Transgender people in ice hockey

The participation of transgender people in ice hockey is an ongoing issue in the place of LGBT+ rights and diversity in ice hockey. Only a small handful of professional players have come out as openly trans, and systemic transphobia presents many barriers to the inclusion of trans people in the sport.[1]

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History

In 2003, USA Hockey banned a transgender woman from participating in the Women's National Ice Hockey Tournament.[2]

In January 2013, the NHL's Vancouver Canucks welcomed transgender teenager and Britannia Secondary School goaltender Cory Oskam onto the ice to stand next to Cory Schneider during the pre-game national anthem.[3][4]

In 2013, Jesse Thompson, a junior hockey player in Ontario, made a complaint to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario concerning harassment and bullying over his being trans.[5][6] In 2017, the Ontario Hockey Federation made transgender training mandatory for all minor hockey coaches as a result of the tribunal.[7]

In 2014, the Whitehorse Women’s Hockey League announced a policy allowing anyone who identifies as a woman or was assigned female at birth to participate in the league without restriction.[8]

In October 2016, NWHL Buffalo Beauts player Harrison Browne became the first professional hockey player to publicly come out as transgender during their career.[9] He postponed his medical transition until his retirement from the league in 2018.[10]

In January 2018, CWHL Toronto Furies player Jessica Platt publicly came out as transgender, the first professional female hockey player to come out as a transgender woman.[11][12] Ella Licari, who played in the Australian Women's Ice Hockey League from 2016 to 2019, also came out as transgender that year.[13]

In April 2018, Leksands IF Dam goaltender Leon Reuterström publicly came out as a transgender man, and had to retire due to his testosterone therapy contravening SDHL anti-doping rules.[14][15]

In the autumn of 2018, Fabienne Peter became the first openly transgender player to play in the Switzerland women's ice hockey league.[16]

In April 2019, the San José Sharks honoured 15-year old Elliot Govaars of the San José Junior Sharks in a pre-game ceremony on Trans Day of Visibility.[17][18]

In January 2020, the British EIHL held its first ever Pride Weekend.[19]

Policies

IIHF

The 2021 International Ice Hockey Federation Transgender Policy came into effect on the 1st of June 2020. The policy bars transgender men from playing in women's competitions after beginning any form of hormone treatment, and specifies that transgender women wishing to compete in women's competitions must demonstrate that their serum testosterone concentration has been less than 5nmol/L1 continuously for a period of at least 12 months and continuously throughout their playing time. The policy does not require legal gender identity recognition or surgical changes.[20][21]

Ice Hockey UK

Ice Hockey UK maintains a policy on transgender inclusion stating that clubs must "be conscious of the wide variety within the trans community, and be alert to the flexible approach needed so that they may be welcomed and included without discrimination, not only as players, but also as managers, coaches, staff members, and in the social life of the Club."[22]

USA Hockey

In January 2019, USA Hockey announced a new set of guidelines on transgender athlete eligibility.[23][24] The policies included notice that many ice hockey programmes weren't limited by gender, such as mixed leagues and children's leagues. The guidelines for eligibility for trans players in restricted leagues stated that transgender women aged 14 and up must have undergone at least a year of testosterone suppression therapy and that transgender men should not have begun testosterone hormone therapy. The policy also explicitly contained guidelines for non-binary players. The policy generally received positive feedback from players.[25][26]

NWHL

The National Women's Hockey League policy on trans eligibility currently bans players assigned female at birth from playing while undergoing testosterone hormone therapy and specifies that players assigned male at birth must be able to demonstrate that their serum total testosterone level "is within typical limits of women athletes," and that the league may monitor hormone levels via testing.[27] The policy was announced in December 2016, the first professional sports league to announce specific guidelines for trans eligibility, and was developed in collaboration with You Can Play and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.[28][29]

Organisations

Team Trans

In 2019, Team Trans was founded in Massachusetts, in the United States, as an all-transgender and nonbinary hockey team.[30] It is believed to be the only all-transgender sports team currently active in the United States.[31][32]

You Can Play

You Can Play is a social activism campaign dedicated to the eradication of homophobia and the inclusion of LGBT+ people in sports. It was founded after the death of openly-gay Miami University player Brendan Burke.[33]

