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The USPA’s decision to block Flores from participating in the Jan. 29 meet is in line with their rulebook, updated on Jan. 1, 2022. It states that says that transgender athletes and people “using any hormone” cannot compete in tested divisions.
Flores’ entanglement with the USPA’s new ruleset highlights the ongoing changes to rules regarding the participation of transgender athletes. Some organizations, such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC), have adopted pathways for trans people to compete in their events, while more restrictive policies within other organizations have prompted legal action.
Editor’s Note: BarBend has reached out to the USPA for comments. At the time this article was published, USPA had not responded. We will update this article if and when they respond.
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[Related: The Best Resources for LGBTQ+ Strength Athletes]
Of the update to the USPA rulebook, Flores tells BarBend via email that,
“The USPA rule book [previously] stated [that there is] ‘no distinction between transgender and cisgender lifters,’ and ‘prescribed hormones’ was understood as only those on the banned substance list. Since many of us have been on the hormones for years, and none of us were using any banned substances, several peers were able compete.”
“This was going to be my very first meet alongside my cisgender peers,” Flores wrote in the caption of her Instagram post. “Since the announcement of the new 100-kilogram weight class, I was excited at the chance to maybe hit some nice records for my age group. On January 4th, the owner of [Liberation Barbell Club]… received a call telling her that I would be disallowed from competing in this tested meet.”
Flores still lifted at the Jan. 29 meet as a guest lifter — ineligible to set any records. Here are Flores’ full results from her appearance at the Violet Crown Classic:
2022 USPA Violet Crown Classic Results
- Squat — 189.6 kilograms (418 pounds)
- Bench Press —109.7 kilograms (237 pounds)
- Deadlift —199.5 kilograms (440 pounds)
- Total — 499 kilograms (1,100 pounds)
Note: You can check out the complete updated version of the USPA’s rulebook here.
The USPA’s new rule (1.8.28) specifically reads:
Transgender athletes are not eligible to compete in the drug-tested division and must compete only in the non-tested division.
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Rule 1.8.19 states of the updated rulebook also states:
The USPA/IPL does not allow any therapeutic use exemptions. This means no lifter using any hormone, regardless of medical necessity or choice, or other banned substance (see sec. 12), is allowed to compete in the drug-tested division.
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In addition to preventing transgender people receiving gender-affirming medical treatment from competing in tested meets, as written, it also bans from tested competition people who take hormonal birth control, as well as people with diabetes and thyroid conditions that require hormonal treatment.
“One person commented [one Flores’ Instagram post] that they recently had a serious surgery that left them needing a tiny amount of hormone supplementation to keep up their quality of life,” Flores tells BarBend. “However, this had banned them from tested competition.”
Trans Powerlifters in Tested Competitions
In Jan. 2021, powerlifter JayCee Cooper filed charges against USA Powerlifting (USAPL) and USAPL Minnesota in Ramsey County Court, MN. The suit alleged violations of the Minnesota Human Rights Act after the USAPL released its Transgender Participation Policy in 2019, which prevents trans women from competing in the Women’s division. Cooper was informed that she would not be allowed to compete in the Women’s division of an upcoming competition the same week that the USAPL published their “Transgender Participation Policy.”
In 2019, lifters at the USAPL Minnesota State Championships protested the federation’s decision to ban trans athletes from competing in accordance with their gender. Several athletes let each of their lifts time out, going “zero for nine” at the meet as a statement against the USAPL’s decision.
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[Related: The Importance of LGBTQ+ Visibility in Professional Strength Sports]
Inclusivity in Strength
Many trans athletes, like Flores in her Jan. 29 Instagram post, encourage powerlifting federations to adopt standards similar to those of the IOC, which explicitly places the principle of inclusion before measuring hormone levels when determining athletes’ eligibility for participation in sports.
Previously, the IOC’s guidelines allowed trans lifters — like Olympian Laurel Hubbard — to compete alongside their cisgender peers if they submitted to testing their hormone levels for a period of 12 months before competition and provided a formal declaration about their gender identity.
Many sports governing bodies have adopted more trans-inclusive policies, including the Powerlifting America, Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Flores has yet to announce what, if any, federation she will compete in next.
Featured Image: @arkangeljoy/Instagram
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