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  "path": "/news/usa-rugby-transgender-women-exclusion",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-03T18:58:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.advocate.com",
  "tags": [
    "Donald trump",
    "Rugby",
    "Sports",
    "Transgender",
    "U.s. olympic and paralympic committee",
    "Usa rugby",
    "Women",
    "_transgender_",
    "_men’s division_",
    "_**LGBTQ**_",
    "_**Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.**_",
    "_Donald Trump’s_",
    "_order_",
    "What does the science say about transgender women in sports?",
    "Supreme Court seems likely to rule against transgender athletes in school sports programs",
    "U.S. Supreme Court to hear major court cases on trans women in sports on Tuesday",
    "Trump bans trans women athletes from 'extraordinary ability’ visas",
    "_Policy_",
    "_post_",
    "House passes bill banning trans women and girls from school sports",
    "Trans Women Could Be Banned From Playing on Women's Rugby Teams"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nUSA Rugby announced on Friday that it will now ban _transgender_ women from being eligible to compete in the women’s division, but that the organization will continue to permit “any athlete registered as male to participate in the _men’s division_.” The policy, which took effect February 20, reverses the eligibility standards the organization had maintained since at least 2022.\n\n**Keep up with the latest in** _**LGBTQ**_**+ news and politics.**_**Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.**_\n\nThe change comes in response to a U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee directive issued last July ordering national sports governing bodies to ban transgender women from women’s Olympic competitions. The USOPC directive followed President _Donald Trump’s_ executive _order_ “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”\n\n**Related** : What does the science say about transgender women in sports?\n\n\n**Related** : Supreme Court seems likely to rule against transgender athletes in school sports programs\n\nUnder its previous policy, now deleted from USA Rugby’s website, the organization adhered to the International Olympic Committee’s 2015 transgender guidelines, which permitted transgender women to compete in the women’s division provided they declared a female gender identity for a minimum of four years and maintained testosterone levels below 10 nmol/L for at least 12 months prior to competition. Transgender men faced no restrictions on competing in the male category.\n\nThe previous policy also outlined a confidential three-step evaluation process for athlete eligibility, which included an informal interview with a medical committee representative, designated testing if needed, and referral to a transgender eligibility working group if questions remained unresolved.\n\n**Related** : U.S. Supreme Court to hear major court cases on trans women in sports on Tuesday\n\n**Related** : Trump bans trans women athletes from 'extraordinary ability’ visas\n\nThe updated policy establishes an “open” division, allowing any athlete to compete regardless of sex assigned at birth or hormone levels. USA Rugby cites the USOPC’s NGB Athlete Safety _Policy_ as the basis for the new division, quoting its mandate that governing bodies ensure \"women have a fair and safe competition environment.\"\n\nAccording to the organization, “USA Rugby strictly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity [or] gender expression. The organization’s site then links to another page regarding the SafeSport program, which was set up to “give participants an outlet to report these incidents and are encouraged to do so.”\n\nSome players and clubs are now organizing resistance. In a February 27 _post_ on the rugby community site Your Scrumhalf Connection, editor Wendy Young called on clubs to register their teams in the open division rather than the women’s division, reasoning that if the women’s division is depopulated, “the policy fails.”\n\n**Related** : House passes bill banning trans women and girls from school sports\n\n**Related** : Trans Women Could Be Banned From Playing on Women's Rugby Teams\n\nYoung also called on players to email USA Rugby’s compliance department and CEO Bill Goren directly, push their geographic union officers to grant blanket open division approval for local league play, and flood the compliance department with self-reported eligibility changes. Young has since organized a strategy call for club presidents, captains, coaches, and player advocates to coordinate a response for the 2026 season.",
  "title": "USA Rugby creates ‘open’ division after Trump administration pressure to exclude transgender women"
}