After the controversy, the Swimming World Cup suspended the transgender category because no one had registered

FINA (World Aquatics) It announced at the beginning of August that it would launch “Open Class” For transgender competitors, starting with the World Cup tournament scheduled to be held in Berlin in early October, but it reported this week that there was no registration, so it was decided to suspend it.

“Following the close of registration for the Open Category competitions at the Aquatics World Cup Berlin 2023 scheduled to be held from 6 to 8 October, World Aquatics can confirm that No registrations were received for Open Category events“, the organization stated in a brief statement published on its website. But it made clear that this does not mean that the transgender divide will end forever.

In this sense, the letter adds, “the World Aquatics Open Category Working Group will continue its work and commitment to the aquatic community in Open Category events.” This is despite the lack of demand at the highest level. He stated that “the working group plans to consider the possibility of including open category races in Masters events in the future.”

In 2022, World of water games (formerly FINA) has banned transgender athletes from participating in major events such as the Olympics or World Cup, which is why it has created a working group responsible for launching what it calls the “open category” for the 50 and 100 distances initially. meters, in all styles.

Last June, the World Aquatics Championships (formerly FINA) They voted to ban transgender swimmers from competing in elite women’s races If they have gone through any part of the male puberty process. The measure received 71% of the votes in favor Of 152 members in its extraordinary general conference. “FINA will always welcome all athletes. Creating an open category means that everyone has the opportunity to compete at an elite level. This has not been done before, so FINA will have to lead the way,” explained the entity’s president at the time, Hussein Muslim, “I want all athletes to feel included and be able to develop ideas through this process.”

This decision was made after several controversies related to this issue. Perhaps the most symbolic is that of the transgender swimmer Leah Thomas In the United States. The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) rules came into the spotlight due to the emergence of Thomas from the University of Pennsylvania. At 22 years old, he competed for three years in the men’s tournament. In 2019, she changed gender and began breaking records in the Ivy League.