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Eight years after outdated policies shattered the dreams of promising young Victorian sailor Stephanie Coady, they remain unchanged.

Proponents of the reform say the regulations conflict with the International Olympic Committee

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, New Zealand transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard competed in the women’s event.

Quinn, a player on the Canadian women’s soccer team, became the first non-binary transgender athlete to win a medal at the Olympics.

Transgender and non-binary athletes also compete in track and field, BMX and skateboarding.

But the last time Stephanie and her father Paul tried to compete in the men’s 49-inch race, in 2020, they and other mixed teams were told they weren’t allowed to compete.

“It’s a bittersweet reminder that the fight for equality in sport and in all walks of life is far from over,” Coady said.

“What are the rules, no retrospective.

“Ultimately, this has huge consequences for children who are treated this way and who miss out on opportunities to pursue their dreams.”

Stephanie, who was just 16 and determined to make the Olympic team when the disaster began in 2014, has not set sail since.

In 2014, he competed in the men’s Olympic-class 49er single scull event at the Sailing World Cup, hosted by Yachting Victoria.

There is a women’s only category, the FX 49er, which uses a slightly different boat.

Stephanie is entered in the men’s race because she cannot find a women’s crew – her father Paul steps in to help when the original crew is injured.

Mixed races are not new to Stéphanie because this is how the junior competitions in which she has participated since the age of 12 work, due to a lack of female participation.

In fact, mixed teams have competed in the event before, with husband and wife team Bettina Baylis and Travis Baylis reaching the top 10 at Worlds and qualifying for Team Canada at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. are finally removed after the death of Bettina’s parents in a plane crash.

But in 2014, when Stephanie and her father entered the race and set sail, Coady says race officials told them they were breaking Olympic gender rules.

As no formal protest was filed, the two took on water.

After finishing the race, they find out that Stephanie was taken out of the race simply because of a girl. Within hours, they were both charged with capital offenses for breaking the gender rule. Mr Coady was banned from racing for 12 months.

Coady’s appealed and took the case to court, but the legal battle dragged on for years, with no success.

All Mr. Coady wants is a clear answer on what regulation and equality really are.

The rules seem to vary between maritime organizations.

The International 49er Class Association, voted in 2019, to make all controlled 49er class races open to all genders, but noted that any World Cruise controlled event, including Olympic qualifying, is exempt.

“That’s the craziest thing about it,” Mr. Coady said. “Mixed teams may compete but are not permitted to earn World Cruise Points or rank with the World Cruise Association.”

The World Cruise women’s forum met in 2021 and called for the creation of a task force for transgender athletes due to a lack of policy. But for two years no policy has been finalized.

At the World Cruise Annual Meeting held in October 2022, the Board of Directors voted to create a small boat event at the Men’s/Mixed Youth Sailing World Championships. No motion concerning transgender athletes is on the agenda.

World Sailing have been contacted to comment on their stance on transgender athletes and the rules surrounding mixed teams competing in the men’s 49er class, but they have not provided a response.

Originally published as Sailor Stephanie Coady calls on World Cruise to allow women to race against men