A British female darts player forfeited a quarterfinals tournament match after being slated to face a biological male.
Deta Hedman refused to continue playing in the Denmark Open over the weekend after she advanced to the quarterfinals, where she was pitted against Noa-Lynn van Leuven, a biological man who identifies as a woman. Hedman later denied rumors that she backed out of the competition because of illness.
“No fake illness I said I wouldn’t play a man in a ladies event,” Hedman posted on X, according to Fox News. “This subject causing much angst in the sport I love. People can be whoever they want in life but I don’t think biological born men should compete in Women’s sport.”
The British darts player declined to take any compensation over her decision to forfeit the tournament.
The World Darts Federation (WDF), which organized the Denmark Open, allows biological men to compete in women’s competitions if they “submit documentation from a medical practitioner that gender reassignment has been ongoing for at least one year,” according to WDF guidelines.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which sets the rules followed by the Darts Regulation Authority, sets the testosterone level of a transgender competitor wishing to compete against women at 10 nanomoles per liter for at least 12 months. The IOC also states that one cannot have changed his gender identity for at least four years prior.
Van Leuven, 27, began identifying as a woman at the age of 16. The Dutch darts player’s inclusion in women’s competition has roiled players and fans. Two of van Leuven’s fellow Dutch players quit the national team in protest in March after van Leuven won two titles, one against men and another against women, within one week.
Biological men participating in women’s competitions have upended multiple sports. Some of the most heated reactions have stemmed from incidents in which female athletes have been injured by transgender players.
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Earlier this year, the high school girls’ basketball team for Collegiate Charter School of Lowell in Massachusetts forfeited a game at halftime after a number of its players were reportedly injured by a biological male playing on the other team for KIPP Academy.
Collegiate said in a statement about the forfeit that its girls “feared getting injured and not being able to compete in the playoffs.” The school went on to reiterate “its values of both inclusivity and safety for all students.”