Parkrun has stood by its policy that allows its event participants to disclose their self-identified gender as opposed to their assigned sex, despite criticism from some groups.
It comes after former athlete Mara Yamauchi criticised the charity’s policy, which she argued allowed biological men identifying as female to “smash women’s records to smithereens”.
Parkrun released a statement last week saying it is “paying close attention to the ongoing debate regarding gender categorisation in sport”.
However, it said that its events are “community-led, socially-focused physical activity events delivered with the aim of improving public health” as opposed to professional sporting competitions.
Parkrun: ‘We want to minimise those barriers’
In 2019, the charity reviewed the question on its application form related to gender which featured the binary choice of male or female.
After “extensive consultation”, the charity chose to continue using these gendered categories as opposed to assigned sex.
However, it added the options of “prefer not to say” and “another gender identity”. The latter option is not available in a small number of countries, for legal, cultural or safeguarding reasons, the charity states.
Parkrun’s policy statement reads: “If there is a person or group who feel excluded from registering or participating, it is our ambition to minimise the barriers they face in order to facilitate participation for all”.
It ends: “At parkrun we aim to be as inclusive and welcoming as possible, and whilst there are and possibly always will be issues around how we record and present people’s identities, we believe that our current solution is the most appropriate available at this time.”
Chief executive Russ Jefferys responded to criticism on social media last week by saying: “As a health charity that champions inclusion, I have absolute confidence in our current policy.
“Doesn’t mean we’re not listening and engaging, but I’m totally comfortable with our current position.”
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