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Manitoba high school sports association could set a precedent by recognizing trans athletes

Fallon Fox Responds to Matt Mitrione's Comments

The Manitoba High Schools Athletics Association appears set to take a bold step forward on the equality front, bringing forward a proposed policy that would officially recognize transgender athletes and allow them to pick the gender in which they would compete. The policy goes before the association Feb. 3, and could come into effect as early as next fall. Association director Morris Glimcher told Nick Martin of The Winnipeg Free Press this policy isn't about an existing case, but is rather about trying to be proactive and inclusive:

There's no immediate issue or person prompting the policy, said Glimcher -- the goal is "to give them an opportunity to participate in a minimally stigmatized way."

"It's an issue (where) everyone's trying to be proactive, not running around 'What do we do? What do we do?' " should a transgender athlete come forward, Glimcher said.

The proposed policy will say "We recognize the gender that the student identifies with, and (the student) would be able to play for that gender," he said.

"Will it satisfy everybody? Probably not," Glimcher said.

This seems like a smart move from the association, and a possible precedent-setting one that could be copied across Canada. It goes along with tolerance and inclusivity-promoting initiatives like the Canadian Olympic Committee's #OneTeam effort, but in some ways goes even farther, as transgender athletes aren't always included in those programs. It's particularly notable that the association is making this move before a specific case comes up; that could mean that this rule is actually in place in time to benefit athletes who need it, rather than arrived at after a long and complicated policy process that's too late to benefit the initial applicant.

The association likely learned its lesson there from past experience. As Martin notes, twin sisters (Amy and Jesse Pasternuk) wound up launching a Manitoba Human Rights Commission challenge against the MHSSA in 2006 when they weren't allowed to try out for boys' hockey in Grade 10 (thanks to their school also offering girls' hockey). The commission eventually ruled in their favour two years late, finding the MHSSA guilty of gender discrimination, and they tried out in Grade 12, but were cut. That sort of long process didn't do much for the people involved and it made the MHSSA look bad, though, so a proactive approach seems much smarter.

Opponents to this will likely cry foul and say it will lead to a raft of boys dominating girls' sports, but that seems unlikely. Yes, there can be some questions about competitive fairness with transgender athletes, and that's something Olympic and professional sports organizations are still trying to figure out in many cases (although there has been notable progress thanks to openly trans athletes such as MMA fighter Fallon Fox.) At the high school level, though, there are a couple of differences. First, competitions' results shouldn't be the only thing that matters, and being inclusive should matter more. Second, it seems highly unlikely that high school kids would pose as trans just to gain a competitive advantage, especially considering how tough society as a whole still can be for trans people. The MHSSA's proposed approach (which was developed in conjunction with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission and the Rainbow Resource Centre) of allowing trans athletes to compete in the gender they identify with (and not requiring anything beyond their own identification) seems smart, and perhaps ahead of its time. We'll see if it passes and if other jurisdictions follow suit.