WHO'S WORLD OF FANTASY WILL YOU DIVE INTO NEXT?

QUICK QUESTION TO YOU: How do you feel when someone – could be a total stranger you meet or someone you know – randomly smiles at you and accompanies it with a “Good morning/afternoon/evening”? For most of the people I have met, I can verify that it brings out a smile that communicates you have possibly made their day; almost as if to say, “Gosh, you are the first one to be nice to me today.” Would totally love to hear your thoughts on this.

And while on this topic, I am yet to receive feedback on whether greeting other people while on a jog or bike ride helps with making one’s day brighter. This was an experiment we were to carry out after the article on exercise and mental well-being. Lemme know how it works for you before I tell you about my experience. 🙂

It’s great to have you back here. How was your previous week? Did you manage to hit any new fitness goals? Did you find it difficult to wake up on a certain day and therefore missed out on your workout routine? Did you manage to get new equipment to spice up your fitness lifestyle? Lemme know.

Now, I suppose it would be appropriate to put out this disclaimer early on: this article won’t make many of us happy, especially since it tackles a tricky subject. But hey, someone’s got to talk about it eventually (side-eye emoji). Reader discretion is advised.

QUESTION: What is the place of the LGBTQ+ in sport, and how will that affect sports classification as we know it?

Traditionally, the main classification system in sports has been Male and Female. Then…Dutee Chand and Caster Semenya happened and suddenly the sporting officials weren’t sure where to place them: as female athletes? Their testosterone is too high for this classification; what about as male athletes? Again, their testosterone levels don’t exactly match up, and they are also genetically females. It was a case of if we place them with the women, they’ll have the upper hand while if we place them with the men, they’ll be evidently disadvantaged.

One of the key pillars of (competitive) sports is fairness. This is the main reason why men race against men while ladies race against ladies. Well, in mixed relays, both sexes compete, but it could be argued that it is a mixed team against another mixed team…hence fairness!

If you have been following our KR-ITT Series keenly, you will notice that the start and result lists are split into the various race categories represented. It does not make sense for a 30-year old to compete against a 15-year old – if anything, it would potentially demoralise the younger athlete! The KR-ITT’s design is intended to emphasise the importance of competing against your own competition/peers for fairness purposes. Anyway, I digress.

So, we have had the Male and Female system for like forever, right? Well, in truth, the Female category is much younger compared to the Male classification since the age of women in sport began not too long ago. With the ballooning of the LGBTQ+ society, will there be need to create more classifications? (thinking emoji)

Think about it: the objective is fairness, right? Even with the traditional Male and Female classifications, there are further divisions based on ability. I have to confess that until the recently-concluded UCI Cycling World Championships, I thought that normal cycling was the only one that existed – the one where both hands and legs are used to propel the bike. Turns out there is something called paracycling that caters to persons whose bodies have certain impairments. It was absolutely beautiful to watch, LIVE at that.

Boarding a similar train of thought, would it suffice to say that there may come a time where Male and Female classifications will not be the only ones officially recognised? And if so, what will be the determining factor? Perhaps if there had been others like Chand and Semenya, it would have made sense creating another sex classification as a sort of in-between, and they would compete against themselves fairly. Maybe the question is: are there others like them?

Suppose for an instant a Transgender Category were to be officially created, what qualifications would be needed to compete in this classification? How would policies be formed to prevent athletes from taking advantage of the system? In age classification, for example, your Date of Birth is a concrete determinant hence preventing athletes unfairly racing against their minors.

Suppose, again, that this discussion were to be completely tossed out of the window, would that amount to blatant discrimination? Would this chip away at the Fair Play Principle upon which sport is built? If, on the other hand, it were to be considered, what sort of laws and policies would be put in place? How strict – and worded – would they be? All persons who have done Law at one time or other are aware that a too-worded law/rule/policy tends to make it redundant while a shallow one creates too many loopholes.

Under the traditional classification system, you are either male or female – determined at birth. No loophole here. No need for a stringent Law. It just is as it is. Under the current circumstances…where does one begin? Supposing a traditional male athlete ‘came out’ and declared that they were (the feminine side of) gay, would that justify a category shift? Would that also create a slippery slope situation where traditional males changed their status to move into a less competitive field? And if they were prohibited from doing so, would they cry foul and cite discrimination?

Tricky, tricky waters.

Having been in the sporting sector for a while now, especially in a school setting, age-group competitions tend to have cut-off dates with most being 1st September of a certain year. Perhaps a similar tactic could be used in the sex classification system? I would think along the lines of:

“One shall not be permitted to change or alter their sexual orientation within an active Sporting Season”. This would force one to stick to a certain category until the end of the season.

Another possibility could be: “One shall be considered to belong to a certain sexual orientation if they have publicly identified themselves as belonging to such orientation for at least an entire year”. This would serve to prevent sudden changes from one classification to another while also forcing/helping individuals ‘come out’ and identify themselves publicly…perhaps even deterring would-be liars?

I, for one, am not looking forward to the headache such a crisis would present to the sporting heads and officials. Still, best start anticipating such a conversation to lessen the impact while keep an open mind for possibilities? Taking pills to ‘fit in’ doesn’t sit too well with a lot of people, and I don’t blame them since it has a way of bringing out the impression that the individual in question is ‘unwell’.

It is a tough act drawing the line between fairness and discrimination, especially on a topic that is not entirely well understood. Hopefully, lasting solutions will be found that will be beneficial to all represented parties.

Have yourself a fantastic week ahead, and I hope to see you at next Sunday’s 2023 KR-ITT Series #2, which will be held in memory of the late Sean Cardovillis. You can complete your race registration here.

Cheers!