Invited Speaker Abstract Submission
David J. Handelsman, MBBS PhD
Emeritus Director
ANZAC Research Institute, University of Sydney
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Androgen effects of male puberty, mediated by a 20-30-fold increases in circulating testosterone, create major physical advantages for sports where power, speed and/or endurance determine success. This makes it essential to have a protected female category to ensure women have a fair chance at success in individual events. Sustained complete suppression of endogenous testosterone in transgender women reduces, without eliminating, and leaving a legacy of male physical advantages of puberty. Androgen-sensitive, male-bodied athletes with female gender identity (transgender women, XY DSD) create a category-defeating challenge to the binary sports sex categories for individual events. This forces a balancing of conflicting goals including the indispensable requirements for fairness and safety in professional elite sports against the desirable goal of inclusivity. Additionally, safety is a vital issue for collision (football codes) and combat sports. For non-competitive community, recreational or junior ( < 12 yr) individual sports sex-based competition is optional unless the competition is serious (such as recording performance). For team sports, balancing the conflicting goals (fairness & safety vs inclusivity) remains a work in progress.