Mick Hartley

From the Telegraph:

Female ice hockey players as young as 14 are being forced to play against adult competitors who are biologically male but identify as female and are being allowed to play in women’s leagues.

One angry father has revealed that his 15-year-old daughter was in an amateur league game when a trans player who was born male was penalised for hitting a female opponent around the head.

Under the current rules in ice hockey leagues, female players can play with adult teams from the age of 14. But the whistleblower father, who asked to remain anonymous to protect his daughter’s identity, said such teenage players were now being put in danger by the admission of male-born trans competitors to their games.

“I’m watching my 15-year-old daughter taking on fully grown men and thinking this isn’t right,” he said. “It’s dangerous, it’s unfair and there’s no good reason for it. Any of these men could play in mixed teams that exist, but they insist on playing in the ladies’ team.

“Ice hockey is a physical game and if you’re going head to head with a man as a 15-year-old girl there is obviously a strength difference. There’s also much higher levels of aggression in male ice hockey and then these players go to play in women’s teams. I was seething when I saw the female player being hit.”…

Fiona McAnena, director of campaigns at the feminist organisation Sex Matters, commented: “It’s not just unfair, it’s unsafe for girls to play ice hockey against biological males.

“These trans-identifying male players could choose mixed-ice hockey. Instead they are taking places from female players and making every match unfair for women on the ice.”

Henry Staelens, the chief executive of Ice Hockey UK, said: “Ice Hockey UK is currently coordinating discussions between the governing bodies and leagues to deliver a transgender policy that brings the sport together and prioritises player safety above all else.

“The extensive process also includes consulting with players, coaches, external agencies across government, the international federation and relevant groups.

“This will be concluded in the coming weeks with the view to release the policy in July.”

The default line in sports seems to be, yes fine, let the trans players play wherever they want: we must be fair to these lovely trans women, and it's only girls they're playing against anyway so it's not like it's a big deal. Then people – women – start objecting, it makes the news, and the people who run the sport say, ah yes, well you know, it's all terribly complicated, but, well, we're looking into it. Discussions are being coordinated. Of course it's not complicated at all – couldn't be easier: keep men out of women's sport. But they can't quite manage to see it…