【Upcoming Event】Pride House Tokyo – A Special Seminar on “Fair and Equitable Eligibility Criteria for ALL Athletes” on November 4, 2022.

In cooperation with Women Sport International, Joanna Harper, a Ph.D. researcher for transgender athletic performance at Loughborough University (UK), will deliver the keynote lecture with the latest data. We will discuss fair and equitable eligibility criteria for ALL athletes – including transgender athletes with national and international experts.

Pride House Tokyo, in collaboration with SDGs in SPORTS, will hold an online seminar on “Fair and Equitable Eligibility Criteria for ALL Athletes” on November 4. We will deliver evidence-based information on the latest debates in setting fair and equitable athletic categories for transgender female athletes and athletes with DSD（Differences of Sex Development）, and facilitate a better understanding of eligibility criteria from the viewpoints of medical science and respect for human rights.

ABOUT THIS EVENT
In November 2021, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) released “the Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variation”. In this framework, the IOC suggests sporting government bodies develop their own eligibility criteria to regulate the participation of transgender athletes and female athletes with high testosterone levels, grounded on scientific evidence and respect for human rights, taking into consideration the nature of each sport.

In June this year, the International Swimming Federation (FINA) announced a new policy regarding the criteria for transgender female athletes to compete in the women’s category, given the success of a transgender female swimmer who competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Administration (NCAA) in the United States. As a new policy, the board of FINA voted to restrict transgender female athletes from competing in the women’s category at elite levels and to create a working group that considers establishing an “open” category for them to compete. Transgender female athletes are eligible to participate in women’s competitions only if they prove that they have never experienced male puberty. In response to this decision, the International Federation of Sports Medicine issued a statement saying that “FINA’s decision violates the Olympic Charter.”

These days, ‘fairness’ and ‘equity’ are being contested in elite sports in the international sphere and new policies have been announced. As a result, there is a need to create a platform to gather proper information on scientific evidence and rights-based perspectives, and make dialogue in order to ensure all athletes participate in fair and equitable competitions. The following webinar intends to offer such information and dialogue for people involved in sports and media.

EVENT OUTLINE
■Date： Friday, November 4, 2022
■Time: 8:00pm – 9:30pm JST/ 11:00 am -12:30pm GMT
The closing time above is subject to change without prior notice.
■Venue: Online
■Entry Fee: Free for all
【Japanese-English simultaneous translation/Japanese sign language】

■Target Participants:
– People involved in sports（i.e. staff in National Federations and professional sports teams, coaches, etc.）
– People in media
– Anyone who is interested in the theme

■Registration Form：
Click here to register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfoaB_8twAudik8GhqG43Jw3vLFZVsCoUyUKICA3pPxL5jC0Q/viewform
【Japanese-English simultaneous translation/Japanese sign language】
※For media requests, please email:pr@scpjapan.com
※Registration Deadline：Thursday, November 3, 2022

AGENDA
JST/ GMT
20:00-20:05/ 11:00-11:05 Opening
20:05-20:30/ 11:05-11:30 Keynote Lecture（25mins）
– Ms. Joanna Harper, visiting fellow for transgender athletic performance & a PhD researcher at Loughborough University
20:30-20:45/ 11:30-11:45　Q＆A（15mins）
20:45-21:25/ 11:45-12:25　Panel discussion（40mins）
＜Panelists＞
– Ms. Joanna Harper, Visiting fellow for transgender athletic performance, PhD researcher at Loughborough University
– Dr. Kyoko Raita, Professor of Chukyo University’s School of Health and Sport Sciences
– Mr. Fumino Sugiyama, a board member of Pride House Tokyo, a Lead organizer of Tokyo Rainbow Pride, a board member of the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC)
– Ms. Shuna Matsumoto, Athletic performance trainer at Y.S.C.C. Yokohama

21:25-20:30/ 12:25-12:30　Closing

※We also invite Ms. Tomoko Wada, Chair of Women’s Committee at the International Triathlon Union (ITU) and Managing Director of Japan Triathlon Union (JTU), to provide us with the recent discussions of ITU regarding this matter.
※The contents above are subject to change without prior notice.

■Related Organizations
Host： Pride House Tokyo & SDGs in SPORTS
Support: Women Sport International, the Japan Olympic Committee
Operation: Pride House Tokyo Athlete Message Team (Planned and Organized by S.C.P. Japan)
Sponsored by: Nippon Foundation