Darts authority bars trans females from women’s events as Noa-Lynn van Leuven responds
"I just got an email and apparently I just got retired, not by choice but because I am no longer allowed to compete," Van Leuven said in a video posted on Instagram
By Callum Wells
The Darts Regulation Authority has announced an immediate ban on transgender women competing in women’s events.
Running since 2025, that review covered competitions linked to the Professional Darts Corporation and resulted in a change to eligibility rules. Under the updated policy, “only biological females should be eligible to compete in women’s tournaments regulated by DRA Rules”, while open events remain available to all players.
The change affects Noa-Lynn van Leuven, who made history in 2024 as the first transgender woman to compete at the PDC World Championship. She will still be able to enter open competitions but is no longer eligible for the women’s series.
“Everyday it is getting harder for trans people to exist, to compete” – Noa-Lynn van Leuven on the ruling
“I just got an email and apparently I just got retired, not by choice but because I am no longer allowed to compete,” Van Leuven said in a video posted on Instagram.
“The DRA just decided that trans women are no longer allowed in women’s events which basically means I am out.
“Everyday it is getting harder for trans people to exist, to compete. If you think this stops with me, it doesn’t. We just want to be.”
The policy brings the DRA in line with the World Darts Federation
In outlining the change, the DRA said it had taken legal advice and considered recent developments in UK law, including a ruling by the UK Supreme Court on the legal definition of sex. It also commissioned research from Dr Emma Hilton, which concluded that small physical differences between male and female players could combine to create an advantage in darts.
The governing body said it “seeks to be inclusive” and encouraged “all players – irrespective of their biological sex, legal sex, and/or gender identity” to continue competing in open tournaments.
The policy brings the DRA in line with the World Darts Federation, which introduced a similar ban on transgender women in its women’s events last year.