Following the publication of our revised policy position for transgender and non-binary participation in May of this year, we can now share details of our implementation plans. On this page you can find our full policy, FAQs and contact details if you’d like further information.
The FAQs have been split between general, membership, competitive and non-competitive activity.
Please note that the following information relates to the implementation of our policy. For further information on our policy position and policy development process, click here.
General FAQs
1. Where can I view the policies?
You can read our full policy documents for competitive activity here and non-competitive activity here.
2. How will the policies be reviewed in future?
We will continue to monitor developments on the medical and policy landscape, reviewing our policy annually or more frequently as appropriate.
If you have any questions about the policies or future reviews, or wish to provide matters for consideration for either, please email policies@britishcycling.org.uk.
3. How can I report the use of discriminatory language or behaviour to British Cycling?
When participating in British Cycling activities, all participants and members are bound by the British Cycling Code of Conduct and, ultimately, the British Cycling Disciplinary Regulations. All participants must be treated with respect at all times. Any incidents of discriminatory language or behaviour, whether in person or in digital format, should be reported to the British Cycling Compliance team (compliance@britishcycling.org.uk) at the earliest opportunity.
We take a zero-tolerance approach to transphobia and all cases of discrimination, intimidation and abuse, and will take appropriate action in cases where behaviour falls short of what is expected by our Code of Conduct.
FAQs for membership
1. What impact will this have on my membership?
As part of the implementation process, we have made changes to the information which we collect from new members through the sign-up process.
All members will now be asked to declare their ‘Competition eligibility’, with two options: Open or Female. Riders who are eligible and wish to compete in the female category under the new policy should select Female, and all other riders should select Open.
This is to ensure that any ranking points you accumulate through events are allocated in the correct way. Members who select ‘Female’ will still be eligible to participate in the Open category in British Cycling events, as per the policy.
Later in the sign-up process, members will also be able to submit their self-declared gender. The options available mirror those used by the Office for National Statistics, which includes a ‘prefer not to say’ option. This information will help us to better understand our membership in the future and report accurate demographic information to our key funding partners.
As part of this process we have also taken the opportunity to refresh the look of our Race Licences, in agreement with the UCI, to remove unnecessary information.
2. What if my membership is set to automatically renew?
As part of the implementation process, data previously submitted in the ‘Gender’ field has been used to determine a rider’s ‘Competition eligibility’. Therefore, riders who previously selected ‘Female’ for their gender have had their competition eligibility set as ‘Female’, while riders who previously selected ‘Male’ for their gender have had their competition eligibility set as ‘Open’.
During the implementation process we have been committed to recognising someone’s chosen identity where possible under the policy. As such, and as an example, someone who has their competition eligibility as ‘Open’ may choose for their gender to be 'Female’. In this respect, we have remained in contact with our current (known) transgender and non-binary members regarding their personal data and future operation of the revised policy.
Existing members who would like to change the gender on their membership profile can do so by emailing membership@britishcycling.org.uk. If you have questions about your competition eligibility, please contact compliance@britishcycling.org.uk.
3. Will these changes only apply for Race memberships?
No – all new members will complete the same questions on Competition Eligibility and Gender, including ‘Fan’, ‘Commute’ and ‘Ride’ members. However, a rider’s competition eligibility will not be printed on ‘Fan’, ‘Commute’ and ‘Ride’ membership cards.
This is because not all British Cycling-sanctioned events require a Race Licence in order to compete. It will also make the process simpler for members who wish to upgrade to ‘Race’ during the term of their membership.
FAQs for competitive activity
1. When will the changes for competitive activity be introduced?
The changes will be formally introduced from Monday 11 December, and our Sport team are providing ongoing support to event organisers, Commissaires, officials and clubs to ensure that events are delivered with the correct competition eligibility categories from this date.
