The Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) has implemented an immediate ban on transgender women competing in women's tournaments under its jurisdiction, which governs the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). The decision follows a comprehensive review of the organization's Trans and Gender Diverse Policy that began in 2025.
In a statement, the DRA clarified that "only biological females should be eligible to compete in women's tournaments regulated by DRA Rules." The organization emphasized that it "seeks to be inclusive" and encourages "all players—irrespective of their biological sex, legal sex, and/or gender identity" to continue participating in open tournaments that welcome both men and women.
The ruling directly impacts Noa-Lynn van Leuven, who made history in 2024 as the first transgender woman to compete in the PDC World Championship. Van Leuven expressed her dismay in a video posted on Instagram, stating: "I just got an email and apparently I just got retired, not by choice but because I am no longer allowed to compete. The DRA just decided that trans women are no longer allowed in women's events which basically means I am out."
She added: "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 DRA based its decision on multiple factors, including legal advice and consideration of last year's UK Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the legal definition of a woman as based on biological sex. Additionally, the authority commissioned a report from Dr. Emma Hilton, an academic developmental biologist who serves on the board of trustees for the sex-based rights charity Sex Matters.
Dr. Hilton's report concluded that "multiple, small-magnitude sex differences accumulate to generate male advantage over females in darts." Sex Matters welcomed the decision, stating: "Darts is a male-dominated world, played in pubs and clubs, and the top darts players are all men. That's why women need their own tournaments. The Darts Regulation Authority followed the lead of the old, unfair IOC policy, so it's great to see this rapid return to fairness for women players."
This move aligns with similar policies adopted by other sports organizations. Last year, the World Darts Federation (WDF) also banned transgender women from its women's tournaments. More broadly, last month, International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry announced a blanket ban on transgender women, as well as athletes with differences in sex development (DSD), from Olympic women's sports, effective at the Games starting in 2028.