The transgender boxer, who was unable to compete in the Golden Gloves provincial championships last weekend due to her opponent’s withdrawal, doesn’t want to let this story stop her from continuing to practice her sport.
Mya Walmsley was surprised by her rival’s public appearance earlier this week, but says she has been flooded with support from members of her Montreal gym and the boxing community.
The master’s student in philosophy at Concordia University mentioned in an email exchange with Le Journal on Thursday that she had been encouraged to “say [son] History and to continue boxing.
“I box because I love the sport. I like his intensity and the strategy. It teaches determination and courage. A boxing gym is a place where people [peu importe leur] Way of life can come together. I plan to continue boxing,” confirmed the 27-year-old Australian, who has been living in Montreal for two years.
A simple text
In a statement sent to the media earlier in the day, Walmsley complained that her rival “made the decision to withdraw from the tournament based solely on a text message from a coach” who announced she would be putting on the gloves with a transgender man Boxer.
“Instead of contacting me, my coach or the Quebec Olympic Boxing Federation for more information, she decided to go directly to the media to outsource me,” Walmsley wrote.
“This type of action puts athletes at risk of exclusion or receiving personal attacks based on hearsay.”
“I felt it was necessary to respond publicly because I fear that these types of allegations could potentially be used to delegitimize athletes in the women’s category and justify arbitrary and invasive regulations,” Walmsley told the Journal. There aren’t many athletes in the women’s category, and a culture of distrust and accusation will ensure there are even fewer.”
“Trust”
For Walmsley, “the best way to ensure fair competition is to trust the coaches and athletes.”
“They are best placed to select the most appropriate gender categories.”
In Victoriaville, Walmsley had to fight a first amateur duel in the Novice 0-5 Fights category in the 75kg category against Katia Bissonnette.
The latter told the Journal on Tuesday that she accidentally learned an hour before she got into the ring that she would have to face a rival who was born in a man’s body.
“I’m a beginner, I do this because it gives my life meaning […]. “It wasn’t up to me to decide, so I chose to abstain,” Bissonnette said, saying he “didn’t have any information, like testosterone levels.”
“It was so vague,” the woman added, fearing for her safety since she didn’t know her opponent’s punching power.
It is also Boxe Québec’s lack of transparency and supervision that the 36-year-old psychologist denounced.
No rules
As the provincial federation’s president explained, it falls under Boxing Canada, which has no official regulations regarding transgender athletes.
“To make sure we did everything right, we reached out to Boxing Canada,” said former double world champion Ariane Fortin. We were told that this person could compete and that he had passed the medical tests like all other boxers. We were also advised not to talk about it, even with officials, to avoid discrimination.”
For its part, Boxing Canada confirmed to the Journal that a committee is already working on developing a policy on the sensitive issue.