USA Boxing has established a precedent with the introduction of a ‘Transgender Policy,’ which is set to come into effect in 2024.
This change in regulations will allow biological men, who have transitioned from male to female, to compete in the female category of amateur and Olympic-style boxing under a set of strict conditions.
The policy stipulates that transgender athletes intending to compete must meet the following criteria:
Minor boxers under the age of 18 must compete as their birth gender in weight classes outlined in the USA Boxing Rulebook. USA Boxing will only communicate with minors with a parent or legal guardian present.
For boxers over the age of 18, USA Boxing follows the guidance of the IOC’s 2015 Consensus Meeting decision in Chand vs Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) and the 2022 United States Olympic Paralympic Committee (USOPC) Medical and Scientific Discussion Pertaining to Transgender Athletes in Sport, which sites studies from the Boston Children’s Hospital Sports Medicine and Harvard Medical School Teaching Hospital. Normal range of testosterone for males is defined as more than 10 nanomoles per litre (10 namol/L) and normal range of testosterone for females is less than 3.1 nanomoles per litre (3.1 namol/L).
A boxer who transitions from male to female is eligible to compete in the female category under the following conditions:
- The athlete has declared that her gender identity is female and has completed gender reassignment surgery.
- The athlete for a minimum of four years after surgery has had quarterly hormone testing and presents USA Boxing documentation of hormone levels.
- The athlete must demonstrate that her total testosterone level in serum has been below 5 nmol/L for at least 48 months prior to her first competition (with the requirement for any longer period to be based on a confidential case-by-case evaluation, considering whether or not 48 months is a sufficient length of time to minimize any advantage in women’s competition).
The athlete’s total testosterone level in serum must remain below 5 nmol/L throughout the period of desired eligibility to compete in the female category.
The decision by USA Boxing has garnered a mix of responses. While there is support for the inclusive direction, some athletes and observers have voiced their concerns about safety and the competitive dynamics that may emerge from this policy’s implementation.
American competitive swimmer Riley Gaines, who lost to a transgender woman Lia Thomas, blasted this new policy, stating, “USA boxing to allow men who merely say they are women to fight against women. Mark my words, it will take a woman getting killed before these misogynistic fools wake up.”
“Allowing men to punch women in the name of ‘compassion & inclusivity’ is incomprehensibly despicable,” she added.
“Do you understand what this means? Men will be GLORIFIED for beating up on women. Not only glorified, they will be deemed “brave” for such actions. Slippery, slippery slope,” Gaines wrote.