
Players must be assigned female at birth or have transitioned to female before going through male puberty to compete in LPGA tournaments or the eight USGA championships for females under new gender policies published Wednesday. The policies, which begin in 2025, follow more than a year of study involving medicine, science, sport physiology and gender policy law. The updated policies would rule out eligibility for Hailey Davidson, who missed qualifying for the U.S. Women's Open this year by one shot and came up short in LPGA Q-school. Davidson, who turned 32 on Tuesday, began hormone treatments when she was in her early 20s in 2015 and in 2021 underwent gender-affirming surgery, which was required under the LPGA's previous gender policy. She had won this year on a Florida mini-tour called NXXT Golf until the circuit announced in March that players had to be assigned female at birth. “Can't say I didn't see this coming,” Davidson wrote Wednesday on an Instagram story. “Banned from the Epson and the LPGA. All the silence and people wanting to stay ‘neutral’ thanks for absolutely nothing. This happened because of all your silence.” By making it to the second stage of Q-school, Davidson would have had very limited status on the Epson Tour, the pathway to the LPGA. The LPGA and USGA say their policies were geared toward being inclusive of gender identities and expression while striving for equity in competition. The LPGA said its working group of experts advised that the effects of male puberty allowed for competitive advantages in golf compared with players who had not gone through puberty. “Our policy is reflective of an extensive, science-based and inclusive approach,” said LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan, who announced Monday that she is resigning in January. "The policy represents our continued commitment to ensuring that all feel welcome within our organization, while preserving the fairness and competitive equity of our elite competitions.” Mike Whan, the former LPGA commissioner and now CEO of the USGA, said it developed the updated policy independently and later discovered it was similar to those used by swimming, track and field, and other sports. “It starts with competitive fairness as the North star,” Whan said in a telephone interview. “We tried not to get into politics, or state by state or any of that stuff. We just simply said, ‘Where would somebody — at least medically today — where do we believe somebody would have a competitive advantage in the field?’ And we needed to draw a line. “We needed to be able to walk into any women's event and say with confidence that nobody here has a competitive advantage based on their gender. And this policy delivers that.” The “Competitive Fairness Gender Policy” for the USGA takes effect for the 2025 championship season that starts with the U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball on May 10-14. Qualifying began late this year, though there were no transgender players who took part. “Will that change in the years to come as medicine changes? Probably,” Whan said. “But I think today this stacks up.” The LPGA “Gender Policy for Competition Eligibility” would apply to the LPGA Tour, Epson Tour, Ladies European Tour and qualifying for the tours. Players assigned male at birth must prove they have not experienced any part of puberty beyond the first stage or after age 12, whichever comes first, and then meet limitation standards for testosterone levels. The LPGA begins its 75th season on Jan. 30 with the Tournament of Champions in Orlando, Florida.Unwrap the latest AI features with Amazon Fire Tablets
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Arsenal boss Arteta hails 'will to win' after downing Manchester UnitedArmada Hoffler Announces Quarterly DividendThe National Green Tribunal has sought a response from the Centre on the "feasibility and mechanism" for implementation of the CPCB's recommendations for controlling ozone levels, which were found beyond the permissible limits in some areas of the national capital. The green body earlier directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and other agencies to submit relevant material explaining why ozone levels in these areas exceeded permissible limits. It had also sought "targeted approaches" that could be adopted for these areas. ET Year-end Special Reads What kept India's stock market investors on toes in 2024? India's car race: How far EVs went in 2024 Investing in 2025: Six wealth management trends to watch out for In an order dated December 23, a bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member A Senthil Vel noted that the CPCB had submitted a report dated December 20 about the measures for control of ozone levels along with some suggestions or recommendations. The CPCB report said, "It has been recognised globally that control of ozone is only possible through control of its precursors. It is also evident that control of local sources of its precursors may not yield significant benefits in terms of ozone reduction, as both ozone and its precursors can be transported over hundreds of kilometres." "Considering the same, the government has undertaken several initiatives at the national level, to control the precursors of ozone, i.e, nitrous acid (NOx), volatile organic compound (VOC), methane and carbon monoxide (CO) to some extent," it said. The tribunal noted the report about the government's National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) of 2019, aimed at reducing air pollution levels across the country, where city-specific clean air action plans had been prepared and rolled out for implementation in 130 non-attainment million-plus cities to improve the air quality. 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The tribunal noted that the report also mentioned specific interventions for the sectors of transport, power plants and industries, besides the measures for preventing biomass burning, especially paddy straw burning in northern India. It said along with the Union government controlling ozone concentrations through control of their precursors at national or regional levels, the pollution board's report mentions various suggestions. The tribunal noted the CPCB's suggestion that "considering the elevated levels of ozone observed during COVID-19 lockdown and that the ozone concentration is also influenced by transboundary movement, soil and biogenic emissions, a detailed study may be required with help of air quality experts to evaluate the reasons for higher ozone levels at various locations in Delhi." It also noted that the CPCB had discussed the issue with air quality experts, who said that a study was required. "The feasibility and mechanism for implementation of recommendations made by CPCB needs consideration. Hence, we deem it proper to implead the following as respondent, the Union Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change through the secretary," the tribunal said. "Let notice be issued for filing the response by way of affidavit, especially commenting upon the recommendations that have been made by CPCB," it added. The tribunal also sought a fresh report from the CPCB, which had to mention how effectively the measures of the Centre were being implemented. The matter has been posted on April 21 for further proceedings. The NGT had taken suo motu cognisance of a news report regarding the elevated ozone levels. During the hearing in September, the NGT noted that as per a Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) report, ozone concentrations surpassed national standards at seven monitoring stations in Delhi last year while nine stations recorded similar breaches during this summer. The DPCC's report highlighted that dangerous levels of ground-level ozone were recorded in several traffic-heavy areas during April and May 2023. Nehru Nagar witnessed 56 days of high ozone levels, Patparganj 45 days and Aurobindo Marg 38 days. Nehru Nagar, located near Lajpat Nagar, recorded the highest concentration of ozone at 224.9 micrograms per cubic metre, far above the national standard of 100 micrograms per cubic metre during an eight-hour period. Other peaks included 188.3 micrograms per cubic metre in Patparganj and 175.4 micrograms per cubic metre in RK Puram, according to the DPCC's findings. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )