Hannah Mouncey has raised serious concerns about the AFL's updated gender-diversity policy, claiming the new guidelines will make the sport less inclusive.
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The transgender athlete spoke with AFL officials on Friday, questioning the addition of state league and pathway competitions to its elite policy.
The league issued its updated guidelines for the participation of transgender athletes in elite competitions on Thursday, as well as introducing a policy for community-level football.
It was announced as part of a joint-launch led by ACON's Pride in Sport, with nine peak-sport bodies coming together to create more inclusive environments for trans athletes.
Mouncey argued the AFL's updated policy will exclude transgender athletes who currently compete in second-tier competitions, with the previous version only referring to the AFLW.
The Canberran was barred from entering the 2017 AFLW draft on "strength, stamina or physique" grounds but was later allowed to play VFLW.
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But now transgender athletes must meet the same requirements as the AFLW to compete in State League competitions, including AFL Canberra women's first grade.
"There's a lot of problems with it. It's a bit disappointing that Pride in Sport announcing it at their event in a way endorsed it, when it's really going to exclude a lot of people who were included under the previous policy," Mouncey said.
"The fact they reclassified a lot of lower-level leagues that aren't necessarily elite is going to exclude a lot of people. It also sends the message that you can play, but you're just not allowed to be good. That's a big problem.
"For the VFLW and WAFLW I understand it, but for AFL Canberra, Sydney and Queensland competitions it's not the same thing - especially in the smaller states where there aren't a myriad of competitions to play in. If you don't meet the requirements to play elite football like AFL Canberra is now considered, those people now have nowhere to play unless they travel to Sydney for sub-suburban competitions.
"Players should be in the appropriate grade for them, that's what it takes away. There'll be players who are trans who should be in first grade, but can't. That's not okay because they want something to work for."
Under the new guidelines, transgender women can play in the AFL's elite competitions if they maintained testosterone at or below 5 nmol/L for at least two years.
If that requirement is met, they must also provide data regarding their height, weight, bench press, vertical jump, GPS data 20-metre sprint and two kilometre run time.
Regardless of whether an applicant fulfills the physical requirements, the AFL has the ultimate say in whether they can compete.
"The AFL GDP Committee may refuse an application if it is satisfied, acting reasonably, that either or both of the following criteria are satisfied: relevant competitive advantage criteria and unacceptable safety risk criteria," the policy reads.
Mouncey says the AFL's ability to refuse a transgender athlete's application regardless of whether they've met the physical criteria, is wrong.
"Even if you meet all the requirements, the AFL still reserves the right to say you can't play. That's a real problem," Mouncey said.
"There's a policy and guidelines set out and if people meet them they can still say no. Really, what's the point of having those steps if at the end of the day it's going to be an arbitrary decision? And who's to say if they're good, strong and fast because they're trans?"
Mouncey was issued a public apology by Handball Australia on Monday after she was excluded from using the women's changerooms at the Asian Championships in late 2018.
The incident was reported to the Human Rights Commission last year and was resolved recently, with Handball Australia committing to improve its inclusion policy for transgender athletes.
"Handball Australia regrets and acknowledges the hurt caused and extends a sincere apology to Hannah for not being able to resolve the issue before it impacted her relationship with the sport and organisation," it read.
"We hope that in time she will feel comfortable returning to the sport in some capacity."
Lucie Bertoldo
Lucie Bertoldo is a sports reporter for the Canberra Times.
Lucie Bertoldo is a sports reporter for the Canberra Times.
