Ro Edge: Save Women's Sport on Government tells Sport NZ to scrap transgender guidelines

Hopes the scrapping of guidelines around transgender participation in community sport will pave the way for smaller organisations to follow. 

A Government directive from National and New Zealand First has led to Sport New Zealand dumping the principles put in place in 2022

It comes as New Zealand First leader Winston Peters threatens funding cuts for sporting codes of this nature. 

Save Women's Sport's Ro Edge told Ryan Bridge many will have been waiting for this decision. 

She says most international sporting federations have moved in this direction, which allows national federations to follow suit. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The government has told Sport New Zealand to scrap its
transgender guidelines. Can like completely scrap them. It was originally
asked to review them, now being told just stay out
of it all together. Thank you very much. Individual sports
organizations will continue to make the call around gender and
community sport. Row Edges from Save Women's Sport joins me
this morning, Row, good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Good morning line.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
They were only guidelines to begin with. Is this a
big deal?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Yeah, it is because unfortunately sport needs doing to hold
the funding leaders for sports throughout the country, and so
they all felt compelled to adopt them. You know, we
really welcome this decision to dump them because it supported
boys and men in the male advantage claying and girls
and women's sport, and it was an ideological policy that
while the intent I know was honorable, it was obviously

(00:47):
injective to include males who identify as females and women's
sport couldn't be done without compromising seness and sagetography email athletes.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
This is we're talking about community sports here, right, It's
not elite sport, is there?

Speaker 2 (01:00):
No?

Speaker 1 (01:00):
But is that not a different kettle of fish?

Speaker 2 (01:03):
It is totally not a different kill of fish. Community
sports is all sport up until you represent your country,
So it includes regional competitions, national age grade competitions. It
is the pathway through to allege sports. You know, it's
the ends in safety matters at elite level, it matters
at community level too.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
Ro what happens because it's the individual organizations, the bodies
that set their own rules. So do you think that
they will listen to this or not listen to this?
I mean, what have any of them changed their rules
based on the old guidelines to begin with?

Speaker 2 (01:37):
Yeah, they already have tras on New Zealand and boxing.
New Zealand have already moved to change their guidelines and
they protect the female category, and a lot of other
sports have had theirs in review. I think waiting on
this decision, the landscape of transgender inclusion sport has evolved
significantly since those guiding principles were first introduced. At the time,
sports did need some help because the IOC had made
this announcement which stunned the world opening up the female

(01:59):
category and treating women as nothing more than men with
lower testosterone. But most international sporting federations now has moved
to protect the female category and this allows our national
federations to follow foods.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
Okay, right, do you hate trains people? This is whatever.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
We want. We want everyone to be included and but
we play sport with our bodies, not our identities, so
it needs to be in the category of your biological tech.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
Appreciate your time this morning, wrote Edge Save Women Sport
Australasia New Zealand spokesperson.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
For more from earlier edition with Ryan Bridge.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
Listen live to news Talks it be from five am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.