The WFDF hormone therapy requirement remains in place.
March 31, 2026 by Charlie Eisenhood in News
Last week, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced a new gender eligibility policy that bars transgender women from competing in the female category of competition at the Olympic Games, starting at the next Olympics in 2028.
The widely expected decision followed the election of Kristy Coventry, who expressed support for a transgender ban during her campaign, as IOC President.
The World Flying Disc Federation, the international governing body of disc sports, has been recognized by the IOC since 2015 and follows IOC guidance on numerous issues. However, the organization released a statement confirming that WFDF will not change its current transgender athlete policy, which permits transgender women to compete in the Women’s Division or as female-matching in the Mixed Division if they have undergone hormone therapy to suppress testosterone levels for at least 12 months prior to competition.
“The IOC policy language suggests that adoption of this new policy by WFDF would only be required if Flying Disc sports were participating in an IOC event…The current WFDF policy remains in effect and will be the operative policy for WFDF events with no changes. The WFDF staff and board will be reviewing the full IOC policy, including its scientific, legal, and operational implications, along with our Medical Commission and legal advisors, in due course,” WFDF wrote in a press release.
In late 2022, the Professional Disc Golf Association, the national governing body for disc golf, and Disc Golf Pro Tour barred transgender women from competing in the women’s division at professional disc golf events but, a year later, reversed their rules following multiple lawsuits from Natalie Ryan, a transgender female professional player. Under the current policy, hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery are both required for transgender women that went to compete in DGPT events. USA Ultimate, the national governing body for ultimate, has no gender-based restrictions on competition: players can compete in the division in which they feel the most comfortable.
The World Games, which plays host to the highest level of international ultimate competition, is not operated by the IOC: the event is run by the International World Games Association and features non-Olympic sports. The IWGA and IOC renewed their memorandum of understanding 10 years ago. The IWGA doesn’t have a publicly stated gender eligibility policy; the organization had not responded to a request for comment prior to publication.
WFDF is hosting three major ultimate tournaments this summer: the World Ultimate Club Championships in Ireland in mid-August, the World Junior Ultimate Championships in Spain in July, and the World Masters Ultimate Club Championships in the UK in June. For more than a decade, the organization has sought to get ultimate onto the Olympic program but didn’t make it onto the shortlist for Los Angeles 2028. Lobbying efforts have continued for a chance to get into the Brisbane 2032 Games.
