Swimsuits Not Lawsuits | U.S. Masters Swimming

We’ve at all times believed that swimming has the facility to alter lives. That perception fuels our mission to empower adults to enhance their lives by swimming. 

But in latest weeks, USMS has come beneath scrutiny from politicians, state officers, and different outdoors organizations over competitors eligibility insurance policies. They don’t perceive who we’re and what we do. This is the explanation behind our #SwimsuitsNotLawsuits marketing campaign. 

The Background

This scenario started with rumors about one member’s efficiency at our Spring Nationals in April in San Antonio. An exterior group fueled on-line hypothesis about this swimmer’s eligibility, which led to protests from fellow members and an investigation by the Attorney General in Texas. After listening to from members, discussions with the Texas Office of the Attorney General, and different exterior stakeholders, we adopted an interim eligibility coverage. The coverage clarifies participation and recognition standards, reflecting our mission, values, and operational concerns particular to Masters Swimming. Even after asserting the modifications, the Florida Attorney General is asking us to additional prohibit eligibility. And regardless of the whole lot we did, we nonetheless received sued by the Texas Attorney General.

The Facts

• Our group is just for adults — not youngsters. Every one among you is eighteen or older, and our insurance policies don’t have an effect on youth or scholastic competitions.  
• Men and girls swim collectively day-after-day — and it’s not unsafe. Across the nation day-after-day, women and men full exercises in the identical lanes as one another, and Masters occasions are sometimes held with heats that blend women and men, with their outcomes tabulated by classes and age teams after the occasion is accomplished. This is just like native 5K runs, biking races, triathlons, and different grownup leisure occasions. It’s commonplace and secure.  
• Our coverage doesn’t take aggressive recognition away from girls. Under our interim eligibility coverage, trans girls aren’t eligible to compete within the feminine competitors class however are allowed to take part with none aggressive recognition. Everyone will get to swim. (Anyone who chooses to swim within the male competitors class is eligible for recognition no matter their intercourse assigned at start or gender id.)  
• Locker room entry just isn’t a part of our coverage — we obey the regulation and facility insurance policies. Our interim eligibility coverage has completely nothing to do with locker room or rest room entry. USMS expects that every one facility guidelines and relevant native, state, and federal legal guidelines relating to entry to locker rooms and loos to be adopted.  
• Our group has no political or social agenda — we’re mission-focused. We are a non-public nonprofit leisure swimming group with a concentrate on grownup health. We welcome all adults to reap the benefits of the psychological and bodily well being advantages of swimming by exercises, occasions, learn-to-swim applications, and social interplay with different swimmers. 
• Self-certification of intercourse assigned at start is probably the most correct and cost-effective technique for our group. We use the identical normal for verification of age and gender as native working races and pickleball leagues. We don’t wish to require our members to undergo invasive medical testing simply to have the ability to compete.  

In Conclusion

We perceive that the subject of transgender competitors in girls’s sports activities evokes robust feelings and differing opinions.

No coverage on transgender eligibility will fulfill everybody, however ours was created to permit us to proceed to pursue our mission, fulfill quickly altering state and federal pointers, restrict the influence to as few members as potential, and save the group’s sources, that are designed to assist our members’ swimming wants, not sustained authorized or political theater.  

We didn’t decide this struggle, however we are going to take it head-on. While we do, we would like our members to maintain swimming and having fun with all the advantages of USMS membership.

If you’ve any questions or feedback, please electronic mail us.

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