World Aquatics
World Aquatics is the international federation for swimming, water polo, diving, artistic swimming, open water swimming and high diving. Until the name change around the turn of the year from 2022 to 2023, the federation was called FINA.
The policy
On 19 June 2022, affiliated federations voted by 71.5 percent at an extraordinary congress in Budapest in favor of a new gender inclusion policy, which took effect the following day. Transgender women may compete in the women’s category only if they have not undergone male puberty. The federation also announced a working group for an open category.
What you can find
The website provides competition calendars, results, regulations and news; the press release about the policy is still available. The decision is controversial: supporters point to fair competition, while opponents point to the exclusion of transgender athletes. See society and international developments.
How the policy was developed
According to the press release, the federation established three groups of experts in November 2021: a group of athletes, a group focused on science and medicine, and a group focused on law and human rights. Their work formed the basis for the proposal on which the congress in Budapest voted. At the presentation, president Husain Al-Musallam said that the federation must protect athletes’ right to participate, as well as the fairness of competitions, particularly in the women’s category. The working group for an open category was given six months to develop a plan.
The open category and the case of Lia Thomas
The open category was originally scheduled to be held for the first time at the World Cup event in Berlin in October 2023, with 50- and 100-meter races in all strokes. No one entered, and the federation canceled the races. According to the federation, there was no demand for them at the elite level at that time. The working group was to examine whether such races could be held at masters competitions. American swimmer Lia Thomas challenged the policy at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, calling the rules invalid, unlawful and discriminatory. In June 2024, the court rejected her request. The three arbitrators ruled that she did not have the standing to bring the case. Swimmer Riley Gaines, who raced against Thomas in 2022, wrote the book Swimming Against the Current about it.
How to use and assess this source
The website is the primary source for the rules themselves and for the federation’s official explanation. A press release reflects the federation’s position, not that of the athletes affected by it. The International Olympic Committee later followed with its own guideline; see IOC reinstates the women’s category in elite sport. The scientific debate about performance differences and the rules of other federations, such as World Athletics, can be found under gender and sport.