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Cricket Australia Announce First Transgender Policy

The move more closely aligns Australia to the International Cricket Council’s gender diversity guidelines.

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Cricket
2 min read
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Cricket Australia unveiled new guidelines on Thursday to ensure transgender players can take part in the game at the highest levels.

The policy sets out a testosterone limit for transgender and gender-diverse players who want to play for state and national women's teams.

"It doesn't make any sense that today, people are discriminated against, harassed or excluded, because of who they are," Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts said in a statement.

To be eligible for elite women’s teams, the players must show a testosterone concentration of less than 10 nanomoles per litre over at least 12 months.

They must also be able to demonstrate their elected gender is consistent with how they are living their lives on a daily basis.

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The move more closely aligns Australia to the International Cricket Council's gender diversity guidelines.

Cricket Australia’s policy also provides guidance to community clubs, supporting grassroots cricketers to compete as the gender with which they identify.

The guidelines cover everything from victimisation to privacy and providing suitable facilities, as well as the collection of personal information.

Transgender participation in sport has proved a thorny issue with some prominent stars, including tennis great Martina Navratilova, voicing disquiet.

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Former Australian cricketer, Alex Blackwell, who has been at the forefront in bringing the policy together, said, "Australian cricket has a really wonderful purpose, and that's to be Australia's favourite sport, and a sport for all Australians, and it's really important that we live by that, and we walk the talk."

“These guidelines are very clearly about inclusivity, and that all people feel like cricket is a sport for them - that they would be safe and welcome to participate in the game, or to consume the game as a fan.”
Alex Blackwell, Former Australian cricketer

Australian cricketer Megan Schutt welcomed the move and said: "To have a policy and guidelines that includes transgender and gender diverse players will create a better environment for everybody to play the game."

“Now that we know that anyone who is transgender or gender diverse has a chance to play cricket at the highest level - and rightfully so - I’m confident that the elite cricket policy will provide a fair process for transgender and gender diverse cricketers to embark on that pathway.”
Megan Schutt, Australian cricketer

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Topics:  Transgender   Cricket Australia 

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