Parents of kids who want to play on female school sports teams in Calgary this year will need to fill out a form declaring their child’s sex was recorded on their birth registration document as female.
The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) and the Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) say they are complying with Alberta’s Fairness and Safety in Sport Act and related regulations, which took effect Sept. 1. The new rules bar transgender athletes from competing in amateur female sports divisions.
In a letter sent home to parents of female athletes, the CBE said parents or guardians of female student athletes aged 12 to 18 must confirm their eligibility before they can join a female-only team. Similar asks have been going out to parents elsewhere in the province.
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Parents are asked to acknowledge they understand the eligibility requirements and to confirm their child’s sex is listed on their birth registration as female. Failure to provide this confirmation would make a student ineligible to participate.
“Our primary goal is to ensure full compliance with the law while continuing to support the well-being, inclusion, and development of all students participating in school sports,” the CBE wrote in an email to CBC News.
The CCSD issued a similar statement, emphasizing that its priority is to support students and families while implementing the government’s direction.
The rules are part of a charged debate around the inclusion of transgender athletes in female sports.
Supporters of bans argue transgender athletes have a competitive advantage, while detractors argue that inclusion in sport is essential in affirming one’s gender identity and supporting mental health.
For some, the forms provide clarity. John Hilton-O’Brien, executive director of the advocacy group Parents for Choice in Education, said he supports the policy.
“The government is trying to restore trust in public education… while this is irksome, it is necessary,” he said.
Others see the forms as discriminatory.
“It’s a sad day,” said Laura Leyshon, director of Stay in the Game Youth Sports, a Calgary non-profit that looks to provide inclusive sports opportunities. “It just adds another barrier for women to play.”
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Wolly Barabash, who has a son in Grade 12 at a Calgary high school, said he agreed with the rules given his concerns around transgender athletes having a competitive advantage.
“This is one place where you cannot have complete 100 per cent inclusivity,” he said.
Calgary mom Emily Hawryluk, meanwhile, said she feels conflicted about signing the form for her 13-year-old, as she thinks about what message the new rule sends to her trans family members and friends.
“It feels really intrusive,” Hawryluk said. “This is just another barrier, another message of, you don’t belong.”
The provincial government maintains the rules are about fairness and safety.
Vanessa Gomez, press secretary for Alberta’s Ministry of Tourism and Sport, previously told CBC News in a statement: “Sport is for everyone, which is why Alberta’s government is working to make sport safe, fair and accessible for all Albertans.”
