Guidelines for Transgender Athletes

V-League Winnipeg Guidelines for Transgender Athletes
(Adapted from Volleyball Canada)

PURPOSE
V-league Winnipeg believes in equal opportunity for all people to participate in the sport of volleyball.  However, in instances where a Transgendered individual wishes to compete will consider the eligibility guidelines set out in this policy in order to ensure a fair and level playing field for all participants.

Definitions

  1. The following term has this meaning in this policy:
    1. “Transgender” – Transgender refers to individuals who have been assigned one gender (male or female) at birth but identifies with the other gender.
    2. “Transgender Female” – Someone who was born with a male body, but who identifies as a girl or a woman and who is being treated for gender reassignment.
    3. “Transgender Male” – Someone who was born with a female body, but who identifies as a boy or a man and who is being treated for gender reassignment.
    4. “Gender reassignment” – medically-supervised program of treatment to change a person’s body to align with their gender identity, through hormone therapy and/or surgery.
    5. “Medical Practitioner” – A person licensed to practice medicine in Canada and has ascertained a medical school diploma (“MD”) and is registered with the Physicians Credentials Registry of Canada.

Who is eligible?

The following guidelines will be used to determine the eligibility of Transgendered individuals:

  1. Gender reassignment before puberty
    1. Individuals undergoing gender reassignment of male-to-female shall be regarded as female
    2. Individuals undergoing gender reassignment of female-to-male shall be regarded as male
  2. Gender reassignment after puberty
    1. Male-to-female transgendered persons, to compete as a female, must submit documentation from a medical practitioner that gender reassignment has been ongoing for at least one year.
    2. Female-to-male transgendered persons, to compete as a male, must submit documentation from a medical practitioner that gender reassignment is ongoing.

*NOTE: Any Transgender person who is not undergoing gender reassignment will be deemed to be their birth gender.

What documents to present?

The applicant will initiate the process by submitting, by mail or email, documentation from a Medical Practitioner as outlined in the eligibility criteria above. V-league organizers will decide each case based upon the documentation provided and may, with reasonable cause, request additional information. Upon review of the documentation provided and if it is deemed sufficient, the athlete will immediately be registered as their new gender and will continue to do so unless circumstances dictate that another gender declaration should be made.

Confidentiality

The Parties agree that they will not at any time disclose information identified by the other party as confidential to any person, corporation or third party and will make no use whatsoever of any information identified as confidential (other than in the ordinary and usual course of implementing this policy) without the prior written consent of the disclosing Party, unless required by law.