East Carolina University is now the only public university in North Carolina with a transgender policy in place for their club sports and intramural programs.

With 39 clubs and over 1,200 athletes — ECU Club Sports is a growing program at the university.

With a new policy in place, transgender students are able to participate with the gender they identify with.

The Club Sports program, along with the LGBT resource office, came together to create the policy that’s the first of it’s kind at a public university in North Carolina.

Rugby, soccer and lacrosse are just a couple of club sports at ECU with both men and women’s teams.

Justin Waters, assistant director of Club Sports, says it’s been about a year in the making. Waters says, “Our goal of this policy was to be proactive and to educate and let everyone know at East Carolina that in club sports and intramural sports that we are an inclusive program and we offer inclusive programs and services and facilities for our students.”

Waters says when competing against other schools at the conference level, transgender students will have to follow that particular university’s policy, and vice versa.

If the university does not have one, those players will not be able to participate.