Kristen Worley

WTA – World Tennis Association – Launches “Strong is Beautiful” Campaign.

ROME, Italy – The WTA unveiled a new global ad campaign with the tagline “Strong is Beautiful”, featuring 38 current and next generation stars of the sport. The campaign includes TV, print and digital ads along with social media applications and will be unveiled across 80 markets over the next two years.

Drawing upon athleticism and grace – a unique combination that has turned the stars of the WTA into the most recognizable and followed female athletes on the planet – the campaign places the personal stories, pressures and dreams of the players front of stage. The creative is designed to support the WTA’s efforts to establish a deeper engagement with fans around the world and to promote both the sport’s next generation of players along with current established names.

“We want to develop a closer relationship with our fans and attract a new generation of fans to women’s tennis, and the Strong is Beautiful campaign is one way to get it done. This campaign will serve as a creative marketing platform for our players, tournaments, year-end WTA Championships and the entire sport,” said Stacey Allaster, Chairman & CEO of the WTA. “The personal stories are inspirational. The unique combination of athleticism, strength and determination on the court and success, interests and inner beauty off the court is what makes women’s tennis so attractive to millions around the world.”

“It takes so many elements to reach the top of such a competitive sport as tennis – strength of character, discipline and willpower. All of these things define who we are as people and as athletes. For me the new campaign captures the inner strength of players in a beautiful way,” Caroline Wozniacki said.

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Published Feb 6th, 2012

Uptown Magazine

‘You don’t run like a girl…’
As the 2012 Summer Games draw near, the debate about gender testing heats up

A former Canadian Olympian thinks gender testing in sport should be abolished and wants Canada to publicly declare its opposition to the practice before the start of the 2012 Summer Games, now less than six months away.

Bruce Kidd, a professor in the faculty of physical education and health at the University of Toronto, was once a national track-and-field star; named “Athlete of the Year” in 1961 and 1962 by the Canadian Press, he competed in the Men’s 5,000 race at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, finishing ninth in the first round’s first heat.

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For Further Education - October 2011 Playthegame gender session, October Cologne, Germany. Guest speakers, Prof. Arne Ljungqvist (IOC), Georg Facius (Denmark) and Dr. Bruce Kidd (Canada).

Watch the Complete Session Video - “CLICK HERE”

Published February 2nd, 2012

11th International Symposium for Olympic Research

October 19 & 20, 2012

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The 11th International Symposium for Olympic Research, hosted by the International Centre for Olympic Studies (ICOS) at The University of Western Ontario, will be held on October 19 & 20, 2012, at the Ivey-Spencer Leadership Centre in London, Ontario, Canada.

The Symposium will bring together scholars, researchers, students, and professionals interested in the socio-cultural study of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Games. Presentations and papers will cover a range of disciplines, including the areas of history, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, political science, and sport management.
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Approved Abstract for International Symposium:

Gender policy and the impact on female athletes in modern day sport
Defining women’s gender and competitive performance through policy

Gender verification testing in sports is the issue of verifying the eligibility of women athletes competing in domestic, international and Olympic sporting events. The belief behind the testing: it was alleged male athletes may pose as a woman to take an unfair advantage in women’s sport. The first tests began at the European Athletic Championships in 1966, heightened by suspicion that some Eastern European female athletes were actually men. The International Olympic Committee [IOC] adopted and introduced testing in sex-segregated sport in 1968 at the Olympic Winter Games in Grenoble. In 2000 gender testing was abolished, due to heavy criticism from medical professionals specializing in genetics, endocrinology and psychology. All too often the athlete’s medical history has not remained confidential between the individual athlete and physician. Discriminatory practices and unsupported policy by inaccurate science as history has shown time-and-time again by the IOC, has led to severe trauma and dehumanizing of female athletes and their bodies, leaving them to bear the impact publicly on their own, which has only led to catastrophic and very tragic outcomes.

An overview of scientific developments, emboldened by legal theory and policy analysis, leads to important conclusions toward necessary amendments in IOC and sport federations’ policies and removal of gender verification testing of women altogether. Sport policy, which tries to maintain competitive balance as well as fair treatment of athletes, would benefit through a wave of deregulation for these athletes. IOC policy needs to encompass particular inclusion principles, education, science and safeguards that are missing from the current policy statements and universal system of ‘Best Practices’ to ensure respect, safety and participation, no matter one’s level of diversity, from sandbox to high performance.

