The Ultimate Pool Group (UPG) has announced that transgender women will no longer be permitted to compete in their female category, effective April 23, 2025. This decision follows the UK Supreme Court’s recent ruling that determined sex as binary, clarifying that a Gender Recognition Certificate does not change a person’s legal sex under the Equality Act 2010.
The announcement comes just over two weeks after a controversial women’s final at the Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan, where two transgender players, Harriet Haynes and Lucy Smith, competed against each other amid protests from female-born players who had initiated legal proceedings challenging UPG’s transgender policy.
“UPG today have amended our eligibility rules for the Women’s Series (and all women’s competitions held under UPG). With effect from 23rd April 2025, entry and participation in Ultimate Pool women’s events are open only to biologically born women,” the organization stated.
“We respect that some people within the pool community may find the changes challenging. As an organisation, we are committed to being empathetic to all members of our community and we expect all members of our community to reflect this,” the statement continued.
The decision was informed by two key developments. First, UPG commissioned an expert report investigating whether eight-ball pool qualified as a “gender-affected sport” under the Equality Act 2010. According to UPG, the report concluded that “eight-ball 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.”
Second, the Supreme Court’s April 16 ruling in “For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers” established that Gender Recognition Certificates do not alter a person’s legal sex for Equality Act purposes. UPG noted that Equality and Human Rights Commission chairwoman Baroness Kishwer Falkner confirmed this ruling means “trans women cannot take part in women’s sport” and that the EHRC would pursue organizations failing to update their policies.
UPG becomes the second professional UK pool organization to implement such a ban, following the English Blackball Pool Federation, which established similar restrictions in 2023. That policy is currently being challenged in court by Harriet Haynes, though the judgment is expected to be influenced by the recent Supreme Court ruling.
The World Eightball Pool Federation is also reportedly facing legal proceedings regarding its policies on transgender participation in women’s competitions.
Fiona McAnena, director of advocacy at Sex Matters, praised those who took action on the issue: “Yet again it was a few brave women who were forced to step up and take legal action to protect the female category for all women in sport. This should never have had to happen.”
She added, “So many governing bodies have acted inexcusably, failing to provide sport that is truly inclusive of women and girls. The only way to give women the same fair competition as men get is to exclude all males from women’s competitions, however those men identify.”
McAnena described the decision as a “tipping point,” arguing that “if cue sports like pool must exclude everyone male from women’s tournaments – and legally that is what they have to do – then every other sport that has a female category must do this too. Football, cricket, lacrosse and all the other holdouts must now take action. Sportswomen have been shamefully cheated for too long.”
