Ivy League States Lia Thomas is Eligible to Compete in Ivy League Championships

by Sarah Berman 49

February 09th, 2022 College, Ivy League

James Sutherland contributed to this report. 

The Ivy League announced that the recent rule changes regarding transgender athletes by USA Swimming will not impact Lia Thomas’s eligibility to compete in the 2022 Ivy League Swimming & Diving Championships set to take place this month. 

The 2022 Ivy League Swimming & Diving Championships are set to take place February 16-19 at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

In the Ivy League this season, Thomas holds the fastest 200 freestyle time (1:41.93) by almost five seconds, the fastest 500 freestyle time (4:34.06) by nearly 12 seconds, and the fastest 1,650 freestyle (15:59.71) by 34 seconds. 

At the national level this season, Thomas currently holds the fastest 200 freestyle (1:41.93) and 500 freestyle (4:34.06). She also ranks 8th in the 1,650 freestyle (15.59.71). 

Thomas was notably absent from the Quakers final dual meet of the season against West Chester. However, Penn Athletics explained that this was a planned rest day for Thomas.

The midseason NCAA policy change will begin with the 2022 NCAA Winter Championships.

The NCAA will review the transgender policy recently implemented by USA Swimming prior to the women’s NCAA Championships next month, making it possible the new guidelines will be adopted by the organization ahead of the competition which begins on March 16.

The NCAA’s Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports will meet at the end of February to review USA Swimming’s policy, NCAA spokeswoman Gail Dent told The New York Times on Wednesday. The committee will then pass on any recommendations to the NCAA Board of Governors for consideration.

The Board of Governors aren’t scheduled to meet again until April, but Dent said they could possibly meet remotely prior to the start of the NCAA Championships.

The need for an updated policy has come to light amidst the ongoing transgender discussion in the sport, sparked by the performances of Thomas, a trans woman, who competes for the University of Pennsylvania in the NCAA.

On January 19, the Board of Governors adopted a new sport-by-sport transgender policy in the NCAA, leaving each individual sport’s national governing body, in this case, USA Swimming, to determine rules for inclusion among transgender athletes.

USA Swimming then published its new set of criteria earlier this week, though it remained unclear whether or not these guidelines would impact Thomas’ eligibility to compete at the women’s NCAA Championships (or the Ivy League Championships, which will run later this month).

Ivy League executive director Robin Harris told The New York Times that the NCAA’s willingness to potentially change eligibility standards mid-season is a rash and unprecedented decision.

“It’s wrong. It’s unfair,” Harris said. “This is a perfect example of the risks and the uncertainty that is created when the NCAA chose to implement a policy immediately without any specificity. This is reactionary and it creates uncertainty, and the impact it creates on our transgender athletes is something I’m concerned about.”

On Thursday, a group of 16 members on the Penn women’s swim team sent an open letter to the Ivy League and the University of Pennsylvania asking them to follow USA Swimming’s policy and not partake in legal action with the NCAA.

While whether or not Thomas will be required to follow USA Swimming’s policy in order to compete at the NCAA Championships will be determined by the NCAA meeting at the end of February, she remains fully eligible to compete at the Ivy League Championships, which run Feb. 16-19.

USA Swimming’s new policy requires an athlete to provide the following:

  • Evidence that the prior physical development of the athlete as a male, as mitigated by any medical intervention, does not give the athlete a competitive advantage over the athlete’s cisgender female competitors.
  • Evidence that the concentration of testosterone in the athlete’s serum has been less than 5 nmol/L (as measured by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry) continuously for a period of at least thirty-six (36) months before the date of application.

The previous International Olympic Committee (IOC) policy was 10 nanomoles per liter, double the standard USA Swimming is implementing.

Joanna Harper, a visiting fellow for transgender athletic performance at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, told The New York Times USA Swimming’s requirement for transgender women to maintain a testosterone level below 5 nmol/L for a 36-month period was unprecedented and not backed by scientific data.

“There is just no justification for three years,” Harper said.

Harper, a transgender woman and long-distance runner, said that suppressing testosterone in transgender women decreases hemoglobin levels within the first few months of hormone therapy, affecting how much oxygen can be carried into red blood cells and decreasing muscle mass. She said the largest changes in strength occur during the first year, and in her own experience, her competitive advantages declined after nine months of hormone therapy.

The New York Times also reported that there are experts who find it “worrisome” that nominees for the three-person panel reviewing transgender swimmer applications could be vetoed by an athletes’ advisory council.

“The concern I have about many of these policies is they’re very onerous to the athletes to prove their gender, which have involved some pretty invasive questions and physical exams,” said Carol Ewing Garber, a professor of movement sciences at Teachers College, Columbia University who studies transgender athletes.

