Including ALL in sports

Including all in sports. That can be complicated. But there are many possible solutions. Some are really not very complicated.

I will give you a 10 second summary of everything below: In sports, continue with M/W classes, add a third class for “All”, including M/W/U/X or any other person in the “All” class. Since the addition is for “All” its good for “All”. Give out medal for the 3 classes at events. Done.

Sounds pretty simple right? Well it is. But E=Mc² is also really simple to us now, but it was not always obvious to us.

How does it work in Archery in Iceland?

In Iceland the Icelandic archery federation added a “non-gendered” category to all their competitions, in addition to the gendered categories (women and men), in order to enable everyone to participate. This also includes the national championships, where official national titles for the “non-gendered” class and official national records for “non-binary/other” got added in 2022.

Everyone competes in the “non-gendered” category (men/women/non-binary/any other gender/those that are transitioning and have not completed the gender correction in the national registry, literally every person).Those who are registered as women can compete in the women’s category (cis/trans/other, does not matter what “sub-type” of woman, a woman is a woman as I see it).

  • Those who are registered as men can compete in the men’s category (cis/trans/other, does not matter the “sub-type” of man).
  • Those who register in men’s and women’s categories are automatically registered also in the “non-gendered” category also (this is not a choice, everyone in the event is signed up the non-gendered category, since it is essentially a “every person category”).
  • Anyone that wants to can choose to sign up only for the non-gendered category and not sign up in a specific gender (This would fit best for those that are non-binary or transitioning genders, since you are not required to participate in the gender split part of the event).

To ensure that there can be no form of gender discrimination within our sport we follow the gender registration at the “national registry (þjóðskrá)” to classify gender in our sport nationally. If you are transgender and have corrected your gender in the National Registry, it will also apply in our sport. We are not going to argue with the experts, doctors and government about who is a man or woman or non-binary. We just work with what the experts provide us with.

Benefits of adding a non gendered category addition (or “everyone/all” category):

