Netball Scotland Policy and Procedures
Transsexual People Playing in Netball Competitions
plus
Appendix1* Guidelines for Local Clubs and Organisations
Appendix 2* Current INF International Competitions Guidelines
( Appendix 2* INF aim to review 2016)
Introduction
Netball Scotland is committed to the principles of equality in sport.
Netball Scotland aims to ensure that all people within the netball family,
irrespective of their age, gender, pregnancy and maternity, gender
reassignment, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and
maternity, disability, race (including ethnic background, nationality and
colour), marital or civil partnership status, age, sexual orientation, religion or
belief or social background have, a genuine and equal opportunity to
participate in netball at all levels and in all roles. We will always aim to be an
inclusive organization and will recognize a person’s affirmed gender as their
gender.
Netball Scotland will ensure that there will be open access to all those who
wish to participate in any aspect of netballing activities and that they are
treated fairly, equally and with respect.
Under current Scottish legislation Netball, as a gender-affected sport, may
be regulated by the Netball Scotland Board in respect of the participation of a
transsexual person. This is an important aspect of our equality policy and
takes into account our organisation’s values and principles to ensure inclusion
as far as is possible.
Netball Scotland has a clear policy with regards to transsexual people playing
netball and you should be running your organization in line with this policy.
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Netball Scotland wishes to try, as far as is possible, to permit transsexual
people to compete in their affirmed gender while balancing this with its role in
providing fair play and competition. In addition to those wishing to compete, it
also has a responsibility to protect those who may be staff or spectators, and
who may be transsexual people, or perceived to be so, or associated with
them, such as family members. However this particular document focuses
only on players, or would-be players, in netball competitions.
This policy uses a number of terms associated with transsexual people and
netball. We recognise that there are considerable differences in those that are
used, and we have adopted the following terms.
Transgender person The term transgender person or transperson are
umbrella terms to cover a number of specific terms such as transsexual men,
transsexual women, intersex people, androgyne and polygender people and
cross-dressing people.
Gender reassignment A person has the protected characteristic of gender
reassignment if the person is proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has
undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the
person’s sex by changing physiological or other attributes of gender.
This legislation prohibits discrimination against a gender reassignment
person.
Transsexual person
This term refers to someone with the protected characteristic of gender
reassignment. We use the term transsexual man to describe a female-to-male
transsexual person and transsexual woman to describe a male-to-female
transsexual person. This is not the same as a cross-dresser people, nor is it
the same as sexual orientation.
Under the Equality Act 2010, Trans people cannot be directly or indirectly
discriminated against, nor can they be harassed.
Scope
Netball Scotland is the National Governing Body for the sport of netball in
Scotland. Therefore this policy and procedures relate solely to activity within
this territory. We are responsible for setting standards and values to apply
throughout netball at every level in Scotland. It is the responsibility of Netball
Scotland to apply the rules of netball and regulate participation of persons as
competitors in netball matches to ensure that it provides fair competition and
has due regard for the safety of all competitors. It runs and organises a range
of competitions to suit the needs of all players. Netball Scotland would expect
players to play at an appropriate level. This policy covers competitions
sanctioned by the Netball Scotland Board; it includes competition managed
and organised by its members, District and Regional Associations, and
affiliated leagues and clubs, referred to as domestic competitions in this
paper.
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The policy also covers the eligibility and selection of transsexual players to
represent Scotland in international competitions, referred to as international
competitions in this paper.
For the avoidance of doubt, the word competition is defined as activity where
the result (winning and losing) has a meaningful outcome.
Netball Scotland’s Policy and Procedures on Transsexual People Playing in
Netball Competitions apply to all individuals involved, whether paid or in a
voluntary capacity. Everyone in netball has a responsibility to ensure that
transsexual people are treated with dignity and respect and that they are
treated fairly. We will always aim to be an inclusive organization and will
recognize a person’s affirmed gender as their gender.
Guidance and legislation
• The practices and procedures within this policy and documentation are
based on the principles contained within Scottish legislation and take the
following into consideration:
• Equality Act 2010.
• Data Protection Act 1998.
• Gender Recognition Act 2004
 “Transsexual people and competitive guidelines: “Guidance to National
Governing Bodies” document acknowledged.
