How Skate Canada pushed for inclusion in the years leading up to stance on Alberta's transgender policy
Skate Canada’s move as the first sports federation to announce it will no longer hold national- and international-level events in Alberta due to the province’s legislation on transgender people's participation in sports did not come as a surprise to some who know the organization well. “Skate Canada’s been working for years to shorten and make the gap smaller between these groups of people that don’t feel welcome,” said two-time Olympic ice dancer Kaitlyn Weaver, who identifies as queer. It’s a sentiment shared by Kurt Weaver (no relation), executive director of You Can Play, a group that advocates for 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion in sports. “Skate Canada has been great on these issues — inclusion in general across the board,” Weaver said.On Tuesday, Skate Canada confirmed to CBC News it will no longer host major events in Alberta in response to the province's Fairness and Safety in Sport Act, which permits only athletes assigned female at birth to compete in women’s sports.First to remove gender restrictionsThat focus on inclusion was in the spotlight in 2022, when Skate Canada became the first federation to remove gender restrictions on skating pairs in its podium pathway program, after already having implemented those changes in its non-elite programs in 2019. Now a team is defined as two skaters — rather than the previous definition of one male and one female — allowing skaters to compete at the national level in pairs of any gender. “They've done a lot of work to make it inclusive by changing the language within their own bylaws,” said Asher Hill, a former ice dancer, who is now a coach and host of CBC Sport’s That Figure Skating Show."There's so much room for different stories and to just open up who can be on the ice and perform and compete at the highest level, at least here." In recent years, Skate Canada has also outlined its transgender policy that states in domestic events, transgender skaters can compete in the gender category with which they identify. Skaters are not required to disclose if they are transgender. Skate Canada’s website says the federation respects "people’s right to privacy, a philosophy paramount to providing safe space in sport.” But the organization's policies do not extend to competitions on the international stage. The International Skating Union, which governs global events including the Olympics, has not adopted those changes. Skate Canada says when it comes to international events, it works with coaches, athletes and Sport Integrity Canada to determine skater eligibility. 'Skate tough'"Historically, the sport has reinforced stereotypical ideas of femininity and masculinity," reads a post this year by Skate Canada. That includes rules morphing around when and where women can wear pants on the ice, while men are still required to wear full trousers. In 2009, Skate Canada came up with a way to portray a new kind of image for the sport, focusing less on the artistry and pageantry. “They tried a thing called ‘skate tough,’ where they just try to show skating as, you know, a manly sport,” said Hill.WATCH | Skate Canada tries 'tough' messaging in 2009:This CBC report from the archives showcases the organization's push to focus on the athleticism of skating and dispel myths about the sport. The goal was to highlight the athleticism of its male athletes at a time when fewer men were drawn to the sport and to dispel misconceptions that all male skaters might be gay. Ice dancer Andrew Poje, former partner of Kaitlyn Weaver, was involved with the marketing push, and told CBC News in 2009 that he had long fought assumptions he was gay. "It's always been something that I've been teased about," Poje said in that interview. “If you think about it, guys that are playing hockey are always with the guys, whereas we get to deal with all the girls, the pretty ladies. When it comes down to it, who’s the smarter one?” Hill said the spin was met with backlash, "ostracizing" many members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. He said he has not always seen eye-to-eye with Skate Canada, but commends it for its stance on Alberta's policies, saying it shows the organization's growth. What lies aheadThe Alberta government has slammed Skate Canada's decision. "No athlete should have an unfair advantage, and no athlete should have to put themselves at risk of harm to participate in the sports they love,” the province's sport and tourism minister Andrew Boitchenko said in a statement. Meanwhile, some countries have joined Skate Canada in redefining their terminology. This month, British Ice Skating announced it would remove gender restrictions on ice dancing pairs at the national level, starting next season. Finland’s ice skating governing body has done the same. There's no indication that globally rules might change. Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order restricting athletes assigned male at birth from participating in women’s or girls’ sporting events.As a result, U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement it updated its policies this fall, "requiring that athletes competing in the female category be listed as female at birth on their original birth certificate." "We remain deeply committed to providing meaningful opportunities for every member to participate. This includes gender-neutral disciplines and programs such as synchronized skating, Theatre on Ice, showcase, solo dance and team maneuver events," the organization said. The International Olympic Committee plans to unveil its policy on gender eligibility early in the new year. Hill said he is a mix of "doubtful and hopeful" that more organizations might follow Skate Canada's lead. "Sports organizations are supposed to be for people and supposed to be this wide umbrella thing that we talk about [that] brings people together," Hill said. "The Olympic spirit and all that."
