On the surface, Kye Allums – the transgendered male playing on GW women’s basketball team – doesn’t present complications for the NCAA.

Allums is, biologically speaking, female. He has not undergone physical transformation, including hormone therapy, so he can play on the women’s team.

Yet, his announcement, made with obvious relief, is a reminder of how wrenching this issue can be – and that we must get clear on how to include and support transgender athletes.

There are more than a few issues here, but one that wraps up policy makers is about ensuring “fair” competition – which means preserving sex-segregated play even when the sexes being segregated may not be so clear. (Argument for re-thinking sex-segregation in sports, anyone?)

The bottom line: Everyone is afraid of the magical powers of testosterone.

Never mind that estrogen bestows advantages in certain sports (including ultra-endurance running and swimming events), the worry centers on not allowing athletes with “male” helping of hormones or muscles to sneak onto female teams.

(For the record, only one man has admitted to actually doing this, competing in the women’s high jump at the 1936 Olympics. He came in fourth).

The question today, however, is this: What, exactly, is the “male advantage”?

This is not about the presumed – and faulty – belief that every male is bigger, faster, stronger than every female. In fact, there is much within-gender overlap and outliers of both sexes who have physical gifts that some might consider “unfair” if there were only a vehicle for complaining.

The matter here is how one decides that an athlete is “female enough” to compete as a woman. Since 2004, the IOC has allowed transgender male-to-female athletes to compete after undergoing two years of hormone therapy. Recommendations made last month to the NCAA suggest a one-year regimen would cut it. This difference is not like the difference between rules in college and pros in say football — one foot in or two? — but speaks to a basic confusion about the actual effects of hormone therapy on athletic performance. The NCAA officially requires student athletes to compete based on their identifying papers, which Pat Griffin points out, leads to different rules depending on where a students documents are from.

And then, of course, you have the situation last month with Lana Lawless suing the LPGA for the right to compete (Lawless made a male-to-female transformation and underwent two years of hormone therapy). The LPGA requires players to compete as their birth sex.

The range of rules suggests that we don’t really know enough about how sex-based biological differences really matter in sports and what is – or isn’t – an unfair advantage. If we are determined that sports should be sharply divided by gender, we owe it to transgender athletes (many of whom are now seeking sex reassignment treatment at younger ages) to figure it out. Allums may not be pushing — now — but he’s a reminder that it’s time for some clarity and consistency.

The closing ceremonies in Vancouver are finished, so let’s reflect: Why does a tremendous sport festival whose aim is to foster political goodwill remain so darned sexist?

Events for women are typically lesser or shorter (or in the case of ski jumping, non-existent) compared with the men’s. Many of these differences make no sense:

–  Women’s singles freestyle figure skating rules requires skaters to perform 12 compulsory moves and complete the program in 4 minutes, plus or minus 10 seconds. The same event for men requires 13 (one more!) compulsory moves and is 30 seconds longer. Hmm…?

– Cross country ski races are a study in gender differentiation, with men’s races longer – even though women are terrific marathon runners and as a group are physiologically suited to endurance events. Shorter because….?

–  Short-track skating has many of the same events for men and women, but oddly when it comes to the relay(!), has a 5,000m event for men and trims the women’s to 3,000m.

– And then there are the pragmatic decisions, like shortening the luge track because of worries about racers reaching excessive speeds. If men are generally heavier than women as a group, thus more at risk for reaching those speeds, why shorten the women’s to the junior track just because you have shortened the men’s? Is this to ensure safety or intact male egos? Not surprisingly, several female athletes complained about being forced to race from the “children’s” start.

The overt sexism in the Olympics extends to the way female athletes are viewed and treated. And it’s not just me who sees this. Male sportswriters are screaming, too:

– In the March 1, issue of Sports Illustrated (yes, SI),  Phil Taylor’s column, Point After, not only takes up the outrageous refusal of the International Olympic Committee to allow women’s ski jumping, but notes a chief problem contributing to the lack of competition in women’s ice hockey is the lopsided spending by many European countries on men’s sports. The Russian women’s team didn’t practice until three weeks before the games.