Policy and Procedures
Netball Scotland’s policy on transsexual people competing in domestic
netball competitions or seeking eligibility to represent Scotland in
international competitions: •
Any transsexual male (female-to-male transsexual person)
recognised under Scottish law as someone undergoing, or who
has undergone, gender reassignment may compete in any male,
domestic Netball competition or mixed gender competition in his
affirmed gender; or
•
Any transsexual woman (male-to-female transsexual person) over
the age of 16 recognised under Scottish law as someone
undergoing, or who has undergone, gender reassignment may
compete in any female, domestic netball competition in her affirmed
gender as long as she can satisfy Netball Scotland that any genderrelated advantage has been minimised by providing evidence that
her hormone therapy has brought her blood- measured testosterone
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levels within the range of her affirmed gender; or
•
Any transsexual girl (under 16 and post puberty) recognised under
Scottish law as someone undergoing, or who has undergone, gender
reassignment may compete in any female, domestic netball
competition in her affirmed gender subject to an individual case-bycase review, if required, by Netball Scotland; or
•
Any transsexual girl (pre-puberty) recognised under Scottish law
was someone undergoing, or who has undergone, gender
reassignment may compete in any female, domestic netball
competition in her affirmed gender subject to confirmation of her stage
of pubertal development.
•
Any transsexual person shall be permitted to participate in their birth
gender if they have not started hormone treatment.
•
Any transsexual player recognised under Scottish law as someone
undergoing, or who has undergone, gender reassignment is eligible to
represent Scotland in international competitions as long as they
comply with the IOC’s policy on gender reassignment as follows:
a) Any transsexual female who has undergone, or is undergoing sex
reassignment surgery from male to female before puberty should be
regarded as female. This also applies to transsexual males who should
be regarded as boys and men (male). If any female individual meets
the relevant requirement they can be eligible for selection to
represent Scotland in international competitions. This should be
conditional on the individual presenting with legal recognition of
their affirmed gender.
b) Any transsexual person recognised under Scottish law who has
undergone gender reassignment after puberty can be eligible for
selection to represent Scotland in international competitions in
their affirmed gender under the following conditions:
•
•
•
Surgical anatomical changes, including external genitalia
changes and gonadectomy have been completed two years
before seeking eligibility;
Legal recognition of their assigned sex has been conferred by
the appropriate official authorities;
and Hormone therapy appropriate for the assigned sex has
been administered in a verifiable manner and for a sufficient
length of time to minimise gender-related advantage in netball
competitions.
This is summarized in the table on the next page as follows:
•
Affirmed gender
•
Domestic competition
4
•
International competition
Affirmed Gender
Domestic Competition
International
Competition
Any transsexual male
May compete in any
male or mixed gender
competition in their
affirmed.
May represent Scotland
in international
competition if he is
compliant with IOC
policy.
Transsexual womanover 16
May compete in any
female or mixed gender
competition in their
affirmed gender: - by
providing evidence that
her hormone therapy
has brought her bloodmeasured testosterone
levels within the range
of her affirmed gender
and this is confirmed
annually.
May represent Scotland
in international
competition if she is
compliant with IOC
policy.
May compete in any
male or mixed gender
competition if she has
not started hormone
treatment.
Transsexual girl under 16 and after
puberty
May compete in any
female or mixed gender
domestic competition
subject to an individual
case –by- case review
undertaken by the
Netball Scotland Board.
May represent Scotland
in international
competition if she is
compliant with IOC
policy.
If she has not started
hormone treatment she
can play in any male
domestic competition.
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Transsexual girl –
before puberty
May compete in any
female or mixed gender
domestic competition
subject to confirmation
of her stage of pubertal
development.
May represent Scotland
in international
competition if she is
compliant with IOC
policy.
Netball Scotland’s procedure to determine eligibility
transsexual people to play in domestic netball competitions.
for
For all transsexual women:
•
•
All enquiries must be passed to the Netball CEO in the first instance
who in turn will inform and consult with relevant members of the
Netball Scotland Board on a “needs led” to know’ basis.
All documentation revealing information about a person’s past or
present gender reassignment status will be managed securely in
accordance with Netball Scotland’s policies with regards to the
management of sensitive and confidential information and in line with
the Data Protection Act 1998 and, where relevant the Gender
Recognition Act 2004.
•
Anyone involved will understand the confidentiality obligations that
are associated with handling such a matter.
•
Netball Scotland will undertake all communication with the individual
concerned only sharing information with the Regional Netball
Association and/or the league or club on a ‘needs-led’ basis allowing
them to manage player registration.
•
In order to determine compliance with this policy the Netball Scotland
CEO, the Chair of the Netball Scotland Board who is responsible for
Governance, and a medical representative appointed by the Netball
Scotland Board will consider the evidence on a case-by case basis.
•
A transsexual woman or girl shall not be entitled to play in female,
domestic competitions in her affirmed gender until such time as she
has provided evidence that the criteria set out have been met to
Netball Scotland Board’s satisfaction.
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For transsexual women over the age of 16
•
The transsexual woman (and her legal guardian if under 18) will be
asked to permit their GP and/or consultant to disclose sufficient
information to the Netball Scotland Board (including such other
information, records or other material as the Board may require from
time to time) to allow it to ascertain that hormone therapy has been
administered in a verifiable manner and that this has minimised any
gender-related advantages in netball competitions. This will need to
demonstrate that the hormone treatment has reduced her blood
measured testosterone levels within the range of her affirmed
gender; hormone-related treatment must be verified annually to
ensure its validity.
