Team sports are often considered to be the ultimate bonding and confidence-building activity, but not every demographic sees these benefits.
According to research conducted by Martha Gumprich, a recent Masters graduate of Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Health Science, team sports are not as welcoming to gender diverse people as they could be.
Gumprich, who uses they/them pronouns, led two different interrelated projects this year that examined experiences of Canadian non-binary youth in team sports.
Non-binary is a term used to describe an individual who does not fall exclusively into the male or female gender binary. People who are non-binary may identify as both male and female at the same time, or neither.
Their masters thesis explored Canada-wide trends in sport participation amongst non-binary youth, including barriers to and avoidance of sport, and individual experiences with discrimination.
This was followed a series of in-person and virtual group sessions with non-binary youth living in the Kootenays. The groups discussed what kind of policies they would like to see implemented to make team sports more inclusive.
Gumprich’s master thesis drew data from an online questionnaire in 2022 that surveyed 1,929 Canadian non-binary persons, 2,513 cisgender persons and 552 binary transgender persons between the age of 15 and 29. The term cisgender refers to someone whose gender identity corresponds with the sex registered for them at birth and binary transgender refers to someone whose gender identity is the opposite of their sex at birth.
Results indicated non-binary youth often avoid teams sports and that they are more likely to have had negative experiences on a team.
“What surprised me was how unsurprising my findings were,” said Gumprich. “We know from previous research that sexual and gender minorities face a lot of barriers and discrimination in sport and this all proved true … Very few non-binary youth are participating in sport. Many are avoiding it because of their gender. There’s still a lot of work to be done.”
The study found that only 11 per cent of non-binary youth in Canada currently participate in an organized team sport and that 66 per cent of non-binary youth in Canada who had avoided joining an organized team sport, did so because they had to play on a male or female team.
It determined that 4 in 5 non-binary youth have avoided joining because of change room layouts, and that 1 in 2 have done so because of teammates and coaches.
It found that more than 1 in 2 had witnessed discriminatory comments and more than 1 in 6 had witnessed someone being physically harassed because of their gender.
Gumprich partnered with ANKORS Trans Connect program coordinator Nicola Hare to expand on these findings. They led group discussion with Kootenay residents between the ages of 14 and 26. Gumprich could have chosen any region, but the Kootenays is where they had made professional connections so it made sense from a logistical standpoint.
Gumprich used talking points from these discussions to create a report of best practice for policy-makers, coaches and teachers to implement. The report suggests adding a gender-neutral option on athletic participation forms, providing mandatory training and education on inclusion to teams, coaches and staff, and either making all sport uniforms gender-neutral or allowing students to choose the gendered uniform of their choice.
Gumprich said training could include learning about different gender identities, and inclusive language like preferred names and pronouns, and that it should be necessary for coaches to become certified.
The report recommends creating a gender neutral changing space in schools, and in the event that funding or space is a barrier, posting signs in the change room that show harassment will not be tolerated.
It suggests that teams adopt zero tolerance polices around discrimination and abusive behaviour, that could include punishments like game suspension for those who break the rules.
In terms of team organization, it mentions a few possibilities, including allowing non-binary participants to choose the gendered team they want to play on, having mixed gendered co-ed teams or dividing physical education classes by competitiveness rather than biological sex.
“All of the solutions in the report are based on suggestions from the youth,” said Gumprich. “… These are things that they want to see happen, but are not currently happening.”
A point that is raised frequently whenever the topic of gender and sports comes up, is whether transgender women have a unfair advantage when competing against cisgender women, and Gumprich’s thesis does address this question.
Gumprich included information from a number of studies that dealt with this query. One, authored by Jamie Cleland, Ellis Cashmore and Kevin Dixon found that some women are not in favour of the inclusion of transgender women in cisgender womens’ sports. Their study included 4,113 sports fans, 55 per cent of whom self-identified as female, and found that just over half were not in favour of transgender women and cisgender women competing together.
Another, a report commissioned by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, found that there is no firm evidence available to indicate that transgender women in elite sports have consistent and measurable performance benefits after 12 months of testosterone suppression. It found that higher levels of red blood cell counts experienced by cisgender men were removed within the first four months of testosterone suppression, and that transgender women experienced a significant reduction in lean body mass, cross section area and strength within a year. It also found that transgender women who underwent suppression had testosterone levels ranked well below that of pre-menopausal cisgender women.
“Following the scientific evidence is the best way to go,” said Gumprich. “Studies have shown that trans women who have undergone testosterone suppression do not have a biological advantage over cisgender women. There’s so many misconceptions around fairness in sport right now, which is all trickling down from high performance sport.”
Gumprich plans to present findings from the thesis and group sessions to academic institutions, community groups and on social media. In future, they hope to move into more of a consulting role and guide organizations who are needing help in implementing inclusive policies.
“This is the time to take proactive steps in making inclusive policies in sport. I want to get my research results out as soon as possible.”
