The topic of transgender athletes is something that’s been getting a lot of attention in recent years, and the official policy at ADCC Trials and other ADCC Open events has just been confirmed. Obviously this policy will only be relevant in an incredibly small number of cases, but it’s still something that’s worth outlining ahead of time. Many sporting organizations have attracted criticism from the wider public for not deciding on a fixed policy in advance, and only coming up with one after the fact.
It’s a smart move by Mo Jassim and the other minds behind ADCC events to get out ahead of any potential issues in the future, and make their position on the matter clear from the start. There will always be people who take issue with any policy once it’s enacted, and there will no doubt be those out there who would disagree with the decision that ADCC organizers have made. There will also be plenty of people who would agree with the policy and top grapplers like Demian Maia have previously made similar statements that would fall in line with the new announcement made.
Tom DeBlass announced the policy that the ADCC Trials and Open events will use for transgender competitors in a recent post to his official Instagram account. The relevant section where the exact policy is explained has been quoted below:
“With the upcoming ADCC Open and Trials coming up we (Mo Jassim and myself) have been asked our policy on allowing Transgenders to compete in female divisions in the ADCC Open, and the Trials. We are absolutely not, in any circumstance, allowing natural born males to compete against natural born females. Grappling is a combat sport, physicality and bone density play a huge part. We must make sure that we do all that we can to keep our athletes safe. “