For transsexual girls (under 16 and post puberty)
•
The transsexual girl and her legal guardian will be asked to permit
the Netball Scotland Board to undertake an individual case-by-case
review. This will involve a review meeting with the transsexual girl,
her advocate (e.g. parent, social worker, a representative from a
LGBT young people’s group) and a representative from the Netball
Scotland Board. Their role will be to agree a way forward for the
young person based on her individual circumstances and to manage
everybody’s expectations and with due consideration for fairness.
For transsexual girls pre puberty
•
The transsexual girl and her legal guardian will be asked to permit
their GP and/or Consultant to disclose sufficient information to the
Netball Scotland (including such other information, records or other
material as Netball Scotland may require from time to time) to allow it
to ascertain the girl’s stage of pubertal development. This is subject
to an annual review.
Netball Scotland’s procedure to determine eligibility for
transsexual people to represent Scotland in international
competitions
•
•
•
All enquiries must be passed to the Netball Scotland Board CEO or
Chair.
All documentation revealing information about a person’s past or
present gender reassignment status must be managed in
accordance with Netball Scotland’s policies with regards to the
management of sensitive and confidential information and in line with
the Data Protection Act 1998 and, where relevant the Gender
Recognition Act 2004.
Anyone involved will understand the confidentiality obligations that
are associated with handling such a matter.
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•
•
•
•
Netball Scotland will undertake all communication with the individual
concerned only sharing information with international competition
organisers in order to allow it to verify the status of the transsexual
person.
The transsexual person (and her legal guardian if under the age of
18) will be asked to permit their GP and/or consultant and the
Gender Recognition Panel (where appropriate) to disclose sufficient
information to the Netball Scotland Board (including such other
information, records or other material as the Board may require from
time to time) to allow it to ascertain that the conditions that have
been set by the relevant competition organisers or federation have
been met.
In order to determine compliance with this policy the Netball Scotland
Board Chair, who is responsible for Governance, the Netball
Scotland CEO, and a medical representative appointed by the
Netball Scotland Board, will consider the evidence on a case-by case
basis.
A person shall not be entitled to represent Scotland in international
competitions in their affirmed gender until such time as they have
provided evidence that the criteria set out above have been met to
the Netball Scotland Board’s satisfaction.
Roles and Responsibilities
All netball organisations or clubs should:
•
Treat the transsexual person with dignity and respect.
•
Explain the policy and procedures and ask her or his view on
how to proceed.
•
Explain that there are no restrictions on participating in
training or informal matches.
•
Respect the private and confidential nature of the person’s
situation.
•
Agree with the transsexual person how information is to be
shared with others if this is necessary.
•
Take prompt and decisive action against anyone in the
organisation whose behaviour or language is inappropriate
or offensive to or about transsexual people.
•
Disciplinary procedures should be employed to manage
this.
•
Ensure a Code of Conduct is publicised indicating your zerotolerance policy towards all bullying/harassment of people
with protected characteristics.
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•
Ensure that any training the organisation undertakes with
regards to equality covers transsexual people and the policy
as well as the general equality policy.
*Please see Appendix 1 below for additional
“Guidelines for Local Clubs and Organisations”
* Appendix 1
Additional Netball Scotland Guidelines for Local Netball Clubs and
Organisations
Netball Scotland is committed to ensuring that there is open access to all
those who wish to participate in the sport and that they are they're treated
fairly. It is also committed to confronting and eliminating discrimination
whether by reason of any protected characteristic - age, disability, gender
reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race
(including ethnic origin, nationality and colour) religion or belief, sexual
orientation or social background.
Under current UK legislation, netball, as a gender-affected sport, may be
regulated by the Netball Scotland Board in respect of the participation of a
transsexual person.
Netball Scotland has a clear policy with regards to transsexual people playing
netball and you must be run your organization or club with Netball Scotland’s
“Policy and Procedures: Transsexual People Playing in Netball Competitions”
and its “Equality” policy.
Transsexual females may participate in training or informal matches and it
would not be necessary for anyone to know anything about a person’s
affirmed gender. Its only if a transsexual female wishes to compete in female
or mixed gender netball competitions where winning or losing has a
meaningful outcome might it be necessary to ensure that there is no unfair
advantage over opposing players. At this point the Netball Scotland
procedures should be followed and it’s CEO or Chair of the Board should be
contacted.
The use of changing and toilet facilities prior, to and during gender
reassignment where the individual may present an ambiguous appearance
and may be highly self-conscious represents a difficult issue. Many
transsexual people prefer to refrain from using communal sports facilities
during this time, particularly facilities where privacy is likely to be an issue. In
addition there may be transsexual people who do not undergo sex
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reassignment surgery and will continue to present with secondary sex
characteristics in their former gender. In line with good safeguarding practice
it is recommended that adults (unless they are the parents) do not use the
same changing facilities as children under the age of 18 unless there are
separate cubicles. If this cannot be avoided due to the nature of the facility it
is recommended that all adults come ready changed for their netball activity.
