Alberta Bill Sparks Outcry Over Youth Sports Exclusion
Non-binary teen faces uncertainty as new law targets transgender athletes in women’s sports
A new provincial law in Alberta is forcing young athletes, including non-binary teenager Riley Simpson, to confront the possibility of being barred from the sports they love.
A Promising Season Cut Short
Riley Simpson, 15, has been playing softball since age nine, inspired by their older sister. This year, their team clinched the Edmonton city championship. However, this achievement is overshadowed by the impending enforcement of Bill 29, also known as the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act, which takes effect September 1st.
The legislation mandates that athletes not assigned female at birth must leave girls’ teams across school, collegiate, and amateur provincial competitions, or switch to boys’ or co-ed divisions.
Alberta’s controversial Bill 29, which restricts transgender athletes from competing on women’s sports teams, is set to take effect on Sept. 1. The legislation has sparked debate and concern for young athletes. #abpoli #sports #transrights #Bill29 pic.twitter.com/P63rW05r2d
— World Today News (@WorldTodayNews) August 1, 2024
Riley recounted the bittersweet victory, stating, “We won the city championship that day, so that’s a good memory. But I also remember sitting on the pitching plate after the game, feeling so sad.”
Riley’s mother, Eldyka Simpson, shared the emotional aftermath of the championship game. “Then people started to cry,” she said, describing how her child’s teammates were informed by a coach that it would likely be Riley’s final game.
Past Discrimination Surfaces
The season wasn’t without its challenges for Riley. Earlier in the year, they were reportedly turned away from a higher-level under-15 team and later voted off a U17B team. Simpson attributes this to transphobic sentiments from a few parents, with one parent allegedly stating, “boys don’t belong” on girls’ teams.
Simpson, also a softball umpire, contacted Softball Alberta to uphold its 2018 inclusion policy, which aligns with the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport’s guidelines promoting participation based on self-identification.
Softball Alberta acknowledged Riley’s registration in a U15 girls’ team but indicated that the new provincial law would render its inclusion policy moot.
“But we’re talking about kids playing community sport here.”
—Eldyka Simpson
Government Pushes Co-ed Alternatives
Alberta’s minister of tourism and sport, Andrew Boitchenko, stated that the province is working to expand co-ed divisions to allow for the meaningful participation of transgender athletes. However, Riley and their mother express skepticism about the immediate availability of such divisions.
“I really don’t want that. It makes me angry that the government is literally forcing kids to stop playing the sport they love,” Riley said.
Sara Kim, co-ordinator of community care at Skipping Stone, an organization supporting transgender individuals in Alberta, criticized the law’s reach into recreational sports as an overreach.
Kim, herself a hockey player, fears she too will be unable to continue playing on her current teams, which are subject to the legislation. She described the experience as “humiliating,” emphasizing that they are simply individuals seeking to enjoy their lives.
According to a 2023 report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, an estimated 1.4% of U.S. adults identify as transgender, with a higher prevalence among younger adults. While specific Canadian statistics vary, these figures suggest a significant community impacted by such policies.
Debate Over Fairness and Inclusion
Simpson argues that sports inherently involve an uneven playing field, citing natural differences in strength, skill, and access to resources. She believes the government is creating problems where none existed, asserting, “It’s a very big problem for a very small number of kids, but I am that family. My kid is that kid.”
She concluded that the law “makes a mockery of the strong girls that we’re raising.”
