On the August 3rd Cycling Ireland published its intention to adopt the new UCI policy (July 17th) in regard to Transgender athletes.
Trans Women and Intersex people are now prohibited from participating in women’s events in all categories and all disciplines.
Intersex Ireland had reviewed Cycling Irelands published policy for Trans and Intersex people (2021 Version 3) at the beginning of Pride Month, and found it to be completely outdated.
Cycling Ireland replied immediately with their latest unpublished Version (ratified by the Board in February 2023).
However, it still referred to rules that were outdated.
Although we welcomed the fact that Cycling Ireland allowed transgender and Intersex athletes to compete.
Intersex Ireland requested that Cycling Ireland remove offensive terms and derogatory language from the document.
We asked to remove the entire Hermaphrodite section, and to correct the VSD part and include differences of sex development there.
On June 8th Cycling Ireland sent an email to Intersex Ireland thanking them for bringing it to their attention . They made a commitment to ‘act accordingly, with the appropriate staff and medical people’.
For the entire month of June Cycling Ireland proudly displayed it’s Pride colours, whilst behind the scenes preparing to adopt a policy to ban Trans and Intersex athletes from competing.
C.I. also continued to display outdated, derogatory and offensive language on their website as regards to Trans & Intersex members, even after the official request to amend the policy from Intersex Ireland.
Rather than this being a sudden adherence to the world governing bodies recommendations, these were the actions of a National Governing Body taking the easiest possible option after the most turbulent period in its history.
After a number of scandals (Including false quotations in 2020 to apply for Department of Sport grants), the newly elected Chairperson, and the majority of the Board resigned in 2022 after failing to reform the organisation.
The organisation stumbled on (outside of its own memorandum and articles of association) and faced an Oireachtas committee on governance last year.
Cycling Ireland are still facing resignations and changes to their Board, Staff & Commissions today, and as such owes its existence to the help, support and guidance of the Irish Sports Council.
The new UCI rules are following a wave of policies introduced and designed to exclude transgender and Intersex people from competing in women’s sports.
We had not seen a Trans or Intersex woman dominating at any Cycling discipline in Ireland.
The supporters of these rules will point at the handful of Trans women in the world that have won at National level as evidence that they have an advantage, but what we are saying now is that they can no longer compete in our sport, and should never win (ever).
Those who campaigned for the change argued that people who have gone through male puberty have physical advantages and therefore women’s competition needed to be protected.
However, with the eligibility for HRT intervention standing at 18 years of age in most countries, this can be seen as nothing more than a ban and exclusion of Trans women from World Cycling.
The waiting list for Trans Healthcare in Ireland now stands at over nine years (National Gender Service). A child (Youngest age allowed is 17) will be
27 years old before they even have a chance of receiving HRT (Every invasive appointment adds a year).
Cycling Ireland have now banned these people from their Sport.
The UCI ruling has stated an aim at protecting women’s sport, but in effect it has attempted to define a woman.
We are approaching a point where all athletes must certify their chromosomal sex with their Federation in order to be eligible for competitions.
The UCI may also reserve the right to include a chromosomal sex screen in its anti-doping protocols to confirm such certification.
This will affect all women, and it opens the sport to the simple premise of j’accuse.
The humiliating practice of ’sex testing’ women has been used in the past by the IOC, and the UCI should have no desire to go there.
It will be too late when that female cyclist doesn’t look feminine enough.
It is likely that cycling is to become safer and fairer for only some women and girls, those that adhere to western binary notions of femininity, and excluding those that don’t.
Drawing a line in the sand based on sex and binary expectations is not only racist in its origins, but it stands to exacerbate hurt and exclude Trans & Intersex people while hurting many of the cisgender and endosex women and girls it purports to protect.
