USA Rugby announced Feb. 27 that it has updated its competition eligibility policy to comply with Trump’s executive order governing sex-based categories in sports, creating a men’s division, a women’s division, and a new “open” division for its sanctioned events.
The governing body said the change follows the issuance of Executive Order 14201, which the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) determined applies to all national governing bodies (NGBs). USA Rugby said failure to comply “could result in sanctions from the USOPC, including the potential loss of NGB status.”
“Accordingly, the updated policy will apply to all USA Rugby-sanctioned competitions,” the organization said in a statement.
USA Rugby’s men’s and women’s divisions will be structured around sex-based eligibility requirements consistent with the executive order. The new “open” division “will permit any athlete, regardless of gender assigned at birth and gender identity, to compete in USA Rugby-sanctioned events, whether full contact or non-contact,” the statement said. “Open” division events will be approved on a per-tournament basis, following a review process.
USA Rugby said the final policy “has been reviewed and approved by the USOPC and determined to be aligned with the Executive Order.”
The organization said that the change could affect some members of its community.
“While USA Rugby meets the requirements set forth by the Administration and the USOPC, we recognize this change has a meaningful impact on members of our community and may conflict with values of our game,” the statement said. “We understand that some athletes, teams, and clubs will be directly affected.”
USA Rugby added that it “made every effort to explore all available options” before adopting the policy.
The USOPC requires national governing bodies to adopt language from its Athlete Safety Policy stating that they are “committed to protecting opportunities for athletes participating in sport” and will collaborate with oversight organizations “to ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with Executive Order 14201 and the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act.”