“Sexism isn’t confined to any sport or country,” Taylor writes. “It’s a universal language, spoken not so much with words as with action, or the lack of it.”

– And in yesterday’s Boston Globe, hockey writer Kevin Paul DuPont appears to stun even himself (“Call me a flaming feminist – please, just once, to make me fell [sic] all PC-like…”) when he defends the Canadian women’s ice hockey gold medal winners post-victory – and post medal ceremony – celebration and finds absurd the IOC plan for an investigation.

“Investigate? Please spare us the ‘Casablanca’-like roundup of ‘the usual suspects.’ We know what happened. They won a gold medal, in front of a screaming full house at Canada Hockey Place, and they broke out the booze and had a ball. Then they had to apologize.”

“Because…why?” His point: a blatant double standard.

We have four years before the next Winter Games, and two-and-a-half before the Summer Games in London.  When the IOC gathers to reflect, someone should have the courage ask the question on a lot of minds: Why do the Olympics, which allows nations – even those struggling to be part of the civil discourse of the international community – enforce such a stereotyped bias against women?

Isn’t it time to lead instead of looking so utterly out of step?

By Emilie Liebhoff

I recently took my three-year-old daughter ice-skating for the first time.  I skated a few laps, did some quick crossovers, and pivoted back and forth.  She was amazed.  (I’m sure she thought, “What did you do with my mom?”)  Then, with knees bent and arms out, she tried. “Look Mommy, I’m doing it.  I’m doing it!”  It was heartwarming: She wanted to be like me.

This is an exciting Olympic year for me.  It’s the first time my daughter is old enough to really watch Olympic women’s ice hockey with me.  She’s seen men’s football.  She’s seen men’s golf.  And, she’s seen men’s baseball.  Now I get to show her my sport, and the strong, skilled, athletic women who play it.

Here are three reasons why I’m watching with my daughter:

1)    Encourage her to be a sports fan.  Not only do I want to show her that women play ice hockey, but I also want to encourage her to watch sports and to excited about the women playing them.  Men and boys follow sports — but not enough girls and women do. Watching the Olympics is Step One to develop the fan in our daughters.

2)    Show her female sports role models.  Growing up it was tough for me to be a sports fan: Sure, Wayne Gretzy was an amazing hockey player, but he was a guy.  That’s not the case now for our girls. There are incredible female athletes who our daughters can aspire to be like, and who can be positive influences in their lives. (This US team has 15-first-timers plus veteran Jenny Potter — mom! — and superstar Angela Ruggiero, the first female non-goalie to play men’s pro hockey).

3)    Teach her the game. When you are an educated observer, your daughter will notice!  She’ll appreciate and admire your ability to watch the game, root for your team, and know what’s going on. This also is a chance for you to help your daughter build her own sports knowledge.

I did play hockey in college, but that experience isn’t required to watch — and enjoy! — the games with your daughters. Here’s help:

– First, when watching don’t say, “Wow isn’t she pretty?”  Instead, use this opportunity to emphasize the skill and strength of the players.  “Look, Jane, isn’t it impressive the way she stickhandles the hockey puck?” Or, “See how fast she can skate!” Remind them of the finesse and skill required to keep possession of the puck, particularly because checking isn’t allowed, but body contact is.  Point out, that women can use their bodies to protect the puck.

– Show your daughter that you understand the sport. Mention some of the rules. One key rule is offsides: The easiest way to explain it is to always let the puck win a race between the player and the puck.  If the puck crosses the blue line into the offensive end, the puck must cross the line before the offensive player.  If the puck gets sent out of that end and crosses back over the blue line, then all offensive players must follow the puck out of the offensive end.  The puck always needs to win the race.   For more rules and information, click here.

– Make it a point to interact while watching the game.  Have your daughters notice, for example, that when there are only four players on one side of the ice it means that team must have a penalty.  Conversely, the other team must have a “power play.”  This is a good chance for the power play team to score because they have an extra player.  Sometimes, you will notice an exciting moment when a team will “pull the goalie” to put an extra offensive player on the ice.  This usually happens if a team is trying to tie up the game and there is a minute remaining.

