1 week Ago By [email protected] (James Pallant)
A transgender pool champion is suing one of the sport’s governing bodies over its decision to ban male-born players from women-only events. Harriet Haynes, who lives in Faversham, has taken legal action against the English Blackball Pool Federation (EBPF), which has excluded transgender women from its ladies’ tour and county tournaments. The landmark case centres on the impact of the federation’s decision in August 2023 to change its eligibility criteria so that only female-born individuals could play in its women’s competitions.
The rule change meant Ms Haynes, who first competed in an EBPF event as a woman in 2015, has been unable to play for the Kent’s ladies’ team - a move she says has caused her a “loss of opportunity” and “injured feelings”. The 35-year-old says the ruling amounts to discrimination and is seeking damages from the EBPF, with the case opening yesterday at Canterbury County Court. She arrived at the courthouse amid a media storm following her appearance on Sunday night in the final of a Women’s Pro Series event - a competition run by a different governing body - in which she defeated another transgender player.
The match-up caused a stir among those critical of transgender women competing in female sports, with TV presenter Piers Morgan branding the situation “preposterous” and “cheating bulls***”. But Ms Haynes, who has won world and European titles as a woman, argues pool players who have gone through male puberty have no advantage over female-born competitors in a sport that relies mostly on accuracy and precision. She said her success in pool is down to the efforts she has put in, with coaching also helping her to progess.
Her counsel, Robin White, told the court that the extent to which sports are gender-affected is on a sliding scale. “It would be easy to make the case that tennis is gender-affected, given that men are able to serve so much faster than women,” she said. “On the other end of the spectrum is chess.
I’m prepared to accept that pool is close to the boundary.” Citing the Equality Act 2010, Ms White continued: “A ‘gender-affected activity,’ is a sport, game, or other competitive activity where the physical strength, stamina, or physique of average persons of one sex would put them at a disadvantage compared to average persons of the other sex.” Ms White sought to question to what extent a man’s physicality is a meaningful advantage in an activity primarily reliant upon accuracy and judgement, such as putting on a golf green.
The EBPF argues that transgender women have, on average, a higher break speed than players assigned female at birth. It also claims that male-born players benefit from greater hand span, stronger fingers, and longer limbs, making it easier for them to play particular shots. Ms Haynes has submitted expert evidence to support her case, with an American professor arguing that as long as a player can break above a certain speed – something achievable to both sexes – there is no inherent advantage gained by a higher cue velocity.
Representing the EBPF, Sarah Crowther KC argued that physical strength, stamina or physique does cause a disadvantage for biological women when playing against biological men. She said in order for sports to be fair, every competitor must have a fair chance of success. “Therefore, it is commonplace for competitors to be categorised.
All categories are trying to do the same thing - to group competitors by their bodily characteristics,” said Ms Crowther. “The reality is that all sports are predominately male sports and there are very few where it can be said there is no sex-based advantage. Women have to fight to seek inclusion.
"If girls and women do not have their own teams, they will lack the development pathway into sports and will give up. “All cue sports have protected women’s categories because the physique of male players means that male players have an advantage over female players.” The EBPF previously had a Ladies’ Tour and a Men’s Tour, but following the rule change in 2023 the latter became the Open Tour, which both men and women are eligible to play in.
During cross-examination, Ms Crowther challenged Ms Haynes’ assertion in her witness statement that her hobby and passion had been taken from her. She pointed to the fact Ms Haynes is still able to play in various events, including on the Open Tour and in competitions run by other organisers with different eligibility criteria. The EBPF’s position differs from two other pool organisations, the Ultimate Pool Group, which organises tournaments for eightball professionals like Ms Haynes, and the World Eightball Pool Federation, which oversees international tournaments.
These groups also tried to ban transgender women from playing in ladies’ competitions, making their announcements shortly before the EBPF. However, both reversed their decisions some weeks later. The u-turn sparked a backlash, with one woman controversially refusing to play Ms Haynes in the final of the Women’s Champions of Champions in protest, handing her victory by default.
The case continues today..
