289 Sex and Gender in Sport: Fallacy of the |[ldquo]|Level Playing Field|[rdquo]|

There is controversy regarding participation in high profile competitive events by female athletes perceived as inappropriately “masculine” by competitors and others. Over 50 years, international sports bodies such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) employed - and ultimately discarded - various procedures to ensure feminiity. Though ostensibly to detect male imposters, in practice these identified women with genetic Disorders of Sex Development (DSD), such as androgen insensitivity syndrome, complete or partial; 5 alpha-reductase deficiency; mixed gonadal dysgenesis. Further, increased participation in women's sport has vastly enlarged the competitive field and the probability of athletes with a DSD competing.