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An "open category" swimming event to accommodate transgender athletes has been canceled in Germany due to a lack of interest.
World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA, originally announced in July that the Berlin Swimming World Cup would be the first competition to have an "open category" for all swimmers. The event announcement followed backlash from LGBTQ activists to its "gender inclusion policy" established in 2022 that only permitted transwomen swimmers who began transitioning before age 12 to compete in women’s categories.
Days before it was set to begin on Oct. 6, the "open category" event was dropped with the organization citing "zero" entries.
"Following the close of registration for the open category competitions at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup – the Berlin 2023 meet scheduled for October 6-8th – World Aquatics can confirm that no entries have been received for the open category events," the organization said in a statement.
Trans University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas swims in the 500 Freestyle finals during the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 17th, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta Georgia. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Despite the lack of interest, World Aquatics said they would continue to work on providing open category events in the future.
"The World Aquatics Open Category Working Group will continue its work and engagement with the aquatics community on Open Category events. Even if there is no current demand at the elite level, the working group is planning to look at the possibility of including Open Category races at Masters events in the future," they added.
The event was expected to feature 50-meter and 100-meter races across all strokes in timed trials over the course of two days. Eligible swimmers would "need an affiliation with a national federation and will be given the flexibility to participate individually, for their club, team or as national federation members."
University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines tied for 5th in the 200 Freestyle finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18th, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta Georgia. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The focus on transgender athletes coincided with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas’ emergence at the 2022 NCAA Championships. Thomas became the first transgender swimmer to win a women’s championship, sparking backlash among female athletes and a national debate about transgender athletes.
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Though swimming’s international governing body, voted overwhelmingly to approve the gender policy in 2022. The organization also proposed an "open completion policy" along with "a new working group that will spend the next six months looking at the most effective ways to set up this new category."
The "open category" concept was later expanded in August.
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"When World Aquatics instituted its Policy on Eligibility for the Men’s and Women's Competition Categories, we committed to exploring the creation of an open category," World Aquatics president Husain Al-Musallam said in a statement at the time. "True to our word, a team of experts has diligently worked to make this a reality. I would like to thank all those who have helped World Aquatics to deliver this opportunity."
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