The WSL Announces New Transgender Athlete Policy

You may recall a story we posted nearly a year ago, which detailed Sasha Jane Lowerson becoming the first openly transgender woman to compete in, and win, a significant surf competition.

Since then, the concept of including and classifying transgender athletes in surfing (among all sports) has been hotly debated in boardrooms — and comment sections — worldwide. As of yesterday, the WSL has released their very own policy for transgender surfers.

Well, actually, it’s the ISA’s policy, but the Woz has has now adopted it, per Jessi Miley-Dyer.

Enacted just a few months ago in October of 2022, the ISA’s policy lives here.

If you aren’t keen to read through a bureaucratic policy document (we don’t blame you), the important part essentially states:

In order to for an athlete who was assigned male at birth and whose gender has changed and identifies as a woman, the surfer must satisfy the International Surfing Association Medical Commission that her serum testosterone concentration has been less than 5 nmol/L continuously for a period of the previous 12 months and secondly, meets any other requirements reasonably set by the Executive Committee and/or Medical Commission.

As per our friends over at the Inertia, Jessi Miley-Dyer stated, “The WSL will not test transgender athletes [for testosterone levels] ourselves. Athletes will arrange their own testing, then come to our chief medical officer to have a confidential conversation and show medical documentation.”

What exactly does <5 nmol/L of serum testosterone mean? Well, we’re certainly not doctors, but according to a variety of sources, including Mount Sinai Hospital and VeryWellHealth.com, men typically measure around 10-35 nmol/L and women typically measure around 0.4 – 2.5 nmol/L.