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Last week Save Women’s Sport Australasia shared the story of a female football (soccer) player in NSW. She spoke about getting tackled by the goalie on the opposing team and it was then she realised that individual was a transgender male. This male was playing in the women’s football league in a community level competition. The woman who shared her story recounted how she hadn’t experienced being hit that hard since being subjected to male violence in a domestic situation sometime in the past. The soccer incident had not only injured her due to the force of the tackle, but it had also re-traumatised her as it triggered memories of her abuse at the hands of a male. This domestic abuse survivor went to the football association to make a formal complaint and for her trouble she has been ostracised from her team and her club, as well as encouraged not to play anymore games due to the apparently problematic and no doubt bigoted views she holds around men in women’s sport. The President of her football club even had the temerity to state that the presence of the transgender male is “not up for debate” as “she has a right to be there”. Meanwhile the team the transgender male plays for have denied this matter entirely saying the player registered as “female” and so they are a female. The reason transgender males (or any male who says he “identifies as a woman”) have been permitted and indeed encouraged to play in women’s competitions is due to Sport Australia and the Australian Human Rights Commission 2019 guidelines. The “Guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in sport”(1) (The Guidelines) prioritise “gender identity” above sex in the name of “inclusion”. The Guidelines state: “Sporting organisations should consider incorporating the following elements into their inclusion policies: a statement that participation in sport should be based on a person’s affirmed gender identity and not the sex they were assigned at birth (2) to the fullest extent possible”. Football Federation Australia is one of the first 8 sporting organisations in The Coalition of Major Professional and Participation Sports (COMPPS) to sign up to the Sport Australia guidelines. If the use of this ideological language by Australia’s peak sporting body isn’t bad enough, then consider that the presence of a male in a women’s sport competition is not considered the business of the female athletes or those athletes’ parents in the case of younger participants. As per The Guidelines Section 5.6: “Sporting organisations can ensure that their processes are inclusive, minimise potential discrimination and protect the privacy of transgender and gender diverse people by: not disclosing the transgender or gender diverse status of a player without their express permission”. This may be news to many readers, and this is exactly what has occurred in this instance. The football club with the transgender player has refused to acknowledge this (despite another Club President confirming it). Instead, they have said that the player registered as “female” and therefore they are female. This is where these “inclusion” policies lead us. To a place where fairness and safety for girls and women has been completely disregarded. To a place where a female survivor of male violence has been re-traumatised after colliding with a male on the field in a women’s sports competition. The privacy and confidentiality of the transgender player is considered more important than fairness and safety for the rest of the players. Save Women’s Sport Australasia raised concerns regarding these controversial policies back in 2020 and again in 2021 at International Women’s Day rallies in Brisbane (the only capital city women’s day march in Australia which doesn’t centre males and their special identities). Considering what we already know as fact regarding the biological and physiological advantages males have over females(3) (regardless of testosterone suppression) and the considerable safety risks to females as a result - why should the truth be withheld from women? As an example - on average, men are physically stronger than women; men have 66% more upper-body muscle than women, and 50% more lower body muscle(4). Why should the fact there is a male in a women’s sporting competition be kept from the female players and their parents? Don’t these girls and women have a right to know they are taking the field against a male? Why is the chosen “identity” of a male and the acceptance and validation of that identity considered more important than the actual reality of women? Why are we being forced to not only pretend that these males are women and accept they may be in our sports, but also being denied the truth when it may impact on female player welfare and wellbeing? Many sections of the media have continually portrayed the inclusion of “transwomen” in women’s sport as a non-issue and have misrepresented the science and the facts. Just this week the ABC was found to have breached their code of conduct with regards to impartiality and was forced to correct a sports story and headline about transgender athletes after an internal review found the story was “materially misleading”(5). I’m proud to say I was the complainant in that matter. I hope it is the start of the end of the biased reporting we have seen from the ABC on this issue. Finally, the heart of the issue (and something which will have to be the topic of another article) is the fact that the ABC is signed up to the ACON Australian Workplace Equality Index(7). (AWEI) which promotes “inclusion initiatives” and is the Australian equivalent to lobby group Stonewall(8) in the UK. Meantime, the Australian Human Rights Commission and the Australian Sports Commission (which includes Sport Australia) are both “Foundation Partners” of ACON’s “Pride in Sport”(9) program, a “sporting inclusion program specifically designed to assist sporting organisations at all levels with the inclusion of employees, athletes, volunteers and spectators with diverse genders and sexualities” (10) Why is Australia’s national public broadcaster, government agencies and peak sporting body taking instruction from an unelected lobby group who do not represent the Australian public but who are instead working to entrench gender ideology into Australian sport, culture and society as a whole? Nerissa Scott Representative, Save Women’s Sport Australasia www.savewomenssport.com 1 Guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in sport (2019) | Australian Human Rights Commission 2 Emphasis my own – sex is not “assigned at birth”, it is observed, even in utero, and recorded at birth 3 “Transgender Women in the Female Category of Sport: Perspectives on Testosterone Suppression and Performance Advantage” Emma N. Hilton, Tommy R. Lundberg, Sports Medicine (2021) 51:199–214 4 NPRGFullDocumentPrintV17.pdf (genderresourceguide.com) 5 ABC transgender sport story ‘misleading’, review finds (archive.ph) 6 Pride in Sport Index (https://www.prideinsport.com.au/psi/) 7 Australian Workplace Equality Index (pid-awei.com.au) 8 Department of Health becomes latest public body to DITCH Stonewall | Daily Mail Online 9 Current Members - Pride in Sport Pride in Sport 10 About Pride in Sport - Pride in Sport

