Poll: Should socioeconomic handicaps be applied to athletes?

  • 18/07/2019

A new report has suggested handicaps could be applied in sport that take into account socioeconomic status.

The report from Kiwi researchers focussed on whether trans women competing in sport had an unfair advantage.

It found they did and provided suggestions for how to amend categories to manage this. 

These include creating a third division for transgender women and intersex women and calculating a "handicap" for transgender women based on their testosterone levels - similar to that used in golf. 

Their preferred option would be an extension of this, introducing an algorithm that took into account certain physical and social variables. They say gender identity and socioeconomic status could be considered.

Researcher Alison Heather expanded on this on The AM Show, telling Ryan Bridge it's about the advantages some athletes have in their earlier careers.

"This would be athletes that have come from a poorer background that haven't had the opportunity to be able to train with high-tech equipment, or have had the training with expensive coaches and things like that, to be considered in their early careers so that would allow them to catch up to those that have had more fortunate opportunities."

What do you think? Vote in the poll below.

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