Annie McColgan is an independent writer contributing to FasterSkier. The opinions in this Op Ed are her own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of FasterSkier and its staff.
By: Annie McColgan
On September 24, 2025 the FIS released a statement titled, “FIS Council Reinforces Commitment to Athlete Safety,” in which three announcements were made.
First, the FIS wrote about the importance of establishing clear and consistent safety guidelines, further homologation of training slopes, regulation of safety equipment standards and increased education around safety responsibility.
They then wrote about a newly approved eligibility policy for women’s competitions.
The statement read:
Following a period of thorough consultation with leading experts on the field, FIS presented to the Council a science-based eligibility policy for men’s and women’s competitions.
The eligibility conditions laid out in the policy are grounded on the presence or absence of the so-called SRY gene, the sex-determining gene present on humans’ Y chromosome.
Essentially, only SRY-negative competitors may compete in women’s competitions.
(FIS, 2025)
The third announcement regarded new prize money awards for competition.
By including the new SRY gene testing policy under this banner of “athlete safety”, and usage of the word “protect”, FIS conflates the concern for fair competition with physical danger and threat from transgender athletes. Linking athlete safety with genetic eligibility under the headline of “Athlete Safety” is a potentially harmful conflation. The intent of each topic should be clear and specific.
In this statement, Eliasch, FIS president says:
This policy is the cornerstone of our commitment to protect women’s sport, and we are convinced that there is only one fair and transparent way to do that: by relying on science and biological facts.
(FIS, 2025)
It is confusing as to why this policy, out of all policies is the ‘cornerstone’ of protecting women’s sports. There are real dangers in women’s sports which require further funding and policy implementation. The FIS could perhaps implement more money and resources into protecting female athletes from disproportionate amounts of coach athlete abuse or injury prevention. They could work with national bodies to promote education regarding long-term health in women’s junior programs to keep young girls in sports. There are real threats to the safety of women and men athletes in snow sports. The SRY gene eligibility testing does not address them; therefore, it shouldn’t be placed under the same category.
By releasing the policy under the headline of safety, FIS has actually increased the risk to trans athletes. Conversations around transgender policies are some of the most politicized, vitriolic, and polarizing of our time coming with misleading narratives and unimagined consequences. The reality is transgender people are increasingly targets of discrimination, bigotry and violence. A report in 2021 by the non-profit Everytown for Gun Safety, found that murders of transgender people have doubled over the past four years. Care with language and tone has never been more important.
It is disappointing to me as a FIS athlete, that this conversation surrounding transgender athletes in my sport has been portrayed as a safety issue. By placing this initiative as a safety issue, it inadvertently puts trans athletes and trans people in danger, while also failing to address real issues of athlete safety.
The United States Ski and Snowboard Association has a great responsibility ahead. The final statement in the section reads: “With the eligibility policy now approved by the Council, FIS will engage with the National Ski Associations and other stakeholders to roll out an implementation plan.”
It will be up to US Ski and Snowboard to decide how we move forward with this policy, as well as to decide what language we use to describe it. It will be crucial we use language that promotes fairness but also fosters understanding and inclusion. It will be important we do not demonize or villainize any group of athletes with our language. Decisions that are made will affect skiers of all ages. 75% of USSS memberships are less than 18 years of age. Monumental legal, ethical and privacy issues are at play.
How can we expect to have open and important dialogues with our athletic organizations about transgender athletes when the rhetoric we use to describe them is that of fear, rather than curiosity, empathy and fairness? We must learn from the miscues of this FIS press release.
I hope that USSS will delve deeply into this policy and will consider how it affects ALL of their athletes, as well as the communities at stake. We must have a transparent and open conversations that include athlete stakeholders, committee members and experts.
It is my hope we can avoid the missteps of the FIS release and treat this topic with careful language, and action in mind.
If you agree with the words and message of this piece, let US Ski and Snowboard know. Add your name here to sign your support for this letter which will be sent to USSS. Or, email them a link to this article, or leave your own comments. Email kn@kippnelson.com the chairman of the US Ski and Snowboard board of directors to let him know your comments or concerns about the policy language and/or implementation.
