USA Boxing announced it will begin accepting trans athletes into the sport at the beginning of 2024.
Transgender athletes will have to meet certain requirements before they’re allowed to compete, which may require regular tests. For instance, a biological male who identifies as a trans woman must have undergone gender reassignment surgery and have a testosterone level of fewer than five nanomoles per liter for two years prior and throughout competitions. A natural person who identifies as a trans man must also be post-op and have a testosterone level of higher than ten nmol/L for two years prior and throughout competitions.
Normal testosterone levels in women usually peak at about 2.4 nmol/L and about 35 nmol/L for men. There have been cases of female athletes testing at higher normal hormone levels than five nanomoles.
These rules are based on the November 2021 International Olympic Committee Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations. USA Boxing updates its rulebook at least every two years and has included this trans scheme in its latest release.
“The purpose of this policy is to provide fairness and safety for all boxers,” the rulebook reads.
Any trans athlete who is found in contravention of the policy will be suspended from competition for one season.
This comes after the World Athletics Council, the governing body for the Olympic discipline of track, barred men who went through male puberty from high-level female competition earlier this year. Laurel Hubbard, a trans weightlifter from New Zealand, was able to compete in the Tokyo Games before the Paris 2024 Olympics, but she is unable to do so now.
USA Boxing will start allowing trans athletes on January 1st.