2. What will be the impact of this change being made part-way through the cyclo-cross season?
We’ve been working closely with cyclo-cross leagues, event organisers and Commissaire Commission over recent months to provide support on this matter, and many events (including our own National Trophy Series) have already amended their race categories to ‘Female’ and ‘Open’.
Event organisers with questions about the implementation date can email events@britishcycling.org.uk for further support.
3. Can female Race Licence holders compete in the Open category if they so wish?
Yes. Any Race Licence holders, including those whose birth sex was female, can choose to compete within the ‘Open’ category if they so wish.
Female ranking points will be allocated for results in the Female race category, and Open ranking points for results in Open races. These will not be consolidated – i.e. you cannot score Female ranking points racing in the Open category.
4. Does the policy also apply to British Cycling events which don’t require a Race Licence?
The policy applies to all British Cycling-sanctioned competitive events, including those which do not require a rider to hold a full Race Licence to enter. We define competitive activity as any race, match, event or ‘competition’ (in BMX Freestyle), or a programme thereof, which involves any element of timing, ranking, points or prize awards.
If an event organiser, participant or volunteer has any concerns regarding another participant’s eligibility to compete in a certain category, these should be directed to the British Cycling Compliance team after the event at compliance@britishcycling.org.uk.
It is a participant’s responsibility to know whether they are eligible to compete in a particular category/event.
5. What should I do if I believe that somebody is taking part in a competition which they’re ineligible for?
British Cycling remains fully committed to providing a positive and welcoming environment, where everyone can feel like they belong and are respected in our community. If an event organiser, Commissaire, participant or volunteer has any concerns regarding another participant’s eligibility to compete in a certain category, they should not seek to deal with these concerns themselves.
These concerns should instead be directed to the British Cycling Compliance team after the event (compliance@britishcycling.org.uk). Where queries surrounding a participant’s eligibility are raised at the event or out of office hours, the participant should be permitted to race and – following the event – the Compliance team can be contacted.
Volunteers and participants should ensure that any communications regarding a participant’s eligibility are not shared at the event or otherwise, including in digital format. Given the sensitive nature of these matters, volunteers and participants who have raised concerns will not be informed of any conclusion reached.
While it is a participant’s responsibility to know whether they are eligible to compete in a particular category/event, we will continue to support organisers and participants through regular sharing of our updated eligibility rules in the coming months.
6. Does the policy permit mixed sex racing based on ability?
Yes. In many disciplines, race programmes are already split by riding ability rather than gender – such as many track leagues, BMX racing and ‘Go Race’ events – and this will continue to be permitted under the policy.
7. How does the policy interact with the recently-updated UCI policy?
Following the publication of our revised policy position earlier this year, in July the UCI adapted its own rules on the participation of transgender and non-binary athletes in international events – bringing our two policies into close alignment. You can find out more about the UCI’s revised policy here.
Any person wishing to participate in activity which is organised by or on behalf of the UCI (including, for the avoidance of doubt, most British Cycling National Championships) must comply with the UCI’s eligibility policy for transgender and non-binary participants. It is a rider’s responsibility to ensure compliance with the UCI eligibility policy, as amended from time to time.
Our policy shall apply to competitive events that are sanctioned by British Cycling and/or held under the British Cycling Technical Regulations.
While event eligibility rules are now largely aligned, there are differences regarding the naming of race categories. For British Cycling events, the categories will be defined as ‘Open’ and ‘Female’, whereas in the UCI policy categories will continue to be defined as ‘Men’ and ‘Women’, aside from events where it is explicitly stated that the categories will be named ‘Men/Open’ and ‘Women’. See the link above for further details on these events.
Therefore, upon implementation of our policy:
- For events listed on the UCI calendar (such as most national championships and UCI World Cup events), UCI competition categories will take precedence.
- All other British Cycling-sanctioned events will use British Cycling competition categories.
