The transgender champion of Darts Noa-Lynn Van Leuven is talking after the International Sports Government body launched a new gender eligibility policy that prohibits trans women from female competitions.
“It is a loss for the trans community in sports. And that breaks my heart,” Van Leuven wrote on Instagram on Thursday. “As a trans person in the world of darts, I know how vital it is inclusion, not only on paper, but in practice. It is discouraging to see another policy framed around the ‘equity’ that finally results in exclusion, without really considering the people behind the labels.”
The World Darts federation launched its new gender eligibility policy on Monday. The change of rules, which is immediately effective, states that entry and participation in the tournaments and classification cups of women and girls of the Federation will only be open to players who were “female recorded at birth.” According to this policy, trans women are not eligible, and trans men are eligible whenever they do not undergo hormonal treatment. All trans women and trans men are eligible to compete in the open category.
Van Leuven, a Dutch Dart star who has won several female titles in sport, will be prohibited from WDF’s female tournaments under the new guidelines.
In a statement announcing the change, the Federation said that the decision followed a vote at the General Meeting of WDF in September, where most of its members, which consist of national dart organizations, voted in favor of limiting participation in women’s participation of women and girls to women assigned to birth.
“We understand that these changes can be challenging for people who want to compete in darts in the genre to which they are now registered.
The participation of trans women in women’s sports has been a problem of calm hundred for several years, but reached a crescendo in February, when President Donald Trump signed an executive order that prohibits transgender women and girls from competing in women’s sports. The order said that allowing women to compete in sports competitions that align with their gender identity “is degrading, unfair and dangerous for women and girls, and denies women and girls equal opportunities to participate and excel in competitive sports.”
From the TRump Trans Sports Order, a long list of national and international sports organizations has banned or restricted the participation of trans women in women’s sports, including the Olympic and Paralympic Committee of the United States, the World Athletics Council and the National Association of Collegiate Athletics.