  • Benefits for the majority of participants (cis men and women):
    • Men and women get an extra event to compete in since everyone that signs up to the competition in M or W categories will automatically be signed up also to the non gendered category. So they essentially get to compete twice instead of once.
    • Women that also want compete with the men in some sports are often denied that option in certain sports. With the non-gendered category everyone competes against everyone so those that want to compete against opponents of a different gender get that chance to do so in this system. Without removing the “women” category that the vast majority of women also want to keep.
    • The non-gendered category should generally not be controversial among the majority “traditional/conservative/religious persons”. Such persons may disagree on the classification of genders or other factors based on conservative or religious views, but they should all agree that a non-binary or transgender person is indeed still “a person”, and should be allowed to compete in the “Every person” category.
  • Benefits for non-binary persons:
    • Non-binary persons can participate in non gendered competition, and are not forced to choose a gender that they feel does not fit them to be able to participate. Meaning non-binary people get to choose to compete nationally outside of the gender binarism of the world.
    • The majority of non-binary/other persons prefer to compete in non-gendered competitions rather than a separate “third gender” category. When polled 88% of non-binary persons selected the non-gendered category as more appropriate and that they would sign up for the non-gendered category, rather than a third gender category for non-binary/other. Many of them register as non-binary because they want to live outside of the binary gender definition. Changing to 3 genders would essentially just be a ternary gender concept, which would be better, but would still not include everyone. The majority also felt that since the number of non-binary/other persons is very low in the country it would feel like they where being pushed into a separate corner of the sport with limited competition and fewer opportunities, which would be a form of inclusivity that would result in a sport being less inclusive.
    • Another bonus of the system that it does not create pressure on athletes to change/correct their gender registration to “non-binary/other” faster than they feel it appropriate. Since they can still compete in the non-gendered category no matter what their gender situation is.
    • In countries that do not recognize “non-binary” persons in their laws or regulations this system would still work: A person that identifies as non binary but is born M/W can choose only to sign up to the non gendered category in such countries. Since that person is still a person and is competing in the “every person category”. This should generally not be in breach of the laws or regulation in the majority of countries. Giving non-binary and transgender persons in such countries the option of participating in a neutral manner, instead of being forced to compete in a gender that they do not feel is correct for them.
  • Benefits for transgender people:
    • People that are doubting or questioning their gender can choose to compete only in the non gendered category while they figure things out. They are not forced to compete in a gender that they may feel is incorrect for them (new or old gender). They always have the option of competing only in the non gendered category. This puts even less pressure on those that are “doubting” to decide their gender, making it less likely that they are forced to make a decision in haste that may possibly be wrong and have to backtrack or change it again. (which can be very difficult for people to have to admit, when such cases happen.
    • This setup puts less pressure on transgender/doubting persons to change their gender faster than they feel it is appropriate. Such persons can take all the time that they need to figure out their personal situation and still be able to participate in a neutral way instead of being forced . Because transgender/doubting persons are not required to compete in their officially registered gender (which may be incorrect), they can sign up only to the non-gendered category. Since such persons are
    • In countries/regions/sports that do not recognize transgender persons this may apply: Transgender persons can select to sign up to compete in the non gendered category of competitions. Not signing up to the gender that they were assigned at birth, but only as “a person”. Without making any official statement of their transgender status since they would still officially be a M/W, but are choosing not to compete in the M/W categories but only in the “All” category. This is not perfect, but many transgender people living in those situations would agree that having a neutral option it is better than nothing. (Of course full inclusion of transgender people is preferred, as we do in Iceland, but the reality of current world is that it will take countries different times to reach full inclusion of all, and this option would theoretically improve the lives of many transgender people in less inclusive countries by giving everyone the option of competing only in the non-gendered category.)
  • Benefits for the sports federation or organization:
    • You can add the non-gendered category as an additional event to your competitions, benefiting all athletes.
    • You can keep the “old ways of doing things” with the M/W categories exactly as it has always been, but at the same time add an “everyone” category for all.
    • This setup does not create any “incentive” or “pressure” for any person to change their gender. It give the athletes “flexibility”.
    • The federation/organization is not and does not look like it is “promoting” gender changes.
    • This “non gendered category” option is also not/less controversial among the majority of “traditional/conservative/religious persons” that may disagree on the classification of gender or other factors. Since they do agree that LGBTQ+ persons are all “people”. And all people should be allowed to participate in the “All people” category. That is generally not controversial. Making the participation LGBTQ+ less controversial and hence more accepted among all people. Which makes it less likely that LGBTQ+ persons become targets of discrimination in the sport or in the federation/organizations events.
    • This fixes the issue of girls who also want to compete against the boys (which sometimes comes up as a controversy in the news, at least in Iceland).
    • Cis persons are generally very happy with this setup, since they essentially get to compete twice in the same competition and have a chance of winning 2 different medals and national titles, once in the M/W categories and again in the non-gendered category. Essentially a “second chance” in the non-gendered category (or vice versa).
    • Transgender persons are generally very happy with this setup, since it gives them flexibility during their transition and/or to those that may have doubts about their gender. That guarantees that they can participate in the sport during their transition, doubts and/or personal journey.
    • Non-binary persons are generally very happy with this setup, since they can compete outside of gender binarism, and those that identify as non-binary can select to compete even if they have not changed their gender officially.
    • This is essentially a win for all participants in the sport and people are happier and more accepting of the participation of non-binary/other persons, since the participation of non-binary/other persons is adding benefits and opportunities for all athletes in the sport.

Are there any cons?

There are very few cons with adding a non-gendered category to archery competitions. The only one we have found in Iceland is that the competitions are longer, because we need to add a separate match bracket to our tournaments for the “non gendered” category. And since everyone participates in that event it cannot run at the same time as the men or women brackets. But that was to be expected since we essentially added a whole extra tournament to our events. Since the “extra tournament” is something “everyone” participates in, people are generally happy even though the events are longer. We spend a bit more on medals, because we need an extra set for the extra event. Writing this 3 years after implementation of it not much comes to mind as a con, it has generally been positive. It is a bit more work for the staff of the federation, but not really that much.

In short we started by adding the non-gendered category as an unofficial parts of the national championships during the development and introduction phase (essentially a fun extra for a trial run). This also helped us to iron out any kinks and introduce the concept to the athletes. When the non-gendered category became generally well known and accepted by all the athletes, and they had seen the merits, it was then added as a permanent category with the corresponding national title.

Could this work to include everyone in other sports?

Yes of course. This should be a relatively easy addition to most sports, but it may need to be adjusted slightly depending on the sport.

In principle the majority of sports fall into one of two types of sports.