Alice Soper (Why sportswomen don’t need ‘saving’ from transgender athletes, 25 August) and Save Women’s Sport Australasia agree on many important things. That participation in sport is the beginning, not the apex for many athletes. And that women are fiercely competitive. We also agree that years of under investment in women’s sports, misguided policy, people learning on the job, decisions being made by people with no lived experience, sexual harassment and bullying, and pay disparities have roots in sociology. Or more specifically, sexism. Finally, Alice is absolutely right when she says that sportswomen are not damsels in distress in need of “saving”. I come from a sports mad family of high performing athletes. Within our whanau we have those who have represented New Zealand in multiple sports on the international stage and at Olympic level, as well as those who channel their competitive spirit into community level sport. Our sportswomen are strong, competitive, smart, and dedicated. Their participation and success is only possible because of the existence of the female category. A category that allows them to participate in fair and meaningful competition against other women. And, when it comes to contact or combat sports, one that also protects them from the increased risk of harm that competing against a male-bodied athlete could result in. If it was not for the existence of, and the protection of, women’s sporting categories we would have no female medalists or even contenders on the international stage in any sport where strength, speed or stamina matters. New Zealanders would have never heard the names of athletes like Alison Roe, Susan Devoy, Sophie Pascoe, and Lisa Carrington. As much as some people may wish to deny reality, biology and physiology matters because we play sports with our bodies, not our identities. Ms. Soper appears to be comfortable with the loss of meaningful and fair competition for women and increased risk of injury in some sports by the inclusion of male-bodied people, as is her right. However, many people do not share her views. Save Womens’ Sports Australasia had heard from female athletes and the parents of girls across New Zealand who have been impacted by the inclusion of male transgender people in their sports category. They have included cricketeers, roller derby players, netballers, hockey players, weight lifters, and mountain bikers, among others. They have shared stories of how they have been injured and given up sports that they love. They have told how they have been ostracized by people they have previously considered to be friends and dismissed by their sporting organisations when they raise concerns. This never happens, people like Alice Soper tells us. Except it does, and it is growing as more sports organizations fall into line with Sport New Zealand’s relentless insistence that the inclusion of male people who identify as women is more important than fairness to, and the safety of, female players. These are the words of one woman who contacted us, “During one training, I was elbowed sharply in the stomach, knocking the wind from me, and on another occasion was held and shoved with such excessive force that I had a panic attack. All aspects of my physical and mental safety were ignored… I never felt comfortable again and subsequently felt that I had little choice but to leave the sport which I had loved for the previous eight years.” As another example, right now in a community cycling club in New Zealand there is a male transgender cyclist who holds the award for both best female cyclist of the season as well as best overall cyclist. Why? Because this cyclist not only cleaned out the women’s field, posting times so fast that no female had a chance of competing for first, but on some occasions even beat the fastest male in an event. This is what kindness and inclusion now looks like. Female athletes being forced out of sports that they love and out of their rightful placings and recognition because including males in their category is considered to be a higher priority. Sportswomen don’t need saving, but their category certainly does. Rowena Edge, spokeswoman, Save Womens Sport Australasia

This opinion piece appeared in the NZ Herald on June 27th 2022 - you can read it here. ​ Shane Te Pou (23 June) reveals himself as another man advocating to undermine fair competition and safety for female athletes under the guise of “inclusion”. Worse he claims ignorance as to the science of physiology and biology of the sexes while also comparing the professionals and experts involved with the FINA decision to the quasi race based science of eugenics. The NZ Herald’s decision to publish this cannot go unchallenged. As a former elite female athlete who represented New Zealand I am more qualified to comment on the subject of male athletic advantage than Mr Te Pou will ever be. Male athletic advantage begins in the womb and is supercharged by a testosterone based puberty, endowing advantage that cannot be reversed by testosterone suppression later in life. This includes, in general, larger hearts and lungs, greater muscle mass, higher blood oxygenation, skeletal differences, and greater grip strength than comparable female athletes. Women are not small men, we are not men with lower testosterone, we are our own sex. Sports categories are by their very nature exclusionary for reasons of fair and meaningful competition and safety with separation usually done by age, sex, and/or weight. Mr Te Pou is not decrying that 30 year old