Biological women in their 40s and 50s forced to compete against transgender women in community AFL competitions fear their safety is being ignored in the name of inclusion.
While transgender women and non-binary people must apply to play in an elite women’s football competition such as the AFLW, they are free to play in community-level tournaments.
The AFL created the elite women’s policy in 2018 after players expressed fears about Hannah Mouncey joining the AFLW due to her size and strength compared to biologically female players.
In 2020, that policy was expanded to include the VFL women’s competition and requires strict physical and testosterone testing requirements before a transgender athlete is allowed to compete.
However, the policy does not extend to the community level and some players have expressed fears for their safety while calling for a level playing field.
The AFL created its policy on transgender and non-binary athletes joining elite competitions after Hannah Mouncey (pictured right) was denied entry into the AFLW.
Transgender and non-binary player policy does not extend to community football (file image)
An AFL spokesman confirmed that community-level competitions were focused on inclusion, not competitive equity.
“The different approaches in community football and elite football reflect different priorities at different levels of the sport,” the spokesman said.
‘In community football, the priority is social inclusion, while in elite football there is a greater emphasis on competitive equity.
Melbourne Masters player Amanda Reiter-Dando, 52, said News from heaven She was unable to play until she was 40 because there were no grassroots women’s competitions or leagues to compete in.
Now that she has found a home at the Melbourne Masters competition, she fears her integrity could be compromised by allowing bigger, stronger transgender athletes to compete without testing.
“I took the risk when I decided to play Australian rules football, and maybe naively, but I knew I was playing against other players,” she said.
Amanda Reiter-Dando wants the policy to be extended to masters competitions to create more equity
Her teammate Georgie Lee also criticised the AFL for not extending its transgender and non-binary policy to all levels of the game.
“This is something that is quite difficult for players at community level to digest – that elite AFL female players are granted a single-sex competition but we are not,” Lee said.
‘People like Mini (Reiter-Dando) and I, who were not able to play football when we were children, have no chance of playing elite football. That ship has already sailed.
“Community football is a sport that we can play, but we don’t have fair competition. I don’t think that’s right.”
Queensland player Tracy Diprose, 56, said her protests were purely based on safety, not because she did not want to compete against transgender or non-binary athletes.
“When it comes to a contact sport like AFL, rugby league or rugby union, you don’t want a biological male contacting you – it’s too dangerous,” he said.
“I have no problem with transgender people. You can dress like a woman, you can act like a woman, that’s fine. But you can’t play women’s sports because of biological differences.”
Jill Chalmers (left) created the Women’s AFL Masters competition and is pushing for the AFL’s policy on transgender and non-binary athletes to be extended to community-level matches.
Chalmers said the women excluded themselves from matches rather than risk injury by playing against transgender and non-binary competition.
Jill Chalmers was one of the driving forces behind the AFLW and is the current Women’s Masters coordinator who spent years getting the competition established.
It finally launched in 2018 and had its first transgender athlete the following year.
Chalmers is pained to see the hard work of getting the league up and running unravel because players have excluded themselves rather than compete against transgender players.
“One of the reasons I’m talking about this is because I started the competition, so I really care about participation and I want to grow the competition,” Chalmers said.
‘At the elite level, the AFL recognises that it’s not safe or fair and that, in our community, we’re even more vulnerable. We’re older and weaker, we have weaker bodies, we’re not as conditioned, so we’re incredibly vulnerable to the domination of transgender women.
“We want (transgender and non-binary players) to be included, but we think the AFL needs to consider another route because the gap between their physical ability and ours is quite significant.”
Women’s Forum chief executive Rachael Wong wants the AFL to shift its focus away from inclusion and towards a fairer playing field for women.
According to the ACON health service, trans women, trans men and non-binary people live, work and play sports in every city in Australia.
“Most people, particularly cis women, do not agree with the exclusion of transgender and non-binary people from sport. So why is transgender participation in sport such a big issue?” reads a statement from the organisation.
‘The short answer is that transgender people playing sports is not a problem at all. These are real people in our communities who have the right to live authentically. Most people, particularly cis women, do not agree with excluding trans women from their teams.
‘Although community understanding and attitudes have improved, trans people, particularly trans women, are sometimes still seen as a threat, while trans men and non-binary people are invisible.
‘Research tells us that while sport can be a hostile and unfriendly place for trans people, inclusive policies make a significant and positive difference to the cultures of sports clubs and those who participate in them.’
Women’s Forum chief executive Rachael Wong has also spoken out about the policy not extending to community level and criticised the AFL for forcing women out of the sport.
“Forcing women to compete against male athletes with all the physical advantages that come with male puberty is clearly unfair,” Wong said.
‘But what’s even more worrying is that women’s safety is being put at risk, and rather than risk injury (which is already happening), women are excluding themselves, because men who only have to present themselves with the correct pronouns are allowed to play.
‘It’s ironic that the AFL’s emphasis on inclusion actually excludes women from the game.
‘I hope these athletes have the courage to speak out, and that the AFL and other sporting bodies that currently allow biological males to participate in sport will listen to them and restore fairness and safety for female athletes.‘
The AFL’s gender diversity policy states: ‘Transgender people are generally able to participate in community football competitions that are consistent with their gender identity and non-binary people are able to play in the community football competition of their choice.’
In a section of the policy called “Debunking Common Myths,” the league says: “The AFL acknowledges that gender-diverse players have participated in community football competitions for a number of years without significant safety concerns arising.”
That section also states that it is a myth that “transgender female players will dominate cisgender female players because of testosterone.”
“Sporting ability is about more than just hormones. Like other players, gender diverse players are all individuals and may have a range of physical abilities, fitness, skill levels and different strengths and weaknesses in the multi-skilled game of Australian rules football,” the policy reads.
‘For example, a cisgender or transgender woman may be taller and/or stronger than other competitors, but she may also be slower and/or less agile.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted ACON for comment.