List of notable transgender ice hockey players

See also

References
  1. Forster, Jay (2018-06-18). "I Can Pass, But Can I Play? Playing Hockey While Trans". Outsports. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  2. Cohen, Jodi H.; Semerjian, Tamar Z. (2008-12-12). "The Collision of Trans-Experience and the Politics of Women's Ice Hockey". International Journal of Transgenderism. 10 (3–4): 133–145. doi:10.1080/15532730802297322. S2CID 143510443. Retrieved 2020-10-31 – via Taylor & Francis Online.
  3. Allingham, Jeremy (2013-05-17). "Transgender teen finds strength in hockey". CBC News. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  4. Stewart, Megan (2013-05-15). "Transgendered teen athlete becomes an advocate". Vancouver Courier. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  5. Spencer, Donna (2016-09-08). "Hockey player who pushed Ontario on transgender inclusion hopes for more". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  6. "Transgender rights activists celebrate Hockey Canada settlement". Maclean's. 2014-09-15. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  7. Spencer, Donna (2017-09-26). "Transgender training now mandatory for Ontario minor hockey coaches". Global News. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  8. White, Dave (2014-12-22). "Whitehorse Women's Hockey League embraces transgender males". CBC News (Interview). Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  9. Clinton, Jared (2016-10-07). "NWHL's Harrison Browne makes history as hockey's first openly transgender player". The Hockey News. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  10. Murphy, Mike (2018-04-30). "Trailblazer Harrison Browne announces his retirement from women's hockey after winning his second Isobel Cup". The Ice Garden. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  11. Bennett, Donnovan (2018-02-06). "Hockey is for Everyone: The Jessica Platt Story". Sportsnet. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  12. Barnes, Katie (2018-01-10). "CWHL's first transgender woman finds comfort, confidence in professional hockey". ESPN. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  13. Bevis, Hannah (2018-01-11). "Toronto Furies player Jessica Platt comes out as transgender". The Ice Garden. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  14. Skoglund, Henrik (2018-04-25). "Leksandsmålvakten lägger av – kommer ut som transsexuell". HockeySverige (in Swedish). Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  15. Andersson, Anna (2019-08-03). "Leon Reuterström om livet under könskorrigeringen". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  16. "First trans woman in Swiss hockey to play for EHC Basel". Swiss Hockey News. 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  17. Douglas, William (2019-06-11). "Transgender teenage hockey player embraced by Jr. Sharks". NHL. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  18. Ennis, Dawn (2019-04-01). "The hockey star of the future is a transgender boy". Outsports. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  19. Holmes, Jon (2020-01-22). "Elite League: Why first Pride Weekend in UK ice hockey matters to LGBT+ community | Ice Hockey News". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  20. "IIHF - Rules and Regulations". iihf.com. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  21. "2021 IIHF Transgender Policy" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 2020-06-01. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
  22. "Transgender Policy". Ice Hockey UK. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  23. "Diversity, Equity & Inclusion". usahockey.com. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  24. "USA Hockey Transgender Athlete Eligibility Policy" (PDF). 2020-11-25. USA Hockey. 2019-01-20.
  25. Ziegler, Syd (2019-01-25). "New USA Hockey transgender and non-binary policy earns praise". Outsports. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  26. "USA Hockey's New Trans and Non-Binary Guidelines Don't Amount to Inclusion for Many Trans and Non-Binary Athletes". The Victory Press. 2019-01-28. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  27. "National Women's Hockey League Policy on Participation of Transgender Athletes". National Women's Hockey League. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  28. Neale, Jen (2016-12-29). "Inside new NWHL transgender policy, which sets pro sports precedent". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  29. Bevis, Hannah (2016-12-27). "NWHL releases new Policy on Participation of Transgender Athletes". The Ice Garden. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  30. Szklarski, Cassandra (2019-11-25). "All-transgender hockey team 'like an instant family' for players who felt like outcasts: Co-captain | CBC News". CBC News. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  31. Allentuck, Danielle; Sommerfeld, Mark (2019-11-15). "For 16 Transgender Hockey Players, a Groundbreaking Weekend". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
  32. Baggs, Michael (2019-12-19). "Trans ice hockey: 'Out on the ice your gender means nothing'". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
  33. Ohlheiser, Abby (2013-04-11). "NHL announces LGBT rights partnership with You Can Play to support gay athletes". Slate. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
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