Swedish gymnastics to allow teenagers to decide for themselves which gender category to compete in

Men do not have an obvious physical advantage in gymnastics (file photo)

Credit: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Sweden’s gymnastics federation has ruled that young athletes will from now on be able to train and compete as whichever gender they choose to identify as until they turn 18. 

In a press release, the federation said the decision had been taken following a "deep-dive into the issue around gender identity and gender expression from an LGBTQI, and particularly trans-inclusive, perspective".

This ruling means, for instance, that an athlete whose gender was recorded as male at birth will now be able to compete as a junior in national competitions for  Women’s Artistic Gymnastics — and vice versa for someone registered female at birth.

"This means that up until you’re 18 years old in most disciplines you can choose whatever category you want: women’s or men’s," Åsa Ekdahl, who developed the new "increased inclusivity" guidelines for the federation, told the Telegraph.

Those seeking to train and compete as a gender different from that recorded on their birth certificate will not need to provide a doctor’s note or any evidence that they have gender dysphoria or are seeking gender reassignment — something the federation hopes will make it easier for transgender people in the sport.  

The federation is the first sports body in Sweden to respond to an October report from the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Rights (RFSL), which warned that transgender youths were being excluded.

Ms Ekdahl said she was not worried that unscrupulous athletes would use the ruling to gain an unfair advantage.  

"To be able to speak up in a gymnastic club and say ‘I want to compete as the other gender’ takes a lot of courage — so if someone wants to come out and really express themselves and try to compete as the other gender, I don’t think it will be because they want to win a competition," she said.

For most gymnastics competition categories, she added, men did not have an obvious edge.

"In Women’s Artistic Gymnastics, it is not only strength that is an advantage, it is also how flexible you are, and that is going to be harder for guys because they are normally not as flexible as women."

As people aged 16 to 18 are allowed to compete as either juniors or seniors in both Women’s and Men’s Artistic Gymnastics, athletes in this age range will only be able to self-identify at a junior level.  

This is because at a senior level, national competitions can qualify for international events regulated by the International Olympic Committee. 

Ms Ekdahl said she had received an outraged email from the father of a teenage girl who, she said, "thought that if males came into his daughter’s group, it would spoil the whole competition".

On the other hand, she had also received a congratulatory email from the mother of an 11-year-old who was now for the first time able to compete in the gender with which they had identified all their life.  

One group remains excluded even under the new rules, Ms Ekdahl pointed out: those who do not identify as either male or female. 

"It’s really difficult and we still have work to do in the next few years to try to look over all the rules for competitions and see if we can go all the way to include even those people," she said.