Complaints from other users must be handled carefully. It may be that other
users find it uncomfortable to share facilities with transsexual people but it is
the duty of club officials to ensure that confidentiality is not compromised and
that members are not subjected to abuse, whether physical or verbal, on any
ground. However other users’ or members’ discomfort must not be ignored
and they too should be treated with dignity, should their discomfort continues
they may arrive ready changed for their netball activity.
The provision of good quality facilities, an open and welcoming atmosphere
and training for members may help alleviate such discomfort.
If someone tells you that they are a transsexual person, or you become
aware of an individual’s situation you should:
•
Treat the transsexual person with dignity and respect.
•
Explain the policy and procedures and ask their view on how to
proceed.
•
Explain that there are no restrictions on training or playing in ‘friendly’
matches.
•
Respect the private and confidential nature of the person’s situation.
•
Agree with the transsexual person how information is to be shared with
others if this is necessary.
•
Support the transsexual person with their choice of changing facilities
where possible.
•
Take prompt and decisive action against anyone in the organisation
whose behaviour or language is inappropriate or offensive to or about
transsexual people. Use your disciplinary procedures to manage this.
•
Ensure a Code of Conduct is publicised indicating your zero-tolerance
policy towards all bullying/harassment of people with protected
characteristics.
•
Ensure that any training the club or organisation undertakes with
regards to equality covers transsexual people and the policy as well
as the general equality policy.
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•
**In the case where an all male netball team would exist a transsexual
man or boy is permitted to participate fully, i.e. train, play in informal
matches or play in netball competitions, as male. Verification of their
sex should be no more than is expected of any other male player. The
only restriction is that for international competition the transsexual male
would have to have undergone gender confirmation surgery, have
blood-tested sex hormone levels that are no higher than the typical
range in men and must have legal recognition of his affirmed gender.
Netball Scotland Policy Reviewed September 2016
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Appendix 2*
IFNA POLICY AS APPROVED MARCH 2009
Transsexual people in many jurisdictions are afforded legal protection against
discrimination and have the ability to obtain legal recognition of their acquired
gender. This will usually involve the right to obtain a birth certificate in the
acquired gender and subsequently a passport and other formal forms of
identification.
In order to achieve this, the individual will have to obtain a Gender
Recognition Certificate. This certificate is only granted on satisfaction that all
medical processes have been concluded.
If an individual has a Gender Recognition Certificate or any other formal form
of identification, such as birth certificate or passport then the IFNA and its
Members shall respect the person’s acquired gender and treat them
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accordingly.
It is the responsibility of IFNA Members to ensure that players satisfy all
qualification criteria in order to play international netball. IFNA Members
should satisfy themselves as to the gender of all their players before selecting
them to play netball at the international level. IFNA recommends that
Members confirm eligibility by requesting sight of original formal identification
documents.
Individuals who have undergone gender reassignment surgery before puberty
from male to female are regarded as female while those who have undergone
reassignment surgery before puberty from female to male are regarded as
male.
Individuals who have undergone surgery post puberty are eligible to play in
male and female competitions under the following conditions:
• Surgical anatomical changes have been completed, including external
• genitalia changes and gonadectomy.
• Legal recognition of their assigned sex has been conferred by the
• appropriate official authorities.
• Hormonal therapy appropriate for the assigned sex has been administered
• in a verifiable manner and for a sufficient length of time to minimize
• gender- related advantages in sports competitions.
14/01/16
Page 1 of 2
IFNA POLICY AS APPROVED MARCH 2009
Eligibility for a female to play international netball should begin no sooner
than two years after gonadectomy.
In order to prevent discrimination, the gender of a player can only be
questioned by the following persons via discreet communication to the
IFNA Board:
•
The Umpire.
•
The President of the opposing Member country.
•
The IFNA Chief Executive. If a player’s gender is questioned by one
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of the above persons, the President of the Member of that player shall
be privately informed by the IFNA Board and shall be required to
submit documentary evidence to verify the player’s gender. The highly
confidential nature of this request and any documentation submitted
will be maintained. The IFNA Board may in cases of uncertainty refer
the matter to the IFNA Medical Committee for a medical opinion. Once
satisfied as to the gender of the player, the IFNA Board shall advise the
person who raised the question and the President of the Member of
that player accordingly. If documentary evidence to verify the player’s
gender is not available, the IFNA Board shall have the discretion to
immediately suspend the player from international competition. A
player suspended in accordance with this provision will only be reinstated upon production of satisfactory documentary evidence to the
IFNA Board.
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