Cambridge University bans trans rowers from Women’s Boat Race in spite of protest from Trans Liberation Cambridge
– 2 min read
Cambridge University has voted to ban trans women from competing in women’s college-level boat races, aligning its policies with British Rowing’s gender eligibility guidelines.
The decision, made by the Cambridge University Combined Boat Club (CUCBC), saw college boat club captains narrowly vote to adopt British Rowing’s gender eligibility rules, which restrict the women’s category to athletes assigned female at birth, effectively barring trans women from competing. In response, a new “open” division has been created, where rowers of any gender may participate.
The vote - 27 in favour, 23 against, and 2 abstentions - was held under pressure, with captains warned that college races could be cancelled if they failed to align with national regulations. Critics say this threat, combined with legal warnings from the university, amounted to coercion.
Trans Liberation Cambridge, a grassroots group advocating for trans rights, staged a protest during the University IVs Regatta on 28 October. Activists disrupted the races by sailing a dinghy into the course, adorned with Trans and Progress Pride flags. The group accused the university of “advancing exclusion” and “intimidating student committees” under the guise of legal compliance.
“The University of Cambridge, rather than resisting the nationwide campaign of exclusion and marginalisation of trans people, has chosen to advance it,” the group said in a statement. “Students have spoken up and shown that they want to play and compete with their trans fellow students, but are being strong-armed by the university to exclude.”
Until now, Cambridge students could compete in rowing events based on their self-identified gender. The new policy marks a stark departure from that inclusive approach, and many fear it sets a dangerous precedent for other university sports.
While the CUCBC claims the rules will remain under review, trans students and allies say the damage has already been done. The creation of an “open” category, while framed as inclusive, is seen by many as a segregated space that reinforces the exclusion of trans women from women’s sport.
This decision comes amid a broader national and international reckoning over trans inclusion in athletics. Advocates argue that policies like Cambridge’s ignore the lived realities of trans athletes and undermine the values of fairness, respect, and community that university sport should embody.
