Sailing’s governing body the Royal Yachting Association has amended its policies to comply with the Equality Act 2010… we think. Showing a compete mastery of gobbledegook the @RYA policy states: “The sport of sailing can amount to gender-affected activity and that in those cases it is necessary to adopt eligibility criteria/participation restrictions, which may be a barrier to participation for some athletes, if they are necessary to secure the safety of competitors and/or fair competition”. We think that translates to: “males must not be included in female categories”. Then the RYA says: “clubs and class associations may choose to set their own eligibility criteria for their events, in accordance with the framework of the EA, applicable statutory guidance, and the interpretation provided by the courts.” We’re not quite sure what this means. Is it that clubs could run a mixed-sex competition but must be mindful of the law 🤷🏼‍♀️ We’re not impressed. Sports policies need to be easily understood by the people who deliver the sport, ie ordinary club members who don’t necessarily have a working knowledge of equality law. The sailing club volunteers who organise sailing events around the coast of Britain need to know if their event will be lawful or not, in clear, simple language. Single-sex events are lawful if it’s the class of sailing that involves brute force and a bit of heft around the beam where men would have an advantage. But if it’s the class of sailing that is more about navigational skills and brain power (e.g. long-distance racing) then a mixed-sex race is lawful. We are astonished that it’s taken 16 months for highly paid RYA staff to come up with a policy that is so confusing that most people would not be able to decipher it. Do better RYA.