Jenna Weiner started playing ultimate in 2011 as an undergraduate at Cal. She loved chasing down discs on long throws and the beauty and simplicity of seeing them in flight. So in ’16, when she started a graduate program in communication studies at the University of Nevada, Reno, it made sense that the sport she loved would help her find community in a new city.
Weiner, 28, had started her gender transition shortly before beginning graduate school that fall, and USA Ultimate had put a new transgender-inclusion policy in place over the summer. She continued playing men’s ultimate that fall, but decided to return for the spring semester and be completely out as Jenna. It was her first time trying to play collegiate women’s club ultimate.
To find out whether she was eligible, Weiner contacted USAU. She had already been on hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) for six months. “I was like, ‘Hey, what do I do? Can I play on this women’s college team? Or do I have to go through this year of testosterone [suppression]? Can I practice with the team if I don’t play tournaments?’”