KRISTEN WORLEY (Canada)

For Complete Conference Details –  “CLICK HERE”
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Published January 29th, 2012

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Play the Game 2011 Day 3 Part 3/Cologne 2011 – Gender Session in Video

The second session concerned the “intersex challenge to sport”, a subject with huge consequences for athletes.

About Ljungqvist, Facius and Kidd

Arne Ljungqvist (SWEDEN), Chairman of the IOC Medical Commission asked: “Is there a need for a third sex in sport?” His answer was “no”.Ljungqvist is responsible for the end to “gender verification” in the IAAF and the IOC.

Georg M. Facius (DENMARK), who followed Ljungqvist violently accused him of reinstating gender verification with the new IOC policy on intersex athletes, a claim that Ljungqvist denies, saying that the question is one not of gender verification, but of confirming eligibility of athletes to compete in women’s divisions.

Bruce Kidd (CANADA), an academic and former Olympic athlete, proposed an alternative to current biochemical-based thinking in the form of gender self-declaration.

Goto Full Video of complete session “Click Here”
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Published January 27th, 2012

TED – TALKS/TED PARTNER SERIES – Aimee Mullins: The opportunity of adversity

The thesaurus might equate “disabled” with synonyms like “useless” and “mutilated,” but ground-breaking runner Aimee Mullins is out to redefine the word. Defying these associations, she shows how adversity — in her case, being born without shinbones — actually opens the door for human potential.

Goto Full Video Presentation by Aimee - “CLICK HERE”

About Aimee Mullins - “CLICK HERE”
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Published January 19th, 2012

THE “PROPER” GENDER OF ATHLETES – Presentation at “Play the Game” conference 2011

By GEORG FACIUS – DENMARK

Gender verification is a serious issue, actually a dead serious issue, and is has a long and sad history within sport.

But let me start by mentioning two very recent initiatives related to the gender issue in sport.

Earlier this year the “Court of Arbitration for Sport” has approved jurisdiction to take on a legal case against the International Olympic Committee, under the headline: “Human Rights and the Oppression of Women´s Gender in International Sport”. The outcome of this may very well bring about one of the biggest changes of all times in international sport.

A “Gender Pin Badge” has been designed for London 2012 and was unveiled on September 15th in the presence of London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton, and the minister for Sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson, and the deputy secretary general of the Council of Europe, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio.

Mr. Deighton stated: “Our vision is as bold as it is simple – to use the power of the Games to inspire change, and one way of showing our support for a sporting environment built upon equality and inclusion”

Facius calls it, “The Major Medical Blunder of the 20^th Century” continuing to state, ” All along through most of these 50 years Arne Ljungquist has been the man with the overall and main responsibility for gender testing, firstly within IAAF and now within the IOC, and it is beyond me how he himself, with his history, can continue in charge of this, and as chairman of the IOC medical commission, and how on top of 50 years of failure, he can be allowed to do so, by the responsible bodies. I can only urge him to have the decency to step down.”

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Published – January 19th 2012

New York Times – The Fast Life of Oscar Pistorius
By MICHAEL SOKOLOVE

Oscar Pistorius trains inside a converted garage at the home of his personal trainer, a former professional rugby player. Iron pull-up bars and a variety of ropes and pulleys are bolted to brick walls. Free weights are lined up on the floor, along with hammered-together wooden boxes that serve as platforms for step-ups and standing jumps. Some of the equipment is clamped to an exterior wall of the garage, opposite an uncovered patio; when it rains, athletes just carry on and get soaked. “It’s old-school,” Pistorius said as we drove up to the place early one morning. “Some of the guys who train here, they bang it so hard, they often get sick in the garden. Nobody judges them.”

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Published: January 18, 2012

Laura Robson’s rainbow hair-band follows a long tradition of political statements in the sporting arena.
By Tanya Aldred

Political protest works best with simple imagery. Think of the black-gloved salutes, by Tommie Smith and John Carlos, at the 1968 Olympics or the black armbands worn by Andy Flower and Henry Olonga at the 2003 cricket World Cup.

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Published January 18th, 2012

A picture paints a thousands words – International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board (EB) meeting of 2011 wrapped up in Lausanne.

