Bethany Hamilton said in a social media post she would not compete in future World Surf League events if they keep a new policy that allows transgender athletes to compete in the women’s division.
Hamilton, who became famous when she was attacked by a shark at age 13 and despite losing an arm continued to surf competitively, posted a video to Instagram criticizing the World Surf League’s announcement last week that it would use the policy for including transgender athletes that was created by the International Surfing Association. The ISA’s policy requires transgender women to maintain a testosterone level less than 5 nanomoles/liter continuously for at least 12 months before competing in the women’s division.
“I want to address the news that the World Surf League has officially made the rule that male-bodied individuals known as transgender athletes can officially compete in the women's division,” said Hamilton. “This concerns me as a professional athlete that has been competing in the World Surf League events for the past 15 plus years, and I feel that I must speak up and stand up for those in position that may feel that they cannot say something about this.”
In her social media post, the 32-year-old surfer asked a series of questions about the rule changes, including ones that find fault with the use of hormone levels to determine eligibility.
“Is a hormone level an honest and accurate depiction that someone indeed is a male or female?” said Hamilton. “How did whoever decided these hormone rules come to the conclusion that 12 months of testing testosterone make it a fair and legal switch?”
Hamilton said a separate division should be created for transgender athletes.
She ended her video by saying she would boycott the World Surf League.
“I personally won’t be competing in or supporting the World Sure League if this rule remains,” said Hamilton.
The World Surf League said it adopted the ISA policy in order to be aligned with the Olympics. The rankings at the end of the World Surf League’s 2023 Championship Tour will help determine who qualifies for the Paris 2024 Olympic games. Hamilton is not on the Championship Tour.
“As an Olympic sport, and with aspirations for all of WSL’s disciplines to be included in the Olympics, the WSL has adopted the International Surfing Association policy on transgender participation. The eligibility of a surfer to compete either in a men’s or women’s event under this rule shall be subject to compliance with the ISA Transgender Policy,” a WSL spokesperson said to Spectrum News Hawaii in an email.
In 2021, the International Olympic Committee handed over the authority to determine eligibility rules to international sports federations — a reversal from rules released in 2015 that required athletes competing in women divisions to have testosterone levels below 10 nanomoles/liter for at least 12 months.
The ISA released its transgender policy in Oct. 2022 and said that the policy may change in the future.
“The ISA is committed to the fundamental principles of fairness and equality of opportunity, and therefore this policy will be reevaluated annually as more research, information and feedback becomes available,” the ISA wrote in a release on its transgender policy.
Currently, there are no transgender athletes competing in the World Surf League. Longboard surfer Sasha Jane Lowerson, 43, an Australian transgender woman, won the Women’s Open and the Logger divisions of the West Coast Suspensions Longboard and Logger State Championships. She is the first openly transgender athlete to win a surfing competition, according to the Inertia.
Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her ideas and feedback at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.