The Ultimate Pool Group (UPG) has banned transgender women from its female category, becoming the first sports body to update its policies since the UK Supreme Court’s ruling on the legal definition of a woman.
The UPG also said the change in policy was prompted by receipt of a report which confirmed pool was a gender-affected sport under the Equality Act, which therefore permits the lawful exclusion of athletes based on sex.
“Since its inception UPG has been caught in a vacuum of uncertainty surrounding the issue of eligibility to participate in its women’s series,” the announcement from UPG read.
“The clear conclusion of the biological and cue sports expert who jointly authored the report was that eightball pool was a gender-affected sport and that in cue sports female players have unique disadvantages compared to male players and that transgender women retain male advantages.
“The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) chairwoman Baroness Kishwer Falkner has confirmed that the ruling has brought clarity and that trans women cannot take part in women’s sport and that the EHRC would pursue organisations which do not update their policies.
“UPG welcomes the clarity which this judgment brings.”
UPG confirmed the Open category remained “open to all regardless of sex”, and said the rule changes had been endorsed by the international eight-ball federation.
Transgender woman Harriet Haynes is suing the English Blackball Pool Federation (EBPF) after it changed its rules to ban transgender women from its female category, while a group of female players had challenged the UPG and World Eightball Pool Federation (WEPF) rules which allowed trans gender women to compete.
Haynes and another transgender woman, Lucy Smith, contested the final of a UPG event earlier this month.