Source: IOC Newsletter released today Friday December 9th, 2011- Newsletter 93

Where are all the women IOC board executives? A picture paints a thousand words…

There are (two executive females) around the table – A true representation of the IOC’s vision of inclusion/development of women in sport and sport administration. Moreover the barriers of diversity and gender in the international system.

This is the problem, and an enormous one at that – facing so many athletes and women in the system from participation and excelling – let alone the gender policies that exist and the direct impact of gender policy/verification placing limits on women’s bodies by men. These are the guys making those decisions. It is outrageous, and those who are impacted directly the athletes wear these guys decisions directly – where they remain arms length from it all – Their vision of woman….

On more than average, a lot of grey hair in the room -

How can we move forward in sport, social development and project a model that is reflective of modern society and its future, when the climate is as such as this?  The answer, we cannot! Thus my own personal experience, this model slides down to other countries and NSO’s as it pertains to sport governance and administration practices models.

This photo this morning sent out by the IOC media was just shocking – but again speaks volumes to the challenges and barriers of international sport governance, inclusive policy and best practices models for access for women and moving the yard sticks forward around issues of diversity that effect so many people around the world – we cannot when the model looks like this.

Women will continue to be put in a vulnerable place and continued injustices – and barriers will continue, and the “catastrophic” impact it has had on so many already and in the future.

Need is say more …

The IOC neither for nor against the call from Play the Game 2011

In a letter to offices of Play the Game and the rector of the German Sport University Cologne dated 9 November 2011 and sent by email two days later, the IOC’s Director General Christophe de Kepper completely avoids mentioning these key proposals in the ‘Cologne Consensus’.

Instead, the top executive of the IOC in general terms welcomes the initiative, stressing that the subject of good governance in sport “has been of greatest concern to the IOC and has been treated as a priority over the last years, dedicating a lot of efforts to move forward in the right direction”.

Christophe de Kepper also points out the work the IOC has been doing in creating a set of “Basic Universal Principles of Good Governance in Sport” and getting them approved by all international federations and national Olympic committees.

“As we will not be able to call all participants back to Cologne and discuss the answer from the IOC, we can only guess what they think,” says international director of Play the Game, Jens Sejer Andersen.

Athletic Body Diversity – Photo-shoot of various Olympic-level athletes by Howard Schartz and Beverly Ornstein titled “The Athlete”

This is a photo-shoot of various Olympic-level athletes by Howard Schartz and Beverly Ornstein titled “The Athlete”. Like many others I tend to fall into the trap of drawing the same body type over and over for athletic characters. This photoshoot serves as awesome reference reminding us artists that strong bodies come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and muscles show up in different ways. It also helps us keep in mind that not everyone who is fit is also lean. There’s often a layer of fat over the muscles, making them less visible for some. I wanted to share this in a convenient way so here it is:

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Published November 2011

Play the Game 2011 – Gender Session – IOC Medical Chair deemed “Incompetent” after 50 years of the “failure” of gender testing and policy. Asked to step down immediately!

Monday October 3rd, 2011 organizers of Play the Game during a week long conference  titled; “Bring Change to the heart of Sport” with leading delegates and experts converging on Cologne Germany, at the University of Cologne to discuss issues impacting international and Olympic sport programming. From issues of anti-doping, sport gambling, organizational corruption and issues of gender and human rights.

On Wednesday, the session titled; “Little Difference, Huge Impact: The Gender Challenge to Sport” began the day. Led by a joint key note presentation from Prof. Arne Ljungqvist, International Olympic Committee [IOC] Chairman – father of gender testing and policy. Presenting in direct parallel with Ljungqvist was Danish Georg Facius, IAAF Technical Official and key official and expert of both the EAA’s Anti-doping and Competition Committees.

Upon conclusion of Facius ground breaking presentation which he states; “All along through most of these 50 years Arne Ljungquist has been the man with the overall and main responsibility for gender testing, firstly within IAAF and now within the IOC, and it is beyond me how he himself, with his history, can continue in charge of this, and as chairman of the IOC medical commission, and how on top of 50 years of failure, he can be allowed to do so, by the responsible bodies. I can only urge him to have the decency to step down.”

