Darts-Transgender players to be banned from women's events

## Summary
Advertisement Sport Darts-Transgender players to be banned from women's events 10 Apr 2026 12:52AM (Updated: 10 Apr 2026 12:59AM) Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Set CNA as your preferred source on Google Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST April 9 : Transgender players have been banned from women’s darts tournaments following a ruling by the sport’s regulatory authority that only biological females will be permitted to compete. The Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) said its new eligibility policy followed a review by Dr Emma Hilton, an academic developmental biologist who has published several papers on sex and sporting categories. "As a result of its review, the DRA is satisfied that to achieve fair competition in darts, only biological females should be eligible to compete in women’s tournaments regulated by DRA rules," the authority said in a statement. "The DRA seeks to be inclusive and all players – irrespective of their biological sex, legal sex, and/or gender identity – may compete in open tournaments and are encouraged to do so." CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less According to Hilton's report, darts is a "gender-affected sport", with "multiple, small-magnitude sex differences" accumulating to generate a male advantage over female players. Noa-Lynn van Leuven, a Dutch transgender player who has won several women's tournaments, said the ruling would force her into retirement at 29. "The DRA just decided that trans women are no longer allowed in women's events, which basically means I'm out," she said in an Instagram post. "This is another huge hit for the trans community, especially after recent decisions made by the IOC.

## Article Content
Advertisement
Sport
Darts-Transgender players to be banned from women's events
10 Apr 2026 12:52AM
(Updated: 10 Apr 2026 12:59AM)
Bookmark
Bookmark
Share
WhatsApp
Telegram
Facebook
Twitter
Email
LinkedIn
Set CNA as your preferred source on Google
Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results.
Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
April 9 : Transgender players have been banned from women’s darts tournaments following a ruling by the sport’s regulatory authority that only biological females will be permitted to compete.
The Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) said its new eligibility policy followed a review by Dr Emma Hilton, an academic developmental biologist who has published several papers on sex and sporting categories.
"As a result of its review, the DRA is satisfied that to achieve fair competition in darts, only biological females should be eligible to compete in women’s tournaments regulated by DRA rules," the authority said in a statement.
"The DRA seeks to be inclusive and all players – irrespective of their biological sex, legal sex, and/or gender identity – may compete in open tournaments and are encouraged to do so."
CNA Games
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less
According to Hilton's report, darts is a "gender-affected sport", with "multiple, small-magnitude sex differences" accumulating to generate a male advantage over female players.
The new regulations come weeks after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that only biological female athletes, whose gender has been determined by a one-time gene-screening test, will be eligible to compete in female category events at the Olympic Games.
Noa-Lynn van Leuven, a Dutch transgender player who has won several women's tournaments, said the ruling would force her into retirement at 29.
"The DRA just decided that trans women are no longer allowed in women's events, which basically means I'm out," she said in an Instagram post.
"This is another huge hit for the trans community, especially after recent decisions made by the IOC. Every day it's getting harder and harder for trans people just to exist, to compete."
Source: Reuters
Newsletter
Recommended Read
Subscribe to CNA's Recommended Read
A single handpicked story that we think you shouldn't miss. Just one a day.
Sign up for our newsletters
Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox
Subscribe here
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Download here
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app
Join here
Advertisement
Also worth reading
Content is loading...
Advertisement
Expand to read the full story
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST

---

## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- The Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) said its new eligibility policy followed a review by Dr Emma Hilton, an academic developmental biologist who has published several papers on sex and sporting categories. "As a result of its review, the DRA is satisfied that to achieve fair competition in darts, only biological females should be eligible to compete in women’s tournaments regulated by DRA rules," the authority said in a statement. "The DRA seeks to be inclusive and all players – irrespective of their biological sex, legal sex, and/or gender identity – may compete in open tournaments and are encouraged to do so." CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less According to Hilton's report, darts is a "gender-affected sport", with "multiple, small-magnitude sex differences" accumulating to generate a male advantage over female players.

### Areas for Consideration
- The Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) said its new eligibility policy followed a review by Dr Emma Hilton, an academic developmental biologist who has published several papers on sex and sporting categories. "As a result of its review, the DRA is satisfied that to achieve fair competition in darts, only biological females should be eligible to compete in women’s tournaments regulated by DRA rules," the authority said in a statement. "The DRA seeks to be inclusive and all players – irrespective of their biological sex, legal sex, and/or gender identity – may compete in open tournaments and are encouraged to do so." CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less According to Hilton's report, darts is a "gender-affected sport", with "multiple, small-magnitude sex differences" accumulating to generate a male advantage over female players.

### Implications
- Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST April 9 : Transgender players have been banned from women’s darts tournaments following a ruling by the sport’s regulatory authority that only biological females will be permitted to compete.
- The Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) said its new eligibility policy followed a review by Dr Emma Hilton, an academic developmental biologist who has published several papers on sex and sporting categories. "As a result of its review, the DRA is satisfied that to achieve fair competition in darts, only biological females should be eligible to compete in women’s tournaments regulated by DRA rules," the authority said in a statement. "The DRA seeks to be inclusive and all players – irrespective of their biological sex, legal sex, and/or gender identity – may compete in open tournaments and are encouraged to do so." CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less According to Hilton's report, darts is a "gender-affected sport", with "multiple, small-magnitude sex differences" accumulating to generate a male advantage over female players.
- The new regulations come weeks after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that only biological female athletes, whose gender has been determined by a one-time gene-screening test, will be eligible to compete in female category events at the Olympic Games.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers fast, women, darts topics. Notable strengths include discussion of fast. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 524.