Elite sports people speaking up!

[Signalbox]

There seems to be an increasing number of sports people speaking up about the problem of males completing in women's sports which is positive. Thought it might be useful to have a thread of those who are risking sticking their heads above the parapet. Obviously the likes of Sharon Davies, Mara Yamauchi and Martina Navratilova have been bravely doing this for sometime but now we appear to have a few current athletes as well who are prepared to risk the mob to ensure women have fair competition. Is it too much to hope for that there will be a snowball effect?

I read that bit @Signalbox I agree, but they should have been prepared for it. Instead they, gutlessly, let their female players down. I suspect a Stonewalled legal expert 🙄advised them. This seems a clear EA exception. The pool bods are at least, iirc, insisting on a reduction in testosterone for male players. For what that's worth.

Yes it would be great to see a sporting body face this legal challenge head on. It's weird isn't it because you's think they'd equally be at risk from a legal challenge from women. It's about time the idea that men have a right to compete in women's sporting events was trashed. I mean it's in the actual GRA legislation that sports are permitted to remain man free if it's for fairness or safety reasons.

Women don't have a Stonewall or any of the other numerous organisations grifting on GI. Or we did but they were captured, capitulated or are too small to be listened to. Our culture has perfected not listening to women, it's had thousands of years to practice after all.

Surprised at this. I'm a fan, and follow pool closely, but missed this story. They've only recently set up this Ultimate Pool franchise with a full women's tour, and I can't imagine many of the women going along with this. The set-up always was, women could play in the 'men's' event, if they qualified in the usual way, but there were separate women's comps.

Footage of Lynne Pincher apparently walking away from a match. Bloody brave if true.

https://twitter.com/DiegoFuego71/status/1723832555898597687/mediaViewer?currentTweet=1723832555898597687&currentTweetUser=DiegoFuego71

I wonder how it will go for her? She had a lot of support from the crowd, will that influence the organisers? I hope so.

They've uploaded the match if anyone wants to watch it.

https://www.youtube.com/live/RhNboOMjxZo?si=cVZ9LBL6hcIdUl3N

Note that Lynne walks away from the match but shakes his hand first. Her opponent makes a 🙄👈 gesture to the crowd. What a good sport!

Bit mystified by that. Seemed like Lynne decided at the last minute not to play any more, and her opponent, Harriet, knew nothing about wtf was going on.

Or she knew how to make the statement really clear? I was confused at first but then I realised there was a strategy here.

Does anyone know Is it Lynne Pinches? The Mail had her name as Pincher.

Sorry ignore I can see it says Pinches in the footage. Must’ve been a mis spelling in the mail.

Just had a poke around Facebook and Lynne added a suffragette flag to her profile back in October.

I absolutely adore her, she’s a life long player who forfeited the biggest game of her life to make a stand against biological males competing in the women’s category.

(predictably random men are calling her a bully online, just as random online men usually post stuff like ‘if women don’t like it they should just refuse to compete!’)

She’s a mum and a grandma too, I wonder if she’s a mumsnetter?

There is a third video view here (different to the X video and the table view on YouTube) and I just love how calm and polite she is as she goes about it:

https://www.facebook.com/1126239811/posts/10222181542183959/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

Lynne’s brother owns a Snooker/Pool club in Norwich, which seems like a handy address for sending a Thank You card:

https://www.pinchescueclub.co.uk/

Great idea.

Women like Sharron Davies says that hearing from other women how grateful they are, really helps to maintain her resolve.

And on that note, I shall be buying Sharron's book too. She lost her income virtually overnight.

The misogyny of some of these men fairly drips off them. People like Peter Tatchell and his short male football player, has no concept of his own misogyny.

People come to watch women in sport to see supreme female athletes. To admire their prowess and superb physical standards.

Not watch crappy, mediocre mean who can't cut it in the male division, ffs.

Lynne’s opponent, Harry Haynes, plays for the England’s Women’s team and has been since 2019.

FFS.

https://www.epa.org.uk/england/Ladies/HarrietHaynes.php#

I was unclear which individual Lynne was/is objecting to? But according to the comments on the YT kink, is was indeed Harriet Haynes. Well I've been watching pool for years, and had no idea Harriet Haynes was a TW, and it's certainly never been mentioned in commentary or anything like that. And I certainly wouldn't say she's head and shoulders' above other women players; I've seen her play against Emma Cunningham and Amy Beauchamp and the like plenty of times. I watch the pool every Monday night (including last night) and actually they were just promoting a mixed doubles comp which is going to start next week. Really think they (Ultimate Pool) have shot themselves in the foot with this. Will the other women players support her, I guess that's the question. But it seems that the other players have generally accepted HH for some time now, without any outward sign of rancour.

it's certainly never been mentioned in commentary or anything like that

It never is.

But it seems that the other players have generally accepted HH for some time now, without any outward sign of rancour.

Because speaking out causes women to receive sanctions, lose team places, lose funding, lose sponsors and get piled on by TRAs.

Well, yes, quite. But I had no idea this all-too-familiar scenario applied in pool, too.

I feel like I've been exposed with a lack of knowledge of my own specialist subject! 😁

Duc these are from the comments section on Lynne’s brother’s FB post

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02eaYMqnAh8tPZ3ehcP45LCU824RRW3YGdHeytLjpyP3Z7yTGksj7SQm9f4opiiJn7l&id=1126239811

Hayne’s list of ‘achievements’ (if you ignore the male-in-female-category) looks impressive (but I don’t know anything about pool competitions so I don’t know how prestigious/competitive these titles really are):

https://www.epa.org.uk/england/Ladies/HarrietHaynes.php#gsc.tab=0

There must be dozens of sports where this is happening and nobody can talk about it.

Hopefully the tide is turning.

I guess HH is the top womens player, but I never regarded her as 'head and shoulders above' the rest. Every day's a school day.

As it goes, I've actually got tickets for an Ultimate Pool event next month, and have to journey to the wilds of Essex.

Good for her.

Fuck this shit.

If you're reading this thread, Lynne Pinches, bloody good for you! I hope some of your colleagues back you, you brave woman!

I wish you the best and am rooting for you to win.

I noticed that there is a women’s event in Blackpool in a few days time:

https://www.ultimatepoolgroup.com/tournaments/women's-series-2023