- Where an event in a British Cycling series (e.g. the National Downhill Series) is also on the UCI calendar, the overall national series standings will use British Cycling categories (ie. ‘Open’ and ‘Female’). Therefore ranking points gained in the ‘Men’s’ category in rounds which are on the UCI calendar will contribute to the ‘Open’ series rankings.
8. Does this policy apply to events in Scotland and Wales?
Yes. As part of the ongoing collaboration between British Cycling, Scottish Cycling and Welsh Cycling, Scottish Cycling and Welsh Cycling approve and facilitate events in Scotland and Wales using British Cycling’s event management system, in line with the policies and regulations of British Cycling.
British Cycling is the body affiliated to the UCI and so all Race Licences issued to members, whether resident in England, Wales or Scotland, are issued by British Cycling (in line with its policies and regulations).
9. Is there any guidance for events or leagues with branding, trophies or other existing paraphernalia?
We understand that replacing branding and other items comes at considerable expense, and that event organisers are already facing considerable cost pressures.
Organisers should make efforts to ensure that these items refer to the correct category names from the point of implementation, and race categories must be listed correctly on digital platforms including the event registration page, event website/social media channels and external results services.
Event organisers with concerns about replacing existing materials can contact events@britishcycling.org.uk for further support.
FAQs for non-competitive activity
1. What changes have been made to the Let's Ride platform?
As with our membership sign-up pages, through the implementation process we have extended the gender options available to users on the Let’s Ride platform, which mirror those used by the Office for National Statistics. This includes a ‘prefer not to say’ option.
This information will help us to better understand our users in the future and report accurate demographic information to our key funding partners.
2. Have any changes been made to the Breeze programme?
There has been no change to the non-competitive Breeze programme.
We are incredibly proud of the ongoing success of Breeze, which has supported more than 350,000 women to enjoy more than 80,000 community bike rides since its launch in 2011. With inclusion at its heart, the programme has always been open to transgender women and non-binary participants, and we restated this commitment in the publication of our revised transgender and non-binary policy position in May of this year.
As part of the implementation of our revised policy we have made changes to the written programme details published on the British Cycling and Let’s Ride websites to make our position on this matter clearer for readers.
If you have any questions about our Breeze programme, you can contact our team on lovecycling@britishcycling.org.uk.
3. Does the policy apply to the British Cycling Talent Pathway programme?
The British Cycling Talent Pathway is in place to identify and support the development of riders who will progress into Great Britain Cycling Team programmes.
Development Centres are open to all riders and are inclusive sessions, and therefore falls under the British Cycling Policy for Non-Competitive Activity. However, Regional and National Talent Pathway activity requires riders to race competitively and therefore must be eligible under the British Cycling Policy for Competitive Activity.
For any other questions regarding the Talent Pathway, including specifics on disciplines and Talent Identification activity, contact talentdevelopment@britishcycling.org.uk.
4. What other opportunities are there for trans and non-binary people to cycle within British Cycling?
Trans and non-binary people can continue to compete across all disciplines in the Open category.
We continue to work hard to ensure that our wider activities are welcoming and inclusive for all, and trans and non-binary people can also continue to participate in a broad range of British Cycling activities in line with their gender identities, including: club and coach-led activities, ability based race programmes (such as Go-Race events), community programmes, Talent Development Centres and non-competitive events such as sportives.
In certain disciplines, race programmes are already split by ability rather than gender – such as many track leagues – and this will continue to be permitted under the new policy. We also remain committed to listening to our trans and non-binary communities to ensure that these activities continue to be fully inclusive.
5. What support can British Cycling offer on the correct use of language?
Using respectful language is important, however if you are unsure as to how someone would like to be addressed then it is okay to ask them. If mistakes are made, we just need to apologise, correct ourselves and ensure that we use their preferred terms in future.
Any deliberate mis-gendering directed at individuals is a breach of our Code of Conduct. We are committed to ensuring that all riders feel welcome, supported and respected in our sport and activities, and as part of this we ask all in our sport to address others in a respectful way.
