Sasha Jane Lowerson, a transgender woman, will be allowed to compete in the female category of the Huntington Beach Longboard Pro, after the organizers had previously said she would not.
The about-face came after the California Coastal Commission, a state agency, informed organizers that barring a trans woman from the female category would be in violation of state law, according to the BBC. Lowerson had told the BBC that she was “surprised” by the initial decision to exclude her from the competition. The International Surfing Association last year adopted a trans-athlete policy that allows trans women to compete in the female category after one year of hormone therapy. The testosterone level allowed in trans women is 5 nmol/L. No surgery is required.
Earlier this year, Lowerson was at the center of an uproar when the surfwear company Rip Curl featured her in a campaign. Some surfers burned their Rip Curl clothing, saying her inclusion meant the exclusion of a female surfer in the campaign.
Rip Curl quickly backtracked.
Other companies have come on board to support Lowerson, including the Mando Surf Co.
Trans athlete policies run the gamut across sports. Some world governing bodies, like those for swimming, rugby and track and field, bar trans women from the female category entirely. Some states, like California and Connecticut, have high school policies that allow all trans girls to compete in the female category, whether they’ve had any medical transition or not.
Then there are most other sports governing bodies that fall somewhere in the middle.
What will be interesting to watch is how California reacts to the impending NCAA policy that will adopt some of these bans in sports.
The back-and-forth of trans inclusion in sports, while it’s been going on for decades, is really just getting started.
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