A Leader's Guide to Trans Inclusion in Sport

As a sport leader, your core mission is to make sure sport is accessible to everyone in your community. You want to create an environment where every athlete can discover the joy, teamwork, and resilience that sport teaches. But what happens when the traditional structures of sport—like strictly enforced men's and women's teams—make some athletes feel excluded before they even step on the field?

For transgender athletes—those whose gender identity is different from the sex they were assigned at birth—the sport community has often felt discriminatory and unwelcoming. This isn't just an abstract problem; it's a barrier that keeps passionate, talented individuals from participating in the sports they love.

For many leaders, this topic can feel intimidating. You want to do the right thing, but you’re worried about making mistakes or navigating uncomfortable conversations. That's a completely normal feeling.

The good news is that you don't have to have all the answers right away. The journey toward inclusion starts not with perfection, but with a commitment to learning. Fortunately, organizations like the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) have created excellent resources, like their Guidance for Sport Organizations and Policy and Practice Template, to help light the way.

This article will share some key recommendations from that work, reframing them as practical, actionable steps you can take to make your organization a more welcoming place for trans athletes.

Start with a Foundation of Respect: Guiding Principles

Before you write a single policy, it's crucial to align your leadership team around a shared philosophy. True inclusion is about more than just rules; it's a mindset. Your policies should be guided by a few core beliefs:

• Equal Opportunity is Non-Negotiable: Every athlete, including trans athletes, deserves an equal chance to participate and pursue excellence in sport.
• Safety and Integrity Matter: Your policies should be evidence-based, nurturing fair play, honesty, and respect while protecting the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of every participant.
• Sport is for Everyone: Ultimately, your goal is to offer a positive sporting experience that is free of discrimination, celebrates differences, and focuses on the joy of the game.

When you root your work in these principles, you move from a place of fear to a place of purpose.

From Principle to Policy: Creating Clear, Inclusive Rules

A strong policy provides clarity for coaches, athletes, and parents. It replaces uncertainty with a reliable framework. Based on national best practices, here are the foundational elements your policy should include:

• Participation Based on Gender Identity: For most levels of sport, especially developmental and recreational streams, athletes should be able to participate based on the gender with which they identify.
• No Medical Requirements: Athletes should not be required to undergo hormonal therapy or surgery to participate on the team that aligns with their gender identity. Requiring or even suggesting medical intervention could be a form of discrimination.
• Respect Names and Pronouns: An athlete’s chosen name and pronouns must be respected and used by everyone in the organization, regardless of whether they have legally changed their name.
• Protect Privacy: An athlete should never be required to disclose their trans identity or history to participate. Only at the highest levels of competition, where international rules may apply, could this be a factor, and even then, it must be handled through a safe and transparent process.

Beyond Policy: Building a Genuinely Welcoming Environment

A policy is just a document until you bring it to life through your daily actions. This is where your culture truly takes shape.

Create a Positive Emotional Environment:

• Use Inclusive Language. Review all your materials—from your website and bylaws to your registration forms—to ensure they use inclusive language and imagery and state your organization’s commitment to inclusion.
• Rethink Your Forms. Before you ask for information, ask why you need it. Is knowing an athlete's gender at birth critical for a community program? If you must ask for a legal name for insurance, also provide a space for a "preferred name".
• Offer Training. Provide learning opportunities for your staff, coaches, and volunteers to help them understand diverse gender identities and their role in creating a supportive environment. 

Create a Safe Physical Environment:

• Provide Safe and Accessible Facilities. The washroom and change room can be a major source of anxiety. The best practice is to provide gender-neutral, single-stall facilities for anyone who wants to use them. All athletes should have access to facilities that are safe and inclusive.
• Offer Flexible Uniforms. Ensure your dress codes and uniform policies respect an individual's gender identity and expression. This means allowing all participants to dress in a way that is consistent and comfortable for them.

It’s Okay to Learn as You Go

For many sport organizers, this is new territory. It's natural to feel uncomfortable or concerned about making a mistake. Please hear this: it is alright to do this imperfectly as you work to make sport more inclusive. The most important step is the first one—the commitment to creating a sport environment where every single athlete feels they belong.