Barbados sports administrators are being challenged to be proactive with the imposition of regulations and policies to avoid biological female athletes being disadvantaged by transgender athletes.While world debate persists about the competitive fairness of athletes who transition from male to ‘female’ being included in female sports, it hasn’t begun in Barbados yet. However, former head coach of the Sports Academy at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Roland Butcher, and president of the Barbados Body Building Association Dr. Alfred Sparman, believe such is inevitable. Both noted the importance of local administrators getting the ball rolling in laying out a strategic plan to meet the challenge when it does arrive.Their comments were made against the background of a number of states in America considering a ban on trans-girls in women’s sports. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has recently made it clear that he does not “think that biological males should be competing in female sporting events”. This position was also echoed by transgender Olympic gold medallist Caitlin Jenner last year when she said: “It just isn’t fair. And we have to protect girls’ sports in our schools.”
