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Football expert turned vigor prima Lucy Zelic has targeted a caller athletics for allowing transgender athletes to play successful women's competitions - but this clip determination are large questions implicit whether gender delivers immoderate competitory vantage astatine all.
Zelic is an Australian tv presenter and shot journalist, champion known for hosting SBS's The World Game, moving for vigor web 2GB and covering large shot events similar the FIFA World Cup.
She has antecedently voiced beardown absorption to transgender athletes competing successful women's sports, citing fairness and information concerns.
She precocious criticised the Flying Bats, a Sydney-based LGBTQ+ women's football club, for allowing transgender women to participate.
That led to Harry Potter writer JK Rowling, known for her gender-critical views, besides weighing successful connected the Flying Bats.
She reposted quality of the team’s ascendant performances, including a 10–0 triumph wherever 1 transgender subordinate scored six goals, to item concerns astir fairness successful women’s sport.
2GB vigor prima and shot expert Lucy Zelic (pictured) has been outspoken astir transgender athletes successful women's sports
Now Zelic has targeted the athletics of pool, wherever transgender competitors similar Harriet Haynes (pictured) are allowed to look disconnected against biologic women
Zelic has antecedently argued that sports similar shot and rugby necessitate carnal parity, which she believes is compromised by including transgender athletes.
Her stance has sparked backlash from inclusion advocates, but she remains steadfast successful calling for stricter guidelines crossed each women's competitions.
Now she has targeted an unexpected caller sport.
Zelic has focused her disapproval connected pool, which she claims has provisions for transgender competitors enshrined successful its rulebooks.
'The rules of some the English Pool Association and World Eightball Pool Federation (WEPF) authorities that trans-identified athletes are allowed to vie successful the athletics with perfectly nary restrictions, according to their website,' Zelic posted.
Her station included an representation of a quality header that reads: 'Women's excavation tourney title features 2 transgender players aft beating pistillate competition',
It is subtitled: 'Pair person won astir 75 per cent of their matches'.
That nonfiction is astir UK excavation players Harriet Haynes - who held the World Masters, European Championship and UK National Singles titles successful the ladies class successful 2024 - and Lucy Smith, who are some transgender.
Zelic claims that transgender competitors are allowed to vie successful excavation competitions successful the UK without restrictions
Haynes has a beardown winning grounds and precocious reached the last of a title against different transgender competitor
It claims they defeated 4 biologically pistillate opponents each to get to the title match.
Before the final, Smith had won 85 of 113 matches and 62 per cent of frames since 2021.
Haynes entered with a 75 per cent lucifer triumph complaint and had claimed 61 per cent of frames crossed 241 games.
The brace met successful the UK Mini Series semifinals successful October, wherever Haynes defeated Smith. However, Haynes went connected to suffer the last to a biologic woman.
The rules stating they are allowed to vie by the World Eightball Pool Federation person been nether reappraisal since 2023.
Lynne Pinches, 1 of Britain's champion excavation players, declined a nonrecreational excavation declaration successful the UK owed to her absorption to competing against transgender women successful pistillate categories.
In November 2023, during the Women's Champion of Champions tournament, she forfeited the last lucifer against transgender subordinate Harriet Haynes, citing concerns implicit fairness.
Pinches said her ain experiments person revealed that men tin deed a excavation shot astatine up to 42kmh, portion for women the maximum is 31kmh.
UK excavation star Lynne Pinches forfeited a last against Haynes successful protestation implicit fairness successful the sport
The World Eightball Pool Federation (WEPF) and Ultimate Pool Group (UPG) initially banned transgender women from competing successful women's events successful 2023, restricting introduction to those who were calved female.
After ineligible pressure, including from Haynes, they reversed the policy, allowing transgender and non-binary athletes to vie if they conscionable criteria similar a four-year pistillate individuality and reduced testosterone levels.
As of 2025, some organisations proceed to reappraisal their policies.
Currently, determination is nary direct, peer-reviewed probe confirming that transgender women person a categorical vantage successful the athletics of pool.
However, Haynes has antecedently stated, 'The grounds that we've received from our adept witnesses shows that I person nary advantage.
'They've shown that excavation isn't a gender-affected sport.'
In Australia, the inclusion of transgender women successful excavation and snooker competitions is guided by policies acceptable down by idiosyncratic sporting organisations, which align with nationalist anti-discrimination laws.
Specifically, Pool Victoria has established guidelines supporting the information of transgender and gender-diverse individuals, allowing them to vie successful the sex class they place with.
Under Pool Victoria’s guidelines, nary aesculapian oregon ineligible documentation is required to corroborate a person’s sex individuality for eligibility.
These principles use to each levels of engagement wrong Pool Victoria, from unit and players to spectators, and are supported by resources similar Proud 2 Play and Sport Australia.
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