British Cycling has suspended its current policy regarding transgender athletes, and will now prohibit biological male athletes from competing at its elite female events.
According to the BBC, British Cycling said that it will conduct a full review of its transgender athlete policies "in the coming weeks."
The previous regulations states that riders had to record testosterone levels below five nanomoles per litre for a 12-month period prior to beginning competition in the female division.
Notably, the BBC article, published on Friday, has had its headline altered after backlash on social media.
Any athlete can and may still compete in their actual sex category
— HelenB (@scrumpyh3) April 8, 2022
Not one person has been banned from cycling
Obviously one might not be good enough to achieve at a high level if one chooses to suppress one’s testosterone-but that is a personal choice to take cross sex hormones
The original headline read: "Transgender athletes can’t compete at British Cycling elite events." The headline now reads, "Transgender women no longer able to compete at elite female events run by British Cycling."
The announcement of the policy change follows close on the heels of news that biological male athlete Emily Bridges would not be eligible to compete at the National Omnium Championships as a female.
The sport’s world governing body, Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), reportedly told British Cycling three days before the race that "because international ranking points are allocated at national championship events, Bridges' participation could only be allowed once her eligibility to race in international competitions was confirmed. That process is ongoing," BBC reported.
British Cycling said that it "understood there are concerns" regarding how its policy reflected the guidance published last year by the Sports Councils' Equality Group (SCEG).
According to the BBC, "An 18-month review developed by Sport England, Sport Scotland, Sport Northern Ireland, Sport Wales and UK Sport concluded 'testosterone suppression is unlikely to guarantee fairness between transgender women and natal females in gender-affected sports.'"
The review said that "for many sports, the inclusion of transgender people, fairness and safety cannot co-exist in a single competitive model."
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