World Netball bans trans women from international competition

World Netball announced a ban on trans women from participating in women's international netball competitions, effective immediately. The global governing body unveiled its new 'participation and inclusion' policy on Monday, initiating a wave of reactions and discussions within the sporting community.

Citing the outcome of an extensive consultation process, World Netball categorized international women's netball as a "gender-affected activity" necessitating a tailored policy to uphold fairness and safety standards. Under the new regulations, only individuals "recorded as female at birth irrespective of gender identity" or trans athletes who can provide evidence that they have not undergone the biological effects of testosterone will be eligible to compete at the international level.

"Following detailed review of the science and consultation with experts and members, it has determined that international level women's netball is a gender affected activity and that a policy is required (to) ensure fairness and safety at this level of our sport,” World Netball said in a statement.

“World Netball believes that the research on which it has relied is robust, it comprises many research studies, all of which have been published in peer-reviewed journals and come from multiple distinct research groups around the world.”

World Netball said national governing bodies could choose to “modify or even not apply these guidelines” if they decided to base their participation rules on other factors.

In a statement, England Netball told BBC Sport: “We want to ensure that netball is as safe, fair and inclusive as it can be. With World Netball having now published their updated gender guidance we continue to develop our own policy that seeks to support how best to include everyone in netball.”

It added: “Our current guidance is under review and we will share further updates in due course.”

The international policy, which follows similar moves by other sports, will be reviewed annually by World Netball.