– And, importantly, show your daughters that when women score, they celebrate.  (Girls sometimes feel they are being conceited if they celebrate).  Expressing happiness after a goal is OK and encouraged!

– Also point out that ice hockey is not about the individual, but is a team sport. Highlight the fact that there are five players on the ice and that they all pass the puck to each other to work toward scoring a goal.  They also work together to defend and protect their own goalie.

The Olympic games occur over an exciting two weeks.  Use the games as a chance to not only bond with your daughter, but to ignite her interest in becoming a sports fan.   You may be developing the next generation of female athletes. See  Olympic women’s ice hockey schedule here.

Emilie Liebhoff teaching her eldest daughter to skate

Emilie Liebhoff is former co-captain of the Dartmouth College women’s ice hockey team, mother of two daughters, founder of Moms as Mentors™ and the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools.

Let’s take a breather. Time out from Lindsey Vonn and women in bathing suits. For me, one of the most frustrating aspects about Olympic coverage is that we usually can only watch sports that the United States dominates (or sports that are surrounded in controversy). As a result, many sports I know little about. So this week, I talked to Rosie Brennan, a member of the Women’s Cross Country Team at Dartmouth College. Rosie explained how the sport works, and that it’s much more than the image I had — of my father climbing the hill in my yard and skiing down it.

FGN: I need a crash course in competitive Cross Country Skiing…
RB: Cross Country skiing is made up of two disciplines, freestyle and classical. Like alpine, in order to win the World Cup, you have to be good at both. Although racers tend to be better in one or the other, they are forced to compete in both. There are six different events at the Olympics and the technique used, freestyle or classic, switches every Olympic year.

FGN: What are the events this year?
RB: This year the events are:

– The 10/15 km individual start freestyle. This race is a time trial event where racers are started every 30 seconds.  (The women ski 10 km and the men ski 15 km)

– Classic Sprint. In the Classic Sprint, men and women must pass qualifying rounds to make it into the finals. Only the top 30 men and women will move past the initial round. The course in Whistler is 1.7 km for men and 1.4 km for women. Classic Sprint races are very exciting because athletes crash as they dash for the line. The Whistler course has a big 180 degree downhill corner and a long finishing stretch. The United States has been very successful in this event.

– The 15/30 km pursuits. The 15/30 km pursuits feature both the freestyle and classic technique, with a mass start. Racers begin by skiing classic and finish skating

– Team Sprint Freestyle. The team Sprint freestyle uses the same course as the individual sprint, but the teams are made up of two skiers who trade skiing laps of the course until three laps have been competed. There is only a semi and a final because of the overall length of this event. Both distance skiers and sprinters come together in the Team Sprint.

– 4X5/10 km relay. The 4×5/ 10 km relay is a mass start as well, with each skier going 5/10 km before tagging their teammate. This event features a rivalry between the Italian and Norwegen men.

– The 30/50 mass start classic. The 30/50 km mass start classic is considered one of the best events. It takes place at the end of the games, and is a long and grueling event, but is often very exciting because a lot can happen through the length of the race.

FGN: How are events judged?
RB: All events are solely based on time. Obviously, there are rules as to what technique you can use and such, but it is purely who is the fastest skier.

FGN: Who are the American women to watch?
RB: Kikkan Randall.  She is the star sprinter of the women’s team. She was the first American women to win a world cup and to win a medal at world championships — both in the sprint event.

FGN What is the least known fact about Cross Country skiers?
RB: Cross country skiing athletes are truly remarkable. They are without a doubt the most fit athletes in the world. The top level skiers train 750-1000 hours a year. These are hours spent constantly in motion. Unlike soccer practice where time is spent learning plays, moves, and drills, every single one of these hours is spent creating a higher oxygen capacity and getting stronger. All courses are made off big climbs and fast downhills. Skiers can reach speeds of 30 mph which is remarkable because cross country skis do not have edges. Balance and coordination play a key role in being successful.

Rosie Brennan of Dartmouth in a cross country ski race