“There’s lots of hoops for the athlete to go through, but they haven’t considered the inherent bias we have in our culture against them.”

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ACC
2 years ago

There are no rules on the books that could possibly exclude her, so yeah, they’d be opening themselves up to a lawsuit otherwise.

Remember Me?
2 years ago

Mrs Harris should really reevaluate what “unfair” means.

Fulldraw
2 years ago

As a father of daughter swimmers, it’s sad that this may be the beginning of biological males dominating both Men’s and women’s swimming record boards across the country. Imagine biological young girls looking at those knowing the reality and it’s limitations.

please & thank you
Reply to  Fulldraw
2 years ago

‘As a father of daughters’ is all you need to say.

Jim Wenhold
2 years ago

Wake up America and the rest of the world. I support Lia in her desire to be a female however to believe that she doesn’t have a HUGE advantage over her biological female competitors is absolutely ridiculous. Anyone that claims differently obviously has no knowledge of physical development. I’m certain I could take testosterone suppression for a very long time and still out wrestle my wife (NCAA qualifier, Miss Maryland Body Building Champion). This is a ridiculous argument. What is going on in our country. Fight back!!!!

Steve Nolan
Reply to  Jim Wenhold
2 years ago

I’m certain I could take testosterone suppression for a very long time and still out wrestle my wife (NCAA qualifier, Miss Maryland Body Building Champion).

One of the funnier sentences that’s ever been posted here.

Daaaave
Reply to  Jim Wenhold
2 years ago

I dunno, I’ve wrestled your wife a couple dozen times and am batting about .500 – don’t sell her short mate, she’s got a mean reverse chin lock

Canadian Swammer
Reply to  Daaaave
2 years ago

I do love that Swimswam lets it fly a bit.

N80m80
2 years ago

Do you know how to get tickets to the championships? I couldn’t find it on the website and I might want to witness this for myself especially if she might not swim at NCAAs

Triolo94
Reply to  N80m80
2 years ago

https://tickets.gocrimson.com/
and Sports Ivy Swim & Dive

SwammaJammaDingDong
2 years ago

USA Swimming should remove the competition from the “Observed Meets” list because they are openly refusing to enforce competition rules. The NCAA should refuse to honor times from this competition because they are openly refusing to enforce competition rules.

Admin
Reply to  SwammaJammaDingDong
2 years ago

The NCAA has not confirmed USA Swimming’s rule yet, so the meet is not in violation of NCAA rules.

An “observed meet” doesn’t mean that all swims are within USA Swimming rules or not. An “observed meet” means that only swims that also comply with USA Swimming rules will be counted. By USA Swimming’s rules, Lia’s times should not be accepted by USA Swimming based on the new transgender athlete policy, but that is the definition of an “observed meet.”

John
Reply to  Braden Keith
2 years ago

So if a record gets broken in the event she participates in, will it be ratified? As it doesn’t comply with the rules? Be it her or her competitors?

simpyvonsimp
Reply to  SwammaJammaDingDong
2 years ago

is Lia a member of USA Swimming?

frug
Reply to  simpyvonsimp
2 years ago

No.

iLikePsych
2 years ago

Regardless of my stance on the fairness of transgender female athletes, I do think it’s right that Lia gets to compete this year as she has met and exceeded the requirements, and it would be unfair to change rules mid-season that do not apply unilaterally to everyone. It is the NCAA’s fault, not hers, that the rules are what they are, and all the hostility should be directed at them rather than her.

Last edited 2 years ago by iLikePsych
CurrentSwimmer
Reply to  iLikePsych
2 years ago

As a current D1 female swimmer, so well said. I couldn’t agree more, and I personally believe that Lia should also be able to compete at NCAAs for this reason.

The issue is the NCAA, not Lia. You can’t change the rules in the middle of the game.

UsedtoSwim
2 years ago

This is absolutely ridiculous to be honest.

I was a swimmer at a D1 school a few years back (female team).

People seem to be missing the point ENTIRELY – this is not about transphobia in sport, or anything against Lia Thomas personally or against her decision to transition. Lia has just become the face of this growing issue.

It is about the innate physical advantages that males in general have over females- NOT TO MENTION males that have gone through puberty and trained / developed in a male athletic category with male focused training / standards.

I feel like people need to be reminded of just how different male and females are biologically. Taken from… Read more »

Beverly Drangus
Reply to  UsedtoSwim
2 years ago

You can tell it’s a trustworthy source when the article can’t even make it a single sentence without mentioning the “narrative” of the “liberal elite.”

Patricia
Reply to  Beverly Drangus
2 years ago

Shoot the messager when there’s nothing in the message to rebut.