Phase 1: 12/03/2021 #
In the trail community, it’s common for a runner to stop in the middle of a race, without hesitation, to help a fellow runner in need… even as the race clock is ticking. This is trail culture at its best – uniquely welcoming and supportive.
We share these values and have been working hard over the past several months to ensure that UltraSignup is equally welcoming and supportive, including runners of all gender identities. To that end, we are making development changes as quickly as possible to incorporate Non-Binary options that respect and honor the identity of each runner.
In this post, we will outline the first changes to the UltraSignup platform to address Non-Binary options. These changes constitute Phase 1 of a multi-phase plan to incrementally address Non-Binary across our integrated system, from profiles to registration to timing software to race results to runner rankings.
Currently, we have added an option for users to select Non-Binary as their Gender Identity.
If a runner selects Non-Binary, the gender designation of “M” or “F” – which is usually next to the runner’s age – will simply be absent from that runner’s profile.
At this time, the system still requires a Male or Female selection for Results and Rankings, as well as many unseen functions throughout the database. We acknowledge that this is not ideal, and have renamed this field “Category for Results” so that the runner is selecting a category for this data, rather than a gender option with which they might not identify. This additional field appears only if a runner selects Non-Binary for Gender Identity.
We have also provided a link to contact UltraSignup in case a runner would like to have their entire Runner Profile hidden from the platform.
Additionally, a new Gender Identity column will be included in the Race Director’s data export for those who plan to accommodate Non-Binary as a category in their race awards or who host race results on their own websites.
For Race Directors who are interested in collecting more expanded gender options, at this time we recommend using the Custom Questions feature.
We would have preferred to roll out a fully complete Non-Binary solution, including Results and Rankings. However, given how many parts of our system are touched by the “M” and “F” designations, we had to decide whether to roll out a partial solution today or wait months until we had addressed the thousands of database fields impacted by gender. We chose the former.
In the coming months, we will keep our racers and race directors updated on the future phases of this project. We are grateful for the open dialogue with this community and, as always, welcome your constructive feedback as we work together to make UltraSignup just as welcoming and supportive as our trails.
Thank you, UltraSignup team!!
THANK YOU, Ultrasignup!! You have no idea how much relief I feel knowing that you see me. Looking forward to more races – even more so, now!!!!!
It would be great if you also added an option to recognize intersex runners. I love the work that’s being done here, but as an intersex person it’s hard to watch our community get left behind in the progress.
To be clear, intersex is not a gender. It’s how we’re classified when we’re born with traits that don’t meet the typical definition of male or female. While I identify as male, it’d be nice to have a “Male – Intersex” option to differentiate myself from cis- and trans-masculine competitors, and I know a few feminine-identifying intersex runners who would be thrilled to see “Female – Intersex” on a sign-up form. I would really love to be able to give more input around how this can be addressed as expanded options get rolled out.
Whole heartedly agree
Thank you! As a non-binary ultra runner I appreciate the effort and steps being taken to be more inclusive.
Thanks for putting in the work on this! I appreciate that you didn’t stop at “it’s too much data.” Diving in to make changes is one thing, and continuing in that effort regardless of challenges is another. I mean, we’re all on here signing up for events that will challenge us physically, emotionally, sometimes financially, and in various other ways. So in a sense that’s what you’re doing with this work – it may be challenging in all these ways but you’re taking the challenges as they come and accepting help along the way.
Gender diverse individuals often hear “it’s too hard” when we ask others to acknowledge us for who we are. So thank you for not deferring to that same response. It’s an admirable and appreciated approach.
Excellent! Long overdue, and a step in the right direction in normalizing gender-minorities.
It will be interesting to see how wee can accommodate a non-binary, or more category in timed races to treat all runners equally. We have considered the challenged in only one case to date but it did not become the issue we thought it might be in this case. Please keep me up to date.
Thank you for making this important change to the registration process – kudos to the Ultrasignup team for implementing phase I, and for recognizing the impact on an inclusive sport. Proud of you all!