Trans Darts Star Speaks Out After World Darts Federation Changes Gender Policy

Transgender darts champion Noa-Lynn van Leuven is speaking retired aft nan sport’s world governing assemblage released a caller gender-eligibility argumentation that prohibits trans women from female competitions.

“It’s a nonaccomplishment for nan trans organization successful sports. And that breaks my heart,” van Leuven wrote connected Instagram connected Thursday. “As a trans personification successful nan darts world, I cognize really captious inclusion is — not conscionable connected paper, but successful practice. It’s disheartening to spot yet different argumentation framed astir ‘fairness’ that yet results successful exclusion, without genuinely considering nan group down nan labels.”

The World Darts Federation released its new gender-eligibility policy Monday. The norm change, which is effective immediately, states that introduction and information successful nan federation’s women’s and girls ranking tournaments and cups will only beryllium unfastened to players who were “recorded female astatine birth.” Under this policy, trans women are ineligible, and trans men are eligible arsenic agelong arsenic they are not undergoing hormone treatment. All trans women and trans men are eligible to compete successful nan unfastened category.

Van Leuven, a Dutch darts prima who has won respective women’s titles successful nan sport, will beryllium banned from WDF’s female tournaments nether nan caller guidelines.

In a statement announcing nan change, nan federation said nan determination followed a ballot astatine nan WDF General Meeting successful September wherever nan mostly of its members, which dwell of nationalist darts organizing bodies, voted successful favour of limiting information successful women’s and girls tournaments to those assigned female astatine birth.

“We understand these changes whitethorn beryllium challenging for group who want to compete successful darts successful nan gender which they are now registered as. The WDF has straight contacted its Member Countries truthful arsenic they tin talk these changes pinch affected players directly,” nan WDF said successful its statement.

The information of trans women successful women’s sports has been a hot-button rumor for respective years, but it reached a crescendo successful February, erstwhile President Donald Trump signed an executive order prohibiting transgender women and girls from competing successful female sports. The bid asserted that allowing trans women to compete successful diversion competitions that align pinch their gender personality “is demeaning, unfair, and vulnerable to women and girls, and denies women and girls nan adjacent opportunity to participate and excel successful competitory sports.”

Since Trump’s trans sports order, a long database of nationalist and world sports organizations person banned aliases restricted trans women’s information successful female sports, including nan U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, World Athletics Council and National Collegiate Athletic Association.