Georg Facius complete  presentation titled; “Trying to Verify The “Proper” Gender of Athletes”

Later that afternoon, Canadian Dr. Bruce Kidd, O.C., PhD. and Olympian in mens athletics presented in parallel to Georg Facius earlier keynote presentation with Ljungqvist, titled; “For gender self-declaration”. Kidd, speaks about “Misdiagnosis”, saying; “The Challenge is NOT “intersex” or atypically athletes. But a social problem resulting from reassertion of moral physiology, fear/demonization of difference and patriarchal control of sport.”
Going further to suggest that there is “so much variation among humans” from “body composition and biochemistry, household and community resources, especially access to bio-medical technology and sport sciences, cultural norms of which are all related to competitive performance.”

Kidd suggests, “The Olympic Movement “celebrates humanity” in all its diversity, why single out this area of difference?” And that, “Self-identify is fundamental to human rights and the ideal of self-expression that is the basis of Olympic sport.” Then asking the fundamental question, “How can the Olympic Movement, which encourages and affirms the right of self-expression through sport, deny the right of self-identity to some humans?”

Upon conclusion, Dr. Kidd profoundly states; “By elevating the results of performance to be the determining metric of the Olympic Movement, the new gender verification requirements further marginalize the educational and intercultural goals of Coubertin, ” the “chill of surveillance culture is heightened.”

Thus stating, as did Facius in his earlier presentation stated; “The IOC must abolish the targeted ‘gender investigation’ once and for all.” Going one step further giving recommendations as next steps, removing the IOC from making such decisions that effect all sport as it pertains to gender, and that; “Academics, policy makers and journalists contribute to this effort, especially the deconstruction of gender and the furtherance of inclusive language.” and move towards; “The Olympic Movement and the broad sport community re-invigorate their efforts to empower women, especially at the level of leadership.” and; “As much as possible, school and community sport be re-organized on the basis of athletic ability, rather than gender.”

Published October 2011

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(6) Key Supporting References -
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NYTimes – April 24th, 2011 – Redefining the Sexes in Unequal Terms

Author: Prof. Alice Dreger, clinical medical humanities and bioethics.

Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. Chicago, Illinois, USA.
For Full Article “Click Here”

Transgender Student-Athletes and Sex-Segregated Sport: Developing Policies of Inclusion for Intercollegiate and Interscholastic Athletics

Erin Buzuvis
Western New England College School of Law – July 20, 2010

Download Complete Research Document “PDF” CLICK HERE

Volume 9 Issue 6 – June 2011 World Sports Law Report
Eligibility: The IAAF hyperandrogenism regulations and discrimination
Author: Shawn Crincoli – Associate Professor of Law

Touro College, New York, USA.
For Full Article “Click Here”

Volume 9 Issue 4 – April 2011 World Sports Law Report
IAAF: hyperandrogenism rules are challenge proof
Author: Andy Brown [WSLR], UK.
For Full Article “Click Here”

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Lancet 2005; 366: S38 María José Martínez-Patiño
Personal Account A woman tried and tested

“As I was about to enter the January, 1986, national championships, I was
told to feign an injury and to withdraw from racing quietly, graciously, and
permanently. I refused. When I crossed the line first in the 60m hurdles, my
story was leaked to the press. I was expelled from our athletes’ residence, my
sports scholarship was revoked, and my running times were erased from my
country’s athletics records. I felt ashamed and embarrassed. I lost friends, my
fiancé, hope, and energy. But I knew that I was a woman, and that my genetic
difference gave me no unfair physical advantage. I could hardly pretend to be
a man; I have breasts and a vagina. I never cheated. I fought my
disqualification.”

Download Full Review “Click Here”

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An approach to the biological, historical and psychological repercussions of gender verification in top level competitions

Martínez-Patiño et al. / Gender verification in top level competitions JOURNAL OF HUMAN SPORT & EXERCISE – VOLUME 5 | ISSUE 3 | 2010 |

MARÍA JOSÉ MARTÍNEZ-PATIÑO1, COVADONGA MATEOS-PADORNO2, AURORA MARTÍNEZ-VIDAL3, ANA MARÍA SÁNCHEZ MOSQUERA1, JOSÉ LUIS GARCÍA SOIDÁN1, MARÍA DEL PINO DÍAZ PEREIRA3, CARLOS FRANCISCO TOURIÑO GONZÁLEZ1
1Faculty of Science Education and Sport, University of Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain.
2Department of Physical Education, University of Las Palmas, Campus Universitario de Tafira, Spain
3Special Didactics Department. Faculty of Science Education. University of Vigo. Orense, Spain

Download Complete Review “Click Here”

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Published September 2011

US Women’s Sports Foundation – Intersex “Position Statement” discards respect of individual women athletes’ legal rights and privacy.

