CrossFit Games says transgender athletes can compete in category they identify with – online community has mixed reaction
- New CrossFit Games rule book will allow transgender competitors to take part as gender they identify with, but many are calling the decision unfair
The CrossFit Games’ new rulebook will allow transgender athletes to compete in the category aligned with the gender they identify as, rather than their birth gender – and while many members of the community have hailed the decision as a leap of inclusion, others have called it unfair.
CrossFit is an endurance sport that tests every aspect of an athlete’s strength and conditioning by including heavy weights, muscular endurance workouts, and anaerobic and aerobic fitness challenges.
Held in August, the CrossFit Games is the pinnacle of the sport, with the cream of the crop in the men’s, women’s and team categories competing in anything from handstand races to maximum dead lifts or marathon distance rowing.
Now the organisers’ new transgender policy, released this week, states that competitors can compete in the category they identify with, but it must be the gender they spend their everyday life in, and have obtained civil documents of, or sufficient medical or other satisfactory evidence forms for.
For transgender females, this means a testosterone level of 10nmol/L (nanomole per litre) at least 12 months before their first CrossFit competition and during the competition.