men are excluded from playing 12 year old boys, nor that heavy weight boxers are excluded from the feather weight category. No, it’s just female athletes that he demands should roll over and make space for the opposite sex. Mr Te Pou claims that FINAs decision not to allow swimmers who have experienced male puberty to compete in elite women’s categories further victimises the most marginalised and oppressed. Let us be clear, a white male Ivy League swimmer born to privilege who could not crack the top 200 when competing in men’s competition but wins a national championship against an silver olympic medalist when“included” in a women’s team is neither marginalised nor oppressed. Nor is a white male weightlifter, child of a multi-millionaire, who displaced a woman of colour from an Olympic spot. All athletes know the benefits that sport provides to peoples’ mental and physical well-being. We all want transgender people to be able to access sport, but it should not be by demanding that women include males in their categories. FINAs intention to progress the creation of an “open” category is a decision to be applauded, not maligned by the uninformed. It is also one that should be followed by Sport NZ in community sport. Instead they seem determined to advocate for any male who says that he “identifies” as a woman to be entitled to play in that category, even without any form of medical transition. As for Mr Te Pou’s appalling comparison of the professionals, scientists and experts involved in analysing the evidence that informed FINAs decision to quasi race based “science” of eugenics and the Holocaust, he owes both them and New Zealand’s Jewish Community an apology. Candice Riley June 27 2022

June 20th 2022 MEDIA RELEASE: FINA Decision will Ensure Fairness for Females The decision by swimming’s international federation, FINA, to adopt a new policy on gender inclusion is welcome and will ensure fairness in competition for women and girls in swimming, Save Women’s Sports spokeswoman Ro Edge says. “FINA have done the right thing, and brought back fairness for women and girls in competitive swimming. The scientific evidence, public opinion and of course common sense all support this move. “Male puberty confers a lifelong performance advantage in sport which can’t be reversed. Now other international sports federations must follow FINA’s lead,” Ms Edge says. FINA’s policy includes the establishment of an open category and is obligatory for all national swimming organisations, overriding any ‘domestic policies’. Swimming New Zealand President, Dr David Gerrard, started the initiative at FINA and says the decision made by FINA to protect the integrity of female sport has been greeted by an overwhelming majority of stakeholders. “It was informed by irrefutable evidence from medicine and science, balanced by opinions from lawyers versed in human rights. But the most compelling arguments came from two icons of international swimming, Summer Sanders (USA) and Cate Campbell (AUS) whose heartfelt sentiments reflected a sincere desire for fairness above all else,” Dr Gerrard says. “This was never about denying transgender athletes the opportunity to participate in aquatic sport, but rather, a decision based on proportionality. Biological females represent over 50% of the world's population and their voice has finally been heard by an international federation with the guts to protect their unassailable rights. Ms Edge says most sport is not played at an elite or international level and there is also the need to ensure fairness for girls and women in community and grassroots sports. “Sport NZ are undertaking a final round of consultation on their Guidelines for Transgender Participation, which will enable people to participate in sport in the gender they identify as, and not the sex they were assigned at birth. It does not ask people to prove or otherwise justify their gender, sex or gender idntity and no transition is required. “We agree with FINA and the UK Sports Council that if sports want fairness for females, they must have a category that’s only for those born female. There should be a place in sport for everyone, but that cannot be in the female category. We call on Sport NZ to pause and reassess their transgender guidelines.” Ends. Media Contact Ro Edge NZ Spokesperson Save Women’s Sport Australasia Mobile: 027 564 7742 Email: savewomenssports@gmail.com

In February, Lia Thomas became the first known transgender athlete to win the highest US national college swimming title, beating an Olympic silver medallist to do so at the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) championship in Atlanta. Some are celebrating Thomas’ win as a victory for inclusion. But there is nothing inclusive or fair about allowing Thomas, previously ranked 462nd in men’s college swimming, to compete against female athletes. I am a former athlete who started at community sport and slowly worked my way up to the elite level. As the saying goes, “hard work beats talent, if talent doesn’t work hard”. I was one that made my way through hard work, the struggle to break through is something I understand intrinsically. This is why I am so dismayed by the current political support for gender and/or sex self-identification, which allows males, with all of their natural advantages, to compete with and against females under the guise of diversity and inclusion. I started at community sport for two different pursuits as a teenager (rowing) and again in my late 20's (triathlon events), eventually competing internationally. However, in both disciplines, I struggled for a few years to break through, and it required a great deal of tenacity at times to carry on. For many athletes, it can be a very fine line to be able to continue competing or not. Even more so for female athletes where participation rates and opportunities overall are already less than our male counterparts. A 2019 Active NZ report by Sport NZ, established that young adult females have a greater appetite to increase participation than males, but they also face more barriers. I lived week to week, managing work and study commitments around training and competing, acutely aware my ability to pursue sporting goals would be short lived in the great scheme of life. I relied heavily on the small but significant windows of opportunity to keep the momentum going. A win could lead to an article in the local