Basketball Nova Scotia (BNS) released Friday their Trans Inclusion Policy to make basketball a more welcoming sport for athletes of all races, ethnicities, gender identities, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
The Trans Inclusion Policy includes four guidance statements, the first being that individuals participating in development and recreational sport should be able to participate in the gender with which they identify.
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The three other policy guidance points state that hormone therapy, disclosure of one’s trans identity and surgical intervention should not be made requirements to participate in the sport.
According to BNS, the policy has been released with support from Halifax’s Youth Project.
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The Youth Project is a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to providing support and services to youth around issues of sexual orientation and gender identity.
“The guidance and education provided in creating this policy was unbelievable. This is only a small stepping stone to making basketball a welcoming sport for all,” said Basketball Nova Scotia Executive Director Katherine Brien in a press release.
“We’re working to change wording in our registration forms and looking for ways to provide education to those involved in our organization from staff to coaches.”
According to BNS, the organization provides leadership for roughly 80 basketball clubs in the province and is “excited to roll the policy out from the ground up to improve the standards of basketball” in Nova Scotia.