(Reuters) – World Aquatics will debut its new “open category” at a World Cup event in Berlin in October, swimming’s governing body said on Wednesday.
World Aquatics voted last year to restrict participation of transgender athletes in elite women’s competitions and create a working group to establish an open category, which was announced last month.
“When World Aquatics instituted its Policy on Eligibility for the Men’s and Women’s Competition Categories, we committed to exploring the creation of an open category,” World Aquatics president Husain Al-Musallam said.
The open category will feature in 50-metre and 100m races across all strokes, with the competition running from Oct. 6-8. World Aquatics added that the open category could also be added to more events.
“Berlin is thrilled to champion this groundbreaking initiative with the full endorsement of the German Swimming Federation,” the German Swimming Federation’s vice president Kai Morgenroth said.
“We’re proud to host an event where swimmers can compete without barriers. Berlin is Germany’s hub for diversity and inclusion and therefore the perfect location for such a progressive project.”
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