newspaper and in turn people in my community started to become aware of my achievements. Over time with consistency, this recognition became sponsorship. Businesses offered running shoes, a gym membership, physio treatment, equipment, and expertise. A foundation of support was slowly built by my community and allowed me to continue progressing. I was fortunate. Of the many barriers and challenges that I had to face when chasing my sporting dreams, the possibility of having to compete against a male loaded with irreversible physiological advantages was not one of them. I don’t know what I would have done if I was in the situation that many female athletes now find themselves - pressured to stay silent in the face of something that clearly undermines girls and women’s right to fair and safe competition in the name of “inclusion”. ​ In recent years there has been active collusion by sporting organisations to reorganise sporting priorities. Currently, sports organisations and government agencies in both New Zealand and Australia are advocating for, or have already implemented, policies to give any male who says he identifies as a girl or a woman the right to play sport in the female category, and use female changing rooms, with no physical transition required. These agencies believe that a male’s right to be “included” in women’s sport is more important than the safety, fairness, and opportunities for females. In almost all instances these proposals and policies have been developed alongside and widely consulted with advocates for transgender people while deliberately excluding female athletes from consultation. Nor have any assessments on the impact that including males in girls or women’s sport will have on female players – physically or emotionally – been undertaken. For example, in a March email from Sport NZ to Save Women’s Sports Australasia, a Sport NZ representative wrote, ​ “I can advise that no surveys have been undertaken by Sport NZ into the potential impacts on participation of female participants as a result of the inclusion of transgender participants... The guiding principles, as you know, are being developed to support sporting organisations at the community level to address matters of inclusion around transgender participants. They look at ways to include transgender participants, rather than potential impacts on those who are already participating in sport. The overall intent of these guiding principles is inclusion, allowing everyone who wants to participate in community sport to be able to do so in the gender they identify with. This aligns with the Sport NZ vision of Every Body Active.” Given the obvious impact this will have on sporting clubs and associations at all levels, the lack of wider consultation, transparency, and consideration of ramifications for female athletes, is extremely concerning. This will have serious implications and real potential to discredit performance and erode the integrity of female sport. Community sport is the gateway to regional, national, and international levels. Not only that, but amateur sport played at community level is competitive and still requires considerable dedication, time, and resource to participate. For girls and young women this also includes considerable dedication of both time and finances by their family members as well. When a male that identifies as a woman claims a spot on the podium in the female category, it is incredibly unfair to the girls or women who have worked hard, turned up and performed to the best of their ability, only to be displaced and have their moment and their time of celebration undermined. How is it possible that sporting organisations are allowing this to happen with no understanding of how this will be impacting ongoing female success and participation rates. Where is the advocacy, support, and consideration for the female athletes who should be entitled to fair competition in their category. Not only are females being displaced in their events, but they are being physically injured in contact sports when they play against males that identify as women. This recently occurred in a high school rugby game. Despite World Rugby research made available last year, which established that safety and fairness in rugby could not be achieved with the inclusion of transgender women, a male that identified as a woman was still allowed on a women’s team. Only after three female players were injured in a single game, did the coaches and organisation admit that the size, strength, and physical force of a male in contact sport could cause serious harm to the female players. Despite this, New Zealand and Australia’s national rugby unions continue to talk about prioritising “inclusion” in social and community rugby. These realities cannot continue to be ignored. Not only is this unfair, but girls and women are already being harmed when inclusion is prioritised over safety and fairness. Women are not men with lower testosterone, and we cannot identify our way out of our biological differences. Acknowledging this does not make women 'lesser' athletes, it simply reflects material reality and is the very reason that we have separate categories for the sexes. Everyone has a right to feel safe, included and accepted in sport. But sport is not separated by gender. We do not have non-binary sports teams, agender sports teams, bigender sports teams, or moongender sports teams. Sport is separated by sex because it is not identities that play sports, it is bodies. And a male person, no matter how they identify, can never change their biological sex. While I do not believe that male transgender athletes should be seeking to participate or compete in women’s sport, it is not them that deserve the spotlight of criticism and scrutiny. It is the sporting organisations and government agencies that are implementing “inclusion” policies while excluding those most impacted by them, refusing to acknowledge that there is a significant conflict of rights, and the full extent of ramifications have not been considered, nor researched. I feel compelled to continue to speak about this because I had a fair opportunity to succeed to the best of my ability in sport, as have other women before me, in their sporting endeavours. The question I ask is whether the next generation of girls will have the same opportunities, if we can no longer define material reality. Candice Riley May 2022