English transgender athletes are fighting back against England Hockey’s new policy that trans women and nonbinary people will not be able to play in female games in the upcoming season. The case could set a legal precedent for trans participation in other sports in the UK.
England Hockey announced on January 8 that the new season beginning on September 1 would have two competition categories: “female” and “open.” The “open” category will include men, trans women (defined by taking hormone therapy), and nonbinary participants. A trans girl may participate as female until her 12th birthday.
“We have determined that the Trans and Non-Binary Participation Policy should restrict trans participation in order to secure fair competition,” England Hockey said in a January statement. “We are committed to supporting all affected players to ensure they find the right path for them to continue to participate in hockey.”
Even as they “restrict trans participation,” England Hockey says they “are committed to ensuring that any transgender or non-binary participant should be able to access and enjoy the sport without fear of discrimination, prejudice or harassment” and would investigate any transphobia through the disciplinary process.
Three England hockey players say they plan to sue England Hockey over the new policy that would personally affect them. They laid out their case in a GoFundMe page where they aim to raise at least £7,000 to initial legal fees and up to £100,000 for the full trial costs.
“If I can’t play hockey, that’s it. I can’t play sport,” claimant Rachel Saunders said in an exclusive interview with PinkNews. “I lose the social side, I lose my fitness, and being able to partake in a team.”
Saunders has been playing hockey since she was a teen, around the time she started transitioning at the age of seventeen. She was the first trans woman to play hockey at a college level as a woman. She says she has spent thousands of pounds on equipment over the years and that the new policy will open up a “world of problems for trans women.”
“You end up with trans women having to share changing facilities with men, so from a safeguarding perspective, you’re essentially saying to trans women, ‘tough luck, you need to share changing rooms with men,’” Saunders says. “And you’ve got this issue with England Hockey not creating a distinct open category, they are getting rid of the men’s category, so they are assuming that anyone who has been impacted by testosterone at any point in their lives has got to play in that category.”
Saunders also believes the suit could become a “landmark case” as many other sports reconsider and revise their policies on trans players.