Recent commentary on our approach to trans athletes has posed some sharp challenges to all of us at BUCS.
Not least to myself as the CEO of an organisation whose vision is based on providing exceptional sporting experiences for students, in a drive to enable the broadest possible student participation in sport.
Hearing from student communities in this way, or through our thriving student officers network, is exactly how an organisation like ours should develop a better understanding of the impact current policies have, and help us to improve.
We understand trans+ people are at risk of experiencing discrimination in all aspects of life, and so we want to continue building a safe and inclusive environment across our competitions and in recreational sport, while respecting each sport’s response to the evolving legal landscape.
To achieve that aim we believe sport must keep working to find the right response to the inclusion of trans+ people, and that organisations like BUCS could be granted greater flexibility to enable more inclusivity in recreational, competitive, and performance settings.
BUCS doesn’t set eligibility policy for sports, though – instead we apply each sport’s governing body’s policies. They have the expertise, evidence base, and responsibility to do so.
While some may argue that BUCS could “do its own thing,” such an approach would carry significant risk for participants, institutions, and BUCS. In some sports, a failure to follow gender eligibility policies would mean BUCS couldn’t continue to run the sport within our programme, due to specific licensing requirements.
It’s in no one’s interests to exclude anyone from sport, but it’s in everyone’s interests to create clear and unambiguous guidance for the inclusion of trans+ people.
What’s changed
As a responsible organising body for sport, BUCS has held a gender eligibility policy for a number of years, and this has undergone challenge over that period as practice, understanding, and implementation have evolved.
In that time the world of sport has shifted significantly – and spring 2025 saw the Supreme Court’s ruling, which placed pressure on this policy in a more significant way than had ever been the case before.
Almost immediately BUCS was flooded with calls in similar measure to follow or ignore the direction many sports organisations pursued – such is the polarising nature of this debate.
We reached out to the National Union of Students, or NUS, among others for support, and found our discussions to be both useful and productive. Our support of the Intersectionality Network, which aims to support trans+ students, has also enabled BUCS to share best practice around inclusive facilities with our members.
Given our broader strategy – which aims to bring the benefits of sport and active participation to as many students as possible – the requirement to follow eligibility policies and ensure legal compliance meant we faced a genuine tension. We set about doing our best to find a solution based on empathy and a desire to be inclusive.
Who makes the rules
This involved a detailed review of all 55 sports and disciplines in our programme, identifying variability within sports – including where different home nation governing bodies had different rules – and ensuring clarity for member institutions so they wouldn’t fall foul of complex rule books.
Our partnership with Scottish Student Sport proved particularly valuable here, as we worked closely to keep things as clear and simple as possible for institutions and students across the UK. With some domestic sport governing bodies deferring to their own international federation rules, and others taking stock through regular review, this was complex and at times fraught – but in time for the 2025/26 season we were able to publish clear guidance relating to BUCS competitions.
We also flagged opportunities for trans+ people to compete in their affirmed gender, to provide the most opportunity within the constraints of each national governing body’s guidance. We provided trigger warnings for the language used within policies and summarised every policy’s position to provide clarity, so that trans+ students didn’t have to read content they might find distressing.
BUCS believes all students should be able to lead a life free from discrimination, and we reject all forms of hate speech in relation to this or any other subject. We believe progress is best made through constructive, respectful dialogue, informed by evidence.
Where things stand
Our latest data shows that of the currently registered BUCS competitors for the 25/26 season, 2.7 per cent choose not to use “male” or “female” as the description of their gender.
This figure is significantly higher than the national average, and the gender diversity within the student population has meant BUCS has directed resource to improve inclusion – through member institutions running specific projects, how we train our staff, and how we collect and use data.
Whether agender, gender-fluid, non-binary, choosing not to self-describe, or choosing not to say, there’s evidence that some students caught within this issue are able to continue to compete within a binary competition structure. Enabling such self-description means BUCS can better support these and other students to compete in the categories most closely aligned to their gender.
With the support of NUS, we’re planning a consultation on the impact of these policies for our members and students. From the start of the 25/26 season BUCS has invited members and their students to share impact statements, providing support to all those who have reached out.
This has enabled BUCS to have direct conversations with national governing bodies about their policies, leading to meetings throughout this season to support member institutions and students.
This dialogue has meant BUCS can respond quickly when opportunities arise to be more inclusive. We acted fast, for example, to protect the participation of students when a sport clarified its rules recently – creating an “open” category at short notice and liaising directly with students to confirm whether they wished to compete in this category or supporting them to access other categories they were eligible for.
Our strategy requires us to ensure the BUCS competition programme can meet the sporting needs of the next generation, and the needs of the diverse range of students in the UK, within the existing legal framework. This means focusing on the activities in our programme while also considering not just the what, but the who and how.
The challenges we’re tackling with the support of our members – the impact of transport costs, environmental concern, and the engagement of a range of student “types” including commuter students, international students, and trans+ students – are shaping how we see our future competition structure and how people access it. While this may prove small comfort for students currently feeling excluded, it’s the mark of an organisation actively seeking to include.
The bigger picture
While we know we won’t always get this right for every individual, these examples show an organisation with inclusive instincts and a desire to support all students to be active, removing barriers where they appear.
The existing legal framework does place limitations on competitive opportunities for trans+ students, and so working with the student officers and senior managers who form central parts of our membership structure and voice, we continue to support institutions to ensure wider provision is inclusive. Everyone is welcome within our wider higher education sporting community, and BUCS will continue to do all we can to ensure provision for all.
BUCS calls for further urgent guidance from government and/or the Equality and Human Rights Commission to enable a clearer and more consistent application of policies across sport – especially where grassroots, competitive, and performance sport meet.
