OUTDOOR PLANS

“Fifty percent of the world’s population deserves proper representation when decisions are to be made about their sports category,” explains Dr. Linda Blade, co-founder of the consortium and a representative of member group Canadian Women’s Sex-Based Rights (caWsbar). “The creation of the ICFS is absolutely vital to the preservation of women’s sports.”

All ICFS members stand united in the conviction that sport governing bodies must abide by fundamental principles of safety, privacy and fairness, along with international laws prohibiting sex-based discrimination against biological females.

“While most legal prohibitions against sex discrimination require assimilation and inclusion, sport requires sex segregation for safety and fairness for female athletes — it’s not a new concept,” says ICFS member Nancy Hogshead-Makar, a three-time Olympic champion swimmer, lawyer and CEO of Champion Women.

ICFS is described as a nonpartisan, single-issue collective of female sport advocates who hold that fairness and safety for female athletes must be ensured by having a dedicated category for females — competitors who are biologically female and who have not experienced male puberty. In the 2022 spring season, the world witnessed a major turning point in U.S. female sport when biological male swimmer Lia Thomas won the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships — further propelling the trend of allowing male-born athletes to triumph in women’s sports.

“All over the world women are fighting to see fairness for females restored in sport,” adds Fiona McAnena, spokesperson of UK-based group, Fair Play for Women (FPFW), a member group of ICFS. “It makes sense to do this together. The ICFS is a group that will make a difference.”

ICFS agrees with “Fundamental Principle 6” of the Olympic Charter that states there should be no discrimination against female athletes on the basis of sex. Sex equality matters in all aspects of life, including in sport. In accordance with the tenets of the International Bill of Human Rights, the intent of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the precepts of the Women’s Declaration, women and girls have a right to access and participate in sports in a manner that is fair, safe and without discrimination. To be denied this right is discrimination on the basis of sex.

“Many female athletes, families and coaches are sincerely concerned about fairness in women’s sports due to a growing number of biological male athletes entering competitions of all ages across most sports today,” says former NCAA champion swimmer and ICFS member, Marshi Smith, who co-founded the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) in 2022 in response to the NCAA swimming scandal. “The NCAA, among many sports governing bodies, must now correct past dismissals and prioritize the voices of women and girls when it comes to our own sports category eligibility criteria,” says Smith.

ICFS says that it understands there is pressure to allow biological male athletes a pathway to compete in female sport. However, it is the consortium’s position that the female sport category must consist of biological females only and that “the female voice” must be represented at the table when sport organizations undertake consultations regarding eligibility at every level. ICFS stands ready to serve in this capacity.

The consortium continues to build its network and develop the resources needed to help shape decisions affecting female participation. Athletes, coaches, parents, officials and advocacy groups are invited to partner within ICFS. n

For more: https://www.icfsport.org