Some southern sporting heavyweights have added their names to a letter calling on Sport New Zealand to address its guidelines on transgender athletes.
They claim the national body has "disrespected" the issue of fairness in sport.
Sport New Zealand’s transgender inclusion guidelines are aimed only at community sport and argue strongly for inclusiveness, discarding biological sex and allowing transgender people to take part in sports in the gender with which they identify.
The guidelines say exclusion from sport could be particularly harmful to transgender people.
However, a letter signed by former Olympians, doctors and sports administrators — presented to Sports Minister Chris Bishop yesterday — expresses concern the guidelines do not prioritise fairness and safety.
"The SNZ guidelines ignore the rights of every female athlete, and as much as we celebrate the spirit of inclusivity espoused by the rainbow community, fundamental tenets of fairness and safety in sport have been disrespected by the SNZ document.
"In light of the success of New Zealand athletes in Paris, where our women were outstanding, it’s timely for your government to provide leadership in this space.
"We owe our next generation of female athletes a fair, safe future in sport whether at community or elite level. Our shared obligation is to provide objective, science-informed opinion above subjective ideology. The stakes are too high."
The letter said fairness was the cornerstone of sport but, especially in contact sports, safety deserved equal status.
That was especially the case with athletes who had undergone male puberty but now competed as women.
"Male-bodied athletes are undeniably advantaged when matched against natal females.
"While universal participation in sport carries undisputed benefits to mental and physical health, women’s sport can only remain fair and safe when male advantage is excluded.
"Despite testosterone suppression, there is unequivocal evidence of physical advantages for trans women in sport at any level."
Otago sporting great Dave Gerrard, the former Olympic swimmer, team doctor, chef de mission and widely respected sports medicine specialist, has signed the letter.
He is joined by Otago netball great Anna Stanley, former Otago elite multisport coach John Hellemans and outgoing Basketball Otago boss Peter Drew.
Sailing great Barbara Kendall, runners Lorraine Moller and Allison Roe, multisporter Erin Baker, cyclist Gary Anderson, swimmer Dean Kent and rower Joseph Sullivan are among the other high-profile signatories.
In June, the New Zealand Herald revealed 18 of 63 taxpayer-funded New Zealand sporting codes had a transgender inclusion policy in place. Of those, 11 used SNZ guidance to develop their policy. Of the 45 organisations that did not have a policy, 21 were developing one.
The only case of a transgender woman competing at the elite level of New Zealand sport has been weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, who was the first openly transgender woman to appear at the Olympics three years ago.
