U Sports approves inclusive policy for transgender student-athletes

The national governing body of university sport in Canada announced Thursday an inclusive new transgender policy for student-athletes at its 56 member institutions across the country.

Under the U Sports policy, student-athletes will be eligible to compete on the team that corresponds with either their sex assigned at birth or their gender identity, provided that they comply with the Canadian Anti-Doping Program.

Members of the Equity Committee, which developed the policy, were “driven to ensure that all students at our Canadian universities have equal opportunities of being selected to varsity teams regardless of their gender or their gender identity and expression,” said chair Lisen Moore.

A student-athlete remains limited to five total years of eligibility, and may compete only on sport teams of one gender during a given academic year. Read the policy, article 80.80.5, on the U Sports website.