Which sporting events transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in has long been a subject of debate. What conditions are appropriate, and where should a line be drawn?
Such questions were hotly debated during the World Darts Championship, where Dutch player Noa-Lynn van Leeuwen is set to become the first trans woman to take to the world’s biggest darts stage at Alexandra Palace in north London. Associate Parish.
The transformation will be completed in 2022
On his way to the world’s most prestigious darts tournament, the 28-year-old player faced many obstacles and sometimes massive resistance, in addition to a lot of support and enthusiasm.
Van Leeuwen was born a man. She first described herself as transgender at the age of 16 and began the process of transitioning from male to female, which she completed in 2022. She has been competing in international darts tournaments since 2021.
She punched her ticket to the World Championships thanks to a strong performance in the women’s series and it is this that is now causing criticism, some of which has taken the form of abuse on social media. Even death threats have been made.
‘Is anyone watching me?’
“Somebody wrote to me: If you follow my girl into the ladies’ room, I’ll kill you,” Van Leeuwen told Sport1 podcast “Checkout.”
“Messages like this made me ask myself that day at the airport: OK, is maybe someone watching me? Could this person be somewhere nearby? It’s terrifying.”
This doesn’t stop Van Leeuwen, but it bothers him.
“I’ve had panic attacks and my depression has gotten worse – it’s all because of social media, and it’s so wrong,” she told Focus.day.
“Of course, sometimes I think: Well, is it all worth it? Especially after my teammates with Drew from the Dutch team, I got a lot of hate messages on social media.”
Criticism and boycott from competitors
In fact, two teammates, Anka Zijlstra and Eileen de Graaf, resigned from the Dutch national team in protest.
“I respect their stance of not playing on a team with a trans woman,” Van Leeuwen said. “But the issue became so big that the media made it even bigger.”
Other competitors also felt that Van Leeuwen’s participation took away their chance to compete at the World Championships.
Det Hedman, who has competed at the World Championship in the past, refused to face Van Leeuwen in a match.
“People can be whatever they want in life, but I don’t think biologically born men should be able to compete in women’s sports,” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
biological argument
The English woman explained her boycott to DW in detail.
“There’s no problem with Noah playing at Ally Pally, Noah had a great performance winning the Challenge Tour at the start of the season and he’s an amazing player,” he said.
“My only problem is that Noa qualified through the Ladies Series, and I believe that transitioned players should not be allowed in the women’s division of our game.”
Hedman justifies his stance with biological arguments.
“There have been studies on skeletal differences that point to an advantage for male-born athletes,” he said.
“Also, men have a larger heart and lungs, which helps re-oxygenate blood cells which helps them recover from fatigue faster than women!”
Stamina plays an important role in major tournaments, as players sometimes spend up to 10 hours at the venue.
According to Hedman, however, the most serious complaints are those that only people born biologically female suffer from.
“Now imagine being on your menstrual cycle or suffering from the only symptoms of women’s peri menopause, menopause, fibroids, endometriosis etc which are accompanied by headaches, brain fog, irritability, stomach cramps, excessive sweating etc,” He said.
“It affects your standard in a perfect sport and a transgender would never suffer from any of this.”
PDC supports participation of world champion Van Leeuwen
The Professional Darts Confederation (PDC), organizer of the World Championship, does not take such considerations into account. According to PDC guidelines, Van Leeuwen’s participation is fine, as his transition was completed in 2022.
PDC CEO Matt Porter said, “The dirt that has been thrown at Noa-Lynn is completely unacceptable, as Van Leeuwen was increasingly becoming the target of public hatred.” He said the PDC had a duty to ensure “that he is mentally well.”
Several male colleagues have also expressed support for Van Leeuwen.
“She can play darts very well. Let her play!” said Dutch former world champion Michael van Gerwen.
Reigning world champion Luke Humphries told English daily The Independent, “She’s in the competition. She hasn’t broken any rules. She’s doing what she’s allowed to do.”
“It would be nice if people let him go ahead and play. But yes, I wish him all the best. Hopefully he gets wins and it’s good for him.”
For all the abuse directed at Van Leeuwen, his participation amounts to a windfall for the World Darts Championship. Her becoming the first trans woman in Ely Pally brings additional attention to an event that is already booming. Just like the debut of then 16-year-old teenager Luke Littler last year or Fallon Sherrock’s first win by a woman in 2019.
This article was originally published in German.
