SEX PASSPORT OBLIGATION FOR FEMALE ATHLETES - CONSIDERATION AND CRITICISMS ON 364 SUBJECTS

In Ancient Greece determination of sex was made by direct observation of the all-male athletes participating in the Olympic Games. In 1966 t he International Olympic Committee (I.O.C.) established that female at hletes must submit to a complete physical examination before each inte rnational competition. In 1968 they further established that each fema le participant be granted a ''Sex Passport'' based upon the findings o f a medical and gynaecological examination as well as chromosomal sex determination. The authors, whose department has been responsible for granting Sex Passports for more than 20 years, examined 364 female ath letes aged 16 to 29 years using I.O.C. criteria. They found three chro matin-negative cases (0.8 %). The present work indicates several scien tific shortcomings of the current I.O.C. examination criteria, illustr ates three chromatin-negative cases, their consequences and proposes a return to original criteria for examination except in doubtful cases.