.

The ruling will affect sport climbing, which has been inducted as one of the mandatory sports of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Hamilton said SCA would need to abide by whatever the international governing body decides to do.

Hamilton believes the IOC ruling has put a clear line in the sand around who can participate.

Hamilton wants people to know that the line gives SCA an opportunity to create something new.

Sport climbing has increased in popularity since it was introduced at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

An inclusive competition is welcome news for many gender diverse participants, but it does not solve the issue of trans women who want to compete in the women's category.

Pride Cup opposes the IOC's mandatory sex testing policy.

Adele Pavlidis argues that the IOC's policy threatens trans women's right to participate in sport.

IOC president Kirsty Coventry announced that transgender athletes would no longer be allowed to participate in women's events.

Pavlidis believes that trans women are not a threat to sport.

There is a deep need for cultural transformation in sport.

The idea of an inclusive category has the potential to drive deeper cultural shifts.

The idea of an inclusive category sounds great in theory but has many issues to untangle in practice.

There are many people involved in sport who bring their own ideas and biases.

If society could move beyond binary gendered thinking, an all-inclusive category could work.

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