Trans athlete defiant despite being targeted by protesters at major event
Noa-Lynn van Leuven insists she’s “not done yet” after the incident at the World Matchplay darts tournament in Blackpool, England. The post Trans athlete defiant despite being targeted by protesters at major event appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
Noa-Lynn van Leuven has told her fans that “the journey continues” following an intense 24 hours in professional darts.
The Dutch star was competing on Sunday in the Women’s World Matchplay, one of the most prestigious events on the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) circuit.
It was Van Leuven’s third consecutive appearance in the tournament in Blackpool, England.
However, on this occasion, she was targeted by a group of anti-trans protesters, of which two members were ejected from the Winter Gardens venue by security.
Get off the sidelines and into the game
Our weekly playbook is packed with everything from locker room chatter to pressing LGBTQ sports issues.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today
The incident occurred during the players’ walk-ons through the crowd of fans towards the stage for the quarterfinal match.
The protesters shared images and videos of their encounter with the security guards on social media, claiming that the other two members of their group were “sat down with cameras” during the walk-ons.
Photos show that some of the protesters were wearing “Save Women’s Sports” T-shirts and were displaying a banner with an anti-trans slogan.
Outsports understands second seed Van Leuven was unaware at the time that there had been protesters or that anyone had been removed from the venue.
She won 4-0 against seventh seed Lorraine Winstanley to progress to the semifinals but was defeated there 5-4 by Fallon Sherrock.
Related
No boos heard as crowd welcomes trans player Noa-Lynn van Leuven to her World Darts Championship debut
Noa-Lynn van Leuven took the lead but lost to Kevin Doets at the World Darts Championship, praising the crowd afterward.
Van Leuven hadn’t posted on her Instagram account since mid-May, having told her fans earlier in the year that she was taking “a step back” after struggling with her mental health.
That followed her history-making participation in the World Darts Championship, when she became the first trans competitor in the history of the sport’s biggest and most lucrative tournament.
She wrote on Monday: “First of all, thank you SO much for all the support, messages, and love. Honestly, you lot keep me going (even when my darts don’t)
“Was it the performance I dreamed of? Not even close. I couldn’t quite find my rhythm on stage. But considering how these past few weeks have gone, just being up there was already a win in itself.
“Sometimes showing up is the victory. Now it’s time to reset, refocus, and come back sharper. The journey continues — and I’m not done yet.”
Outsports has approached the PDC for comment about the incident in Blackpool but no response had been received at the time of publication.
World Darts Federation bans trans women from women’s competitions
In April, Van Leuven had won events 9 and 10 on the PDC Women’s Series in her home country of the Netherlands.
She has been focusing on PDC competitions since the sport’s secondary organization, the World Darts Federation, indicated last year that they were likely to ban trans women from women’s competitions.
That was confirmed on Monday in a WDF statement, in which the federation said it had consulted with “legal representatives in California” before issuing new eligibility criteria, which are effective immediately.
In the statement, the WDF said: “Transgender participation in darts is a complex, evolving subject, and our position has always been that if there was a material change in scientific studies, law, or the wishes of a majority of the WDF’s Member Countries that we would review the policy and make changes where necessary.”
That vote was held in September 2024 during the WDF’s Europe Cup tournament held in Slovakia. Outsports was informed that not all member countries were present but from those that were, 20 voted for the ban, 11 voted against, and 13 abstained.
Van Leuven reacted to the vote by saying she had been “cancelled” before going on to win the Women’s Pairs competition with compatriot Aletta Wajer, and the Women’s Team tournament with Wajer, Lerena Rietbergen and Priscilla Steenbergen.
Ten months later, the WDF says its ambition has been to “deliver on the vote in a way that ensures the sport remains accessible to all and ensures that transgender participants can enjoy playing darts without … any form of discrimination.”
However, the upshot is that all WDF tournaments for women and girls are now restricted to “participants recorded female at birth,” with trans men who have commenced hormone treatment also barred from the categories, according to the policy wording.
The WDF says its other categories will be rebranded “Open” and “Open Youth” and that trans women and girls will be respectively eligible for these tournaments.
“We understand these changes may be challenging for people who want to compete in darts in the gender which they are now registered as,” said the WDF.
The PDC has continued to insist it would remain trans inclusive for women’s tournaments.
After the UK Supreme Court ruling in May on the legal definition of words in the Equality Act, chief executive Matt Porter told Darts News that the PDC would wait for “directives passed down by law, or by regulatory bodies to sports organisations to make changes” before revisiting its existing policy.
The Women’s Series is due to resume in Milton Keynes next month, with events 17, 18, 19 and 20 to be played across the weekend of Aug. 23-24.
Subscribe to the Outsports newsletter to keep up with your favorite out athletes, inspiring LGBTQ sports stories, and more.
The post Trans athlete defiant despite being targeted by protesters at major event appeared first on Outsports.
