Alberta’s transgender ban in sports exempts visiting out-of-province athletes
Global News
Starting Sept. 1, the province will block transgender athletes from Alberta who are 12 and older from competing in female amateur sports.
Alberta is rolling out new regulations this fall banning transgender athletes from playing women’s sports, but the province will still welcome out-of-province transgender competitors.
Tourism and Sport Minister Andrew Boitchenko said the discrepancy is out of his hands.
“We don’t have authority to regulate athletes from different jurisdictions,” he said in an interview.
In a followup statement, ministry spokeswoman Vanessa Gomez added it’s due to outside sporting organizations being bound by out-of-province or international guidelines.
She added the rules allow the government “to do what is best for Albertan athletes, while also showcasing Alberta as a premier destination for national and international sport events.”
Starting Sept. 1, the province will block transgender athletes from Alberta who are 12 and older from competing in female amateur sports. It’s one of a suite of changes surrounding transgender health, education and sport introduced last year by Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party government.
The laws sparked polarizing debate.
Proponents, including Smith, say it’s about fairness on the playing field, so girls are not battling opponents with biological advantages. Detractors say it’s about stigmatizing and punishing those in the transgender community.