The US Women’s Sports Foundation [USWSF] published their position statement “PARTICIPATION OF INTERSEX ATHLETES IN WOMEN’S SPORTS” on September 20th, 2011.

Linking a respected international athlete NAME, IMAGE and in context directly in the “Position Statement”. Online, in the “Content Summary” using her name, and suggesting a medical type, which is in-fact UNTRUE. The impact to her life is enormous, as it is and would be to any other athlete. It is unbelievable that any recognized organization let alone the USWSF has done this, and felt empowered enough that they could, breaking basic legal and ethical standards, let alone feel have a right to exploit and athletes life.

In any case, this is illegal in the context of developing a public statement and policy, by a national organization that governs in this case, women’s sport. It is illegal anytime, let alone in sport. The use of pseudonyms should be always used, assuring protection of a person(s) individual identity, respecting their privacy. The second problem, the USWSF has attached this athletes, NAME and IDENTITY with use of a photographic image as the introduction to the Position Statement. Thus feeling they have the right to exploit an athletes medial history, which is in-fact UNTRUE. Furthermore the inaccuracies throughout the document around the topic of Intersex.

Image used on USWSF website:

The irony is, the USWSF speak about inclusion, and by design of the communications on their website, as well the final “Position Statement”.

On the heals of the NCAA policy statement around inclusion of transgender athletes on September 13th, 2011 – Speaks volume to the greater problem that is occurring in policy development around gender. First of all, the people who are in-fact experts, are not engaged in development of these policies. Moreover, and most importantly, in both cases clearly illustrates, if an athlete is “assumed” outside the Atypical binary, that as the USWSF has clearly illustrated, that an athletes personal rights and privacy is revoked. And that, USWSF has now has clearly broken the law, and obviously felt empowered that they had a right to do this without any conscious thought, as certainly the level of the communications design supports this.

We don’t need to police athletes or gender, we need to police the person(s) an organizations who are creating horrific policy who in-fact are the problem. At the end of the day, the athletes are the ones that are directly paying for it.

The use of the word “Approved” by the NCAA, who’s approving what…? In the case of the USWSF, again begs simple questions of just basic legal responsibilities of individuals.

Inclosing, the athletes are not the problem. It is those in organizations such as the USWSF and NCAA , one unqualified and as illustrated complete incompetence to ascertain and or develop policy to this regard. Yet again, as the NCAA has displayed, and now USWSF, that they are only happy to engage in illegal practices, clearly for notoriety and financial compensation at the very risk and continued catastrophic outcomes of other female athletes careers and lives. Ironically, breaking all ethical and legal standards and responsibilities, as a national body to govern women’s sport, and followed around the world, that in this case is UNTRUE.

This is a great example of the actual problem! Having nothing to do with the athletes whatsoever. All to do with those suggesting expertise and those developing policy let alone thinking their is even a need for it who are in-fact the problem – creating catastrophic outcomes impacting individual athletes only to last them a lifetime.[sic]

The irony is, and in this very case who developed this position statement are legally trained individuals, thus inappropriately breaking and disregarding basic legal rights and privacy of individuals. Thus too, paralleling a individual to a a medical “type” which is in-fact, UNTRUE. [sic]

USWSF, who is watching who? As clearly illustrated,  have no standards of practice and du-diligence.

Goto Full Position Statement – “Click Here”

Published October 2011

CIS in no rush to mirror NCAA transgender policy
Canadian athletic community meets NCAA policy with mixed responses

By Kevin Menz — The Sheaf (University of Saskatchewan)

SASKATOON (CUP) — The National Collegiate Athletic Association recently adopted a new policy for transgender athletes, but Canadian Interuniversity Sport and many other Canadian athletic associations are in no rush to do the same.

The NCAA’s policy states that any athlete who has testosterone in their system as the result of medical treatment cannot compete on a women’s team. If a male is transitioning or has transitioned to a female, the athlete can compete on a women’s team if they provide documentation showing that they have undergone testosterone suppression treatment for one full year.

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Published September 2011