Ontario roller derby teams cancel trips to U.S., say 2-gender rule makes it 'unsafe' for some athletes
CBC
Some Ontario roller derby teams say they won't travel to the United States this year to compete because the current climate makes it "unsafe" for their athletes.
Teams in Waterloo region, Guelph, Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa have said they will skip bouts in the U.S.
On Sunday, Tri-City Roller Derby in Waterloo region issued a statement saying U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order recognizing only two genders — male and female — does "not allow the accurate reflection of gender expression on government documents."
Maggie Middleton, a skater and board member for Tri-City Roller Derby, said the decision not to go to the U.S. was made to protect team members.
"It was pretty clear from the get-go that people from various communities are becoming more and more unwelcome in the U.S., and then that was really solidified through the number of laws that were actually passed, the executive order etc.," she told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition with host Craig Norris.
"It was really actually quite an easy decision. Some of our skaters were not going to be safe, were not feeling safe, were not feeling confident about travelling," she added.
"If all of us can't go and feel good about it, then none of us are going to go."
Trump signed the executive order recognizing only two sexes on Jan. 20.
The order mandates that identification documents issued by the government, including passports and visas, be based on "an individual's immutable biological classification as either male or female."
Since 2019, Canadians who do not identify as female or male can list "X" as their gender on their passports. Ottawa says about 3,600 Canadians are using that marker.
Kaitrin Doll, a Tri-City Roller Derby athlete who also competes in Toronto, is completing a PhD dissertation on the experience of sexual and gender-diverse people in roller derby.
Doll said that as a skater who is transgender and gender queer, they appreciate the team taking a stand on travel to the U.S. and for team leadership to take the proactive step in making the decision.
"The reality is roller derby is a sport where we have had trans and gender-diverse inclusion since basically the inception of our sport. We are one of the only full contact sports that is crowned inclusive … that is an important ethos of our sport," Doll said.
"I know and love this team and trust this team. But I think it was an important decision for our leadership to make that centred the well-being of our skaters over competition."
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