Sport Ireland publishes guidance to help develop policies for transgender and non-binary inclusion

Sport Ireland has published a guidance document to assist the Irish sport sector with decision-making and policy development for the inclusion of transgender and non-binary people in sport.

The document provides recommended steps and considerations when putting a policy in place for the participation of transgender and non-binary people in a particular sport. It also highlights practical considerations for the implementation and review of these policies.

The guidance is underpinned by a consultation process which took place over six months. The key stakeholders consulted as part of the process were involved in “every element” of Irish sport, from grassroots to high-performance, transgender and non-binary people and their families, advocacy and representative groups, and the general public.

In total, more than 4,000 people were consulted through a mix of surveys, focus groups and interviews.

Alongside the document, Sport Ireland has also launched a suite of resources to support the sports sector, which will be updated regularly to reflect the evolving nature of the environment in which the policies will operate.

Dr Úna May, CEO of Sport Ireland, said: “This is a very important guidance document which is designed to provide support and education to NGBs when developing policies for the inclusion of transgender and non-binary people in their specific sport.

“We acknowledge that this is a complex issue and by the very nature of sport there is no one-size fits all approach that can be applied across the board. Equally it is an area that is constantly evolving, and as such we at Sport Ireland will evolve our support to the sector through a suite of resources which are regularly updated.

“Our ambition is always to make sport as inclusive as possible so that everyone, regardless of their background, can reap the many benefits that participation in sport brings. We would encourage all NGBs to put a policy in place if they don’t already have one.”