After previously trying to ban transgender surfer Sasha Jane Lowerson from the Huntington Beach Longboard Pro, the competition is now forced to allow the transgender woman to compete as the California Coastal Commission said surf competitions could “not discriminate based on gender.”
Lowerson initially entered the women’s competition because the rules from the International Surfing Association (ISA) allow transgender women to compete if they meet certain criteria around testosterone levels. But after she entered the competition, she was told she would not be able to compete due to a seemingly arbitrary decision.
“I was really disappointed and surprised [at being excluded],” Lowerson told the BBC. “You can’t cherry-pick the rulebook. If you’re going to use the rulebook, you use all of it.”
Last year, the World Surf League (WSL) announced its new policy on transgender athletes competing, which allows trans women to compete in women’s events and competitions as long as they maintain a testosterone level below a certain limit for at least 12 months. While there have been some critics of this decision, Lowerson made it clear that she intends to continue surfing in women’s competitions.
“I’ve inadvertently become a poster-child for trans women in surfing,” she said. “Not that I wanted to do that, but it just kind of happened.”
“Sport is about community,” she added. “It’s about sharing and having fun with other like-minded people, and the fact we’re losing sight of that is really sad.”
[BBC]
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