BROOKLYN, NY – OCTOBER 25: An official NWHL puck sits in an ice bucket prior to the game between the New York Riveters and the Connecticut Whale of the National Womens Hockey League on October 25, 2015 in Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, the National Women’s Hockey League unveiled a ground breaking policy for the inclusion of transgender athletes. This the first professional sport league – male or female – to create a policy specifically for transgender athletes.

The purpose of the policy is outlined as, “The NWHL recognizes all forms of gender expression. Therefore, the NWHL supports athletes choosing to express their gender beyond the binary of female and male. The NWHL will use the eligibility guidelines set out in this policy in order to ensure a fair and level playing field for all participants.”

Written in conjunction with the You Can Play Project (YCP) and National Center for Lesbian Rights (NLCR), the league based the policy on the International Olympic Committee’s revamped guidelines incorporating the ‘latest scientific and legal attitudes’ surrounding transgender athletes. In years prior, the IOC required athletes to have undergone sexual reassignment surgery in order to compete as their self-identified gender. This is no longer the case.

The guidelines for the NWHL’s policy cover all transgender athletes:

Considering the most up-to-date medical and expert information available at the time of the implementation of this policy, participation is open to:

1 – People designated female at birth, regardless of their gender identity.

1.1 The athlete may not take testosterone hormone therapy. Athletes transitioning to male who undergo hormone therapy will be ineligible to compete.

2 – Those who transition from male to female are eligible to compete under the following conditions:

2.1. The athlete has declared that her gender identity is female. The declaration cannot be changed, for sporting purposes, for a minimum of four years.

2.2. The athlete must demonstrate that her total testosterone level in serum is within typical limits of women athletes.

2.3. The athlete’s total testosterone level in serum must remain in the typical range of women athletes throughout the period of desired eligibility to compete in the female category.

2.4. Compliance with these conditions may be monitored by testing. In the event of non-compliance, the athlete’s eligibility in the league will be suspended for 12 months.

A couple things to point out:

— For athletes who are transitioning to male, they cannot take testosterone hormone therapy while active in the league. This is not something new to the NWHL.

This past October, Buffalo Beauts forward Harrison Browne became the first transgender athlete in professional team sports. In an interview with Puck Daddy, Browne indicated he would not take testosterone until after his playing days are complete because the hormone is considered a performance enhancer.

Browne was not involved in the creation of the policy. However, he did tell the New York Times, “I think it’s very inclusive. I don’t think it’s discriminatory at all. I think it’s very fair.”

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— For athletes transitioning to female, they are faced with more guidelines in order to compete; such as having to declare their gender identity for at least four years, and under go testing to ensure testosterone levels are within a ‘typical’ range for female athletes where non-compliance can result in a 12-month suspension.

The reasons for this aren’t cut and dry.

From the New York Times:

Joanna Harper is a medical physicist at Providence Portland Medical Center in Portland, Ore., who has studied transgender distance runners. A transgender woman, she has advised the I.O.C. on its gender guidelines.

“Transgender women will have advantages,” she said, noting that transgender women had never dominated in any sport. “Specifically, transgender women are taller, larger, they have more muscle mass. Those are all facts.”

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