Transwomen in Professional Darts

Nice!

And when playing as part of a national team, if he qualified, is he expecting to share sleeping quarters with a proper female? If so, that idea needs knocking on the head!

This is happening this afternoon. https://www.skysports.com/darts/news/12288/12924406/womens-world-matchplay-noa-lynn-van-leuven-set-to-be-first-trans-woman-to-play-in-a-tv-darts-tournament

Which is why Andy Murray would be good at darts. Mens darts,since he benefited from male puberty and a male body.

Exactly.
There are reasons why trans people shouldn't be competing in sports as opposite sexes, but we shouldn't let these get mixed up with gender essentialism.

Because it’s harder for women to get into darts. Historically women did not go to pubs to play darts. My grandmother use to play darts at club level and neighbours, men, other women, her family were openly hostile to her. We have years to catch up.

Maybe they should set the bulls eye according to the height of the thrower. It wouldn't be hard would it.

Yes that sounds like a slippery slope.

Males generally have a significantly longer arm reach/wingspan. Surely they would then be releasing the dart inches closer to the board than females if starting from the same line?

I'm sure it is. Nevertheless, I still think "if as many girls as boys played snooker" is a factor too. Look at women's football; I remember, years ago, it was rubbish! The goalies couldn't save a thing. But now, with more women and girl taking up the game, standards have improved massively. True for all sports. And more women and girls taking up sport in general seems to me a win/win.

Size is definitely a factor in snooker. The average woman simply can't reach some shots the average man can.

Much like cue sports like pool and snooker. The best women players are good, but nowhere near the level of the top male players.

I don't know why men in general outplay women at darts - though the Guardian journalist assures us that "all you really need is a functioning arm and decent eyesight" - but it seems clear that Noa-Lynn wouldn't be in a televised tournament outside of the women's competition.

It seems that you don’t quite understand how biomechanics in the human body work. It is always interesting to see how the different type of muscles and bones can all work to produce a throw that is faster and more stable and more likely to remain on target.

To you, it seems irrelevant, but biomechanics play a huge role in target accuracy of a projectile launched and fully powered by a human. Even a 22 g one going 2.37 m.

Are women going to be allowed to take beta blockers to lower their resting heart rates and level the playing field a little to compete against this man? No, didn't think so.

"none of these are remotely an issue in a game where all you really need is a functioning arm and decent eyesight."

Oh yea? So men are just that much better at it anyway, right? That is why there's really only one woman regularly beating men?

It's not just about physical strength, it's also about height and limb length. It's more difficult to throw accurately if your eyeline is below the level of the board, and if you've got shorter arms then any slight imperfection in the angle of your aim is going to have more of an impact, as the dart is going to have to travel further after leaving your hand. Also if you're able to throw harder, then the momentum of the dart is going to be less counteracted by gravity. Yes they are finer margins than in other sports, but they are still there.

I don't care what the sport or activity, if it's single sex, that is exactly what it should be.
Then there would be no question over whether it is affected by male, anatomy or physiological advantage.

If these fuckers could succeed in men’s sports with the rewards of bigger prize money would they still be so eager to compete against women?
You already know the answer.

Well that's bollocks as well !

The BDO used to run a woman's world championship alongside the men's since way back in the late 70's . Maureen Flowers was the best of them then

Have you read The Gendered Brain by Gina Rippon? It is far from settled as "fact" that men and women have inherently different brains, in fact her research suggests quite the opposite.

This doesn't mean that I think men should ever be allowed into women's competitions.

Darts is still stuck in the dark ages. Often women can only play on certain days - matches are not mixed.

Women don’t get enough changes to play and now they have to deal with a man taking a space that should rightly be given to a woman.

I would have thought that as darts is traditionally a male dominated sport, played in pubs, it's a lot harder for younger women to get the hours of practice in that young men get.
In addition to the physical differences mentioned up thread there is also a social handicap on women progressing.

This person had the benefit of training as a man and now decides to enter the women's competition, when this person's competitors have not had the social training advantage for their entire lives up until this point