  1. Versus sports: Those sports which outcomes are based in winning matches/games etc. (for example person vs person or team vs team)
  2. Measured sports: Those sports which outcomes are based on a measured criteria, time/height/length/distance/score/weight etc. (for example distance of throw, time of run/swim, weight lifted, height/length jumped).
    1. For measured sports it should be easy to give out medals for the top 3 men and 3 women, and then the top 3

Examples how how that might work:

  • Marathon: It should be easy to give out medals for the top 3 times in men and women, and then combine everyone into one result list and give out medals unrelated to the participants gender. This should also apply to any
  • Racquet sports: Adding another separate bracket that includes all athletes. So a women’s bracket, men’s bracket and unisex bracket, and awarding medals for each one.

If you have the opportunity to add an extra category unofficially to try it out we highly recommend you try it.

Would this work in countries/regions with less LGBTQ+ acceptance?

Iceland is pretty much in the top 10 country list for anything related to gender equality, LGBTQ+ acceptance, peace  etc. You might be reading this from a nation/region/federation/organization that might be less accepting of LGBTQ+ persons in general, and might think that non of this can be done in your federation/country/region.

But that is not necessarily true. When you add an additional “non gendered category” to your competitions your federation/organization can technically still claim that it just follows the laws of the country/region in question related to gender and LGBTQ+. The federation can then choose it’s “reasons” for adding the category publicly depending on the country/region in question, for example:

  • The non-gendered (All/Everyone) category was added to create a platform where men and women can compete against each other as equals.
  • The non-gendered (All/Everyone) category was created to increase competitiveness in the sport (fits well with small sports with low participation or in small countries/regions)
  • The non-gendered (All/Everyone) category was added so that we could find out who is the GOAT greatest person of all time.

You don’t have to create a list of all the benefits for all the different athletes. In a less accepting country/region you could say that it was an unintended consequence that this system was beneficial for non-binary and transgender athletes. No one could technically argue that it was intentionally exclusively done to aid LGBTQ+ persons, that can be a secret “unintended” bonus.

If your federation is in an area where there is controversy related to LGBTQ+ people or it might even be illegal to be such a person, this might be the best way to go. A way to ensure that those that are non-binary/transgender in your sport can participate and do not get targeted for discrimination. “Including All without telling All” 😉. But I leave that to you to evaluate the environment you are working in. After all redheads and left handed people are still discriminated against in many countries even to this day. Even though in the Western world we have stopped burning lefties and redheads at the stake for being devils and have mostly accepted them 😅😑

Change on a regional/country/global level takes a long time. If you cannot wait then there are things like this you can do in the shadows to make the world a more inclusive place, even before the world is ready for it.

What to name the new category in my sport/country?

Depending on your language, country and local laws the choice of name for the new category is worth considering. There are many ways to name it, for example;

  • Non gendered category (A category that is not split by gender. This can in some countries and languages sound like a category only for those that have no gender, creating possible misunderstandings)
  • Everyone category (Since everyone competes in that category/class unrelated to their gender)
  • All category (Same as everyone just a different word that is more popular today related to inclusion “All”)
  • Unisex category (Uni- is from Latin (unus) meaning single (or united/universal) and sex meaning gender. Essentially a “1 gender” class. It is commonly used for competitions that are not split by gender, and is another version of All/Everyone)
  • Mixed gender category or Mixed category (Essentially says that it is a competition that mixes the genders in one competition class. It does not state the number of genders or any controversial wording so can fit some countries better)
  • Every person category (A category that every person competes in)

It’s all the same setup/system, just different ways of naming.

Remember that the exact format is not the most important issue, the goal is to setup a way where “all/everyone” can compete in a way that best fits every persons situation. I do not believe any system can be perfect, but it can be good enough so everyone can participate.

What if I want to know more or need help?

If you are hungry for more info or assistance you can contact me gummi(at)archery.is. If there is something that I can do or give advice on or something I will try. Most of the additional info is in Icelandic, since it was originally created for WAI (Archery Iceland), it took around 5 years to find the “perfect” system and some trial and error during that time.

This setup/system is showcased in the online library of the joint European Union – Council of Europe project “All In Plus: Promoting greater gender equality in sport”, which collects good practices and resources on gender equality in sport. The All In Plus project team (through the Icelandic Ministry of Education and Children’s Affairs) showed an interest in this setup/system used in archery in Iceland, at which point I realized that it might be useful to have some of the information available online in English so it would be easy for all people that are searching for solutions to find it. And that’s why this page exists.

P.s. The Jurassic Park movies are essentially about transgender dinosaurs. In the story, the dinosaurs have the ability to switch sexes. Everybody loves the transgender dinosaurs so why not also love the transgender homo sapiens (Yes I know. Of course I had to end with something really weird 😂)