Transsexuality: surfing tournament in California will have to include trans women in female competition, government decides

A surfing tournament in California has been told by state officials that it must include a trans woman in the women’s competition — or otherwise the event’s management will have violated state law.

The decision was made by the California Coastal Commission (CCC), a state agency responsible for managing beaches along the state’s 1,800 miles of coastline.

According to the entity, the championship “cannot discriminate (people) based on gender.”

The tournament organizers had announced that Australian Sasha Jane Lowerson would not be allowed to compete in the Huntington Beach Longboard Pro.

The decision divided opinions and generated reactions in California.

Lowerson had entered the women’s division of the competition on Saturday (04) in Huntington Beach, south of Los Angeles.

She said she came forward because rules set by the International Surfing Association (ISA) allow transgender women to compete if they meet certain criteria regarding testosterone levels.

“I was really disappointed and surprised [por ter sido excluída]”, she told the BBC.

“You can’t cherry-pick the rules from the rulebook. If you’re going to use the rulebook, use it in its entirety.”

Todd Messick, director of the American Longboard Association, which organizes the competition, announced on April 25 that the competition would not allow trans women to participate in the women’s division, saying he wanted to “provide a level playing field for all athletes.”

He told the BBC he was “surprised by the amount of anger” the decision generated, but added: “What I also found is that a lot of people were very grateful that I spoke out.”

“I was trying to do the right thing. It wasn’t something I really expected to have to deal with, not in our little community of longboard“, he said.

Lowerson, an Australian who has won men’s championships in her home country, said she found positive attitudes in the professional surfing world when she started living as a woman.

“Three years ago I had just started my transition and made a call to Surfing Australia [organização de surfe do país]”, she said.

“I was very well received. They were very open about being inclusive and progressive.”

Since transitioning, she has contributed to the development of new guidelines adopted by Australia’s governing body allowing transgender surfers to compete in women’s events.

In the United States, the issue proved to be more controversial. The issue is also under the spotlight in California because Los Angeles will host the Olympic Games in four years’ time, in 2028.

Last year, the World Surf League (WSL) announced a new policy on transgender participation, which allows trans women to compete in women’s events if they maintain a testosterone level below a certain threshold for at least 12 months.

Some professional surfers, including well-known Bethany Hamilton, have criticized the new rule, which is based on a policy created by the International Surfing Association.

“Many of the girls currently competing do not support this new rule and fear they will be ostracized if they speak out,” Hamilton said at the time.

“Is hormone level an accurate representation of whether someone is male or female?”

Referring to Hamilton’s statements, Todd Messick, organizer of the longboardadded: “90% of the surfers I spoke to agree, but many don’t comment.”

Surfers like Hamilton, who oppose the participation of transgender women in the women’s event, argue that they have an unfair advantage in terms of strength.

Lowerson, a longboardersays he doesn’t believe this is his case.

“It’s not a race, it’s about style, fluidity, grace. How longboarderit’s more like a ballet on a wave,” she said, adding that it can prove that her testosterone levels are below the required threshold.

The surfer states that, despite the criticism, she will continue participating in women’s events.

“Inadvertently, I became a poster child for trans women in surfing,” she points out.

“Not that I wanted to do it, but it just happened.”

“Sports is about community. It’s about sharing and having fun with other like-minded people, and the fact that we’re losing sight of that is really sad.”

According to the California Coastal Commission, local sporting events that do not allow transgender women to compete in women’s categories may be closed.

“Surfing competitions in state waters must be carried out legally and without gender discrimination,” the organization’s spokesman, Joshua Smith, told BBC News.

A letter from the coastal agency to competition organizers, seen by the BBC, says the ban on transgender women is “not consistent with the public access, recreation and environmental justice policies of the Coastal Act”.

Messick says he was informed that “this reached the California governor’s desk.”

The BBC contacted Governor Gavin Newsom’s office to obtain a position, but had not received a response until the publication of this report.

International swimming body World Aquatics has effectively banned transgender women from competing in major women’s swimming events.

World cycling’s governing body, the UCI, has also decided that transgender women will be barred from competing in international women’s events.