Cricket Australia Announces Gender Inclusive Guidelines For Elite And Community Cricket
Cricket Australia (CA) has today announced its commitment to include transgender and gender diverse people in elite and community cricket.
The decision comes after CA initially began talks with key stakeholders in October 2018, in which they developed an Elite Cricket Policy and Guidelines for Community Cricket to support players electing to participate in cricket in line with their gender identity, whether or not this aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth.
The Elite Cricket Policy is aligned to the International Cricket Council’s Eligibility on the Basis of Gender Recognition and provides transgender and gender diverse cricketers guidance on how they can compete at the highest levels of the sport, consistent with their gender identity.
The policy also permits transgender cricketers who are born overseas to compete in Australian domestic competitions as there is alignment with ICC policy.
“It doesn’t make any sense that today, people are discriminated against, harassed or excluded, because of who they are,” CEO of Cricket Australia, Kevin Roberts, said.
“Today we demonstrate our commitment to include people with an affirmed gender identity in the game at every level and ensure all people in our communities experience Australian cricket’s inclusive culture
“As strength, stamina and physique are all relevant factors when competing in competitive sport, transgender and gender diverse players will be supported to participate in elite cricket, subject to certain criteria through the implementation of this policy.
“Our dedication to a fair and inclusive sport across international and domestic competitions sees the policy strike a balance between the opportunity to participate and ensuring fair competition.
The Guidelines for Community Cricket will assist clubs, players, administrators, coaches and other volunteers deliver a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment, free of harassment and discrimination for gender diverse players at the game’s grassroots.
As an additional measure, a referral process to an Expert Panel has been established to ensure fair and meaningful competition.
“From a community cricket level, the guidelines provide robust guidance for clubs and associations to encourage the participation of transgender and gender diverse players and support frameworks for people who are subject to any form of harassment or discrimination on the basis of their sex or gender identity,” Roberts added.
“Discrimination of any sort has no place in the game and all of Australian Cricket is driven to ensure all cricketers can participate in a harassment-free environment.”
Megan Schutt, Australian cricketer said: “Inclusion matters in every sense.
“Cricket Australia’s vision is to be a sport for all, so everyone deserves to be included.
“To have a policy and guidelines that include transgender and gender diverse players will create a better environment for everybody to play the game.
“Now that we know that anyone who is transgender or gender diverse has a chance to play cricket at the highest level – and rightfully so – I’m confident that the elite cricket policy will provide a fair process for transgender and gender diverse cricketers to embark on that pathway.”
The policy for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse players in Elite Cricket can be found here
The guidelines for inclusion of transgender and gender diverse players in Community Cricket can be found here
