Community Members
As a member of your gym’s climbing community, you are the stakeholder in their work. The most effective way you can show support for trans athletes is to ask your gym to withdraw their support and hosting of USAC competitions under USA Climbing’s new transgender athlete participation policy. You can also withdraw your membership, and see a list list of gyms who have signed on as supporters to trans and nonbinary climbers.
Send a letter to your gym:
To [gym manager],
I love climbing at [gym name] and being a part of our community. However, I am deeply disappointed and disheartened to hear the news of USA Climbing’s new Transgender Athlete Participation policy and the many ways it impacts and excludes transgender athletes.
I am also disappointed at USA Climbing’s implementation and announcement of this new policy which effects so many in our community.
For this reason, I urge you to reconsider your hosting of USAC competitions until this policy is paused and rewritten with trans and nonbinary climbers. USA Climbing needs gym support to continue, and I believe strongly in our ability to make a difference to trans athletes. We cannot host comps until we can do so in ways that welcome trans climbers.
Until your pledge of support, I will be ending my gym membership effective immediately.
For more information you can read about these policies and their impact at www.transclimbersbelong.org.
Sincerely,
[your name]
Click here to see a list of gyms who have already pledged their support for trans and nonbinary climbers.
Talk to your gym management and ask them to withdraw from USAC sanctioned events and instead host local community events that include transgender and nonbinary climbers.
