The president of the Worldwide Paralympic Committee says he’s against “blanket options” for transgender participation insurance policies.
Andrew Parsons was talking after United States President Donald Trump signed an government order that forestalls transgender girls from competing in feminine classes of sports activities.
Final week, Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) presidential candidate Seb Coe backed the transfer, and has additionally steered he would contemplate introducing a blanket ban if elected subsequent month.
“One factor that’s vital to us after all is to guard the feminine class, that is the primary precedence,” Parsons informed BBC Sport.
“However we additionally should acknowledge that there’s a rising inhabitants of transgender athletes, [and] that they want to compete on the highest doable stage.
“So how we will deliver all of this collectively is a problem, and I believe science is the reply to that, however I do not assume a blanket resolution is feasible as a result of I do imagine sports activities are totally different.
“For the time being you’ve ‘combined sports activities’, like equestrian for instance. So I do not imagine in blanket options for such a sophisticated factor, particularly as a result of sports activities are so totally different by way of what they demand from the athletes.”
The IOC and IPC each presently enable particular person sports activities to set their very own guidelines concerning transgender athletes.
Below Coe’s presidency, World Athletics has banned transgender girls from competing within the feminine class at worldwide occasions and toughened the principles over the participation of athletes with variations in intercourse improvement (DSD).
Nonetheless, below World Para Athletics’ guidelines, an individual who’s legally recognised as a girl is eligible to compete within the class their impairment qualifies them for.
Final yr in Paris, Italian runner Valentina Petrillo grew to become the primary brazenly transgender athlete to compete on the Paralympics.
“Relating to the IOC and IPC, we’re totally different organisations with totally different governance fashions,” mentioned Parsons.
“We took totally different choices on vital choices previously and this may proceed to be the case by way of the autonomy.”
Trump has additionally mentioned he’ll forestall transgender girls from competing in feminine competitions on the LA 2028 Video games by denying them visas to journey to the US.
When requested for his response, Parsons mentioned: “After all we now have three years to go, however in the case of transgender participation it is as much as every worldwide federation (IF) to make these choices by way of guidelines and laws. We’ll work with the organising committee to ensure the principles of each IF may very well be revered.
“That is an operational matter in the case of the Video games and visas. We’ve got to see info and measures to see how we will then work with choices which are going to be made.
“I perceive for the time being there are a lot of opinions, many statements, however we have to work with the info. And that is one thing that each host agrees in the case of visas – to ensure the participation of all totally different international locations and the athletes who’re thought of eligible by the IOC, IPC and the respective IFs.”
