U of Sask. adopts new policy for transgender athletes

The University of Saskatchewan has confirmed Huskies sports teams will abide by a new, inclusive policy for transgender student athletes created by U Sports, which oversees Canadian university-level sports.

The new policy went into effect Thursday at 56 universities in Canada.

According to the policy, student athletes who identify as transgender will be allowed to compete on teams corresponding with either their sex as assigned as birth, or with their gender identity.

"In sports, transgender people aren't necessarily supported, so it's great to have Canada stand up and say 'we're with you,'" said Harrison Browne, a former pro hockey player in the National Women's Hockey League.

Browne came out as transgender while playing university hockey in Maine. He came out "socially," meaning he changed his pronouns from "she" and "her" to "he" and "him," and changed his name.

If Browne was playing at a Canadian university now, he would have the choice of playing on the women's or the men's team.

Athletes are only allowed to compete on sports teams of one gender during a single academic year.

'A hard place to navigate'

Browne went to an all-girls school early in life, but once he got to university, he said he was fortunate to find a trans policy already there.

"I felt included. I felt represented," he said.

"When you're growing up and segregated and you figure out the girls should play with the girls and the boys play with the boys, you always feel a little off."

Browne quit competitive hockey when he began hormone-replacement therapy.

The new U Sports policy bans some athletes from competing if they are not in accordance with the Canadian Anti-Doping Program. Taking hormones could keep a trans athlete from competing.

"Being an athlete, and sports in general, is very binary," said Browne.

"It's a hard place to navigate when you don't necessarily fit into those boxes."

More research needed

Trans athletes who want to physically transition may be unable to compete in Canadian university sport, and that indicates to Browne that more research into the issue is needed.

The work has already begun.

"People are researching more the effects of testosterone and estrogen on the body," he said.

"People like to talk about fairness and equal playing fields, but not all humans are created equal."

In team sports, for example, he points out that athletes are allowed to compete against others who are of the same gender, even though the other athletes may be bigger or stronger.