Female pool player Lynne Pinches refuses to play transgender opponent and walks off at start of match

[IwantToRetire]

A pool player has forfeited her chance to win a top national title in protest at the sport allowing a transgender woman to compete against natal females.

Lynne Pinches packed up her cue and walked off as the final of the Ladies Champions of Champions got under way over the weekend.

Spectators clapped and cheered Pinches’ protest while her opponent, Harriet Haynes, appeared bemused before later picking up the trophy by default.
Pinches had been among a host of top female players to speak out in recent days over transgender women being allowed to compete against them in elite competitions.

More Female pool player Lynne Pinches refuses to play transgender opponent and walks off at start of match (yahoo.com)

Are we really supposed to believe that he can't play on the men's team because it would trigger his dysphoria? I bet he plays against other blokes every day of the week.

It's almost like he has just found an easy way to cheat.

It gets worse the more you look into it. Poor pool playing women 😢

Read this article bearing in mind the truth that "Harriet" is a trans-identified male. Look at the ease of his victories against the best women players in the world. Read the sickening fawning commentary, pretending this is not an absolute outrage.

It's heartbreaking what he has stolen from such talented women, that can never be put right.

https://www.ultimatepoolgroup.com/article/hooray-harriet!-haynes-wins-maiden-women's-series-event

She's an absolute shero. Well done women's pool players for grouping together, taking action and supporting each other. Boo hiss to the professional association who decided menz feelz were more important than women's sporting excellence.

Thanks Zelda - that is enraging.

Yes, this is what I observe, too.

Thank you Lynne.

Pool and also snooker need to sort this out. They are games where women really struggle to advance at, firstly, they are niche, then you pretty much need to be training 8 hours a day and there is no funding / women often have other responsibilities, it's also a historically male environment.

Absolutely pool deserves a sexed category, but it must actually mean sex to be fair to those it was intended to serve.

Lynne ❤to you. you might not have won a trophy but you have won huge respect and admiration from many people for your action. Thankyou for taking a stand against something that we all know is terribly wrong.

This has been picked up by the press, it’s in today’s Times.

Well done to her.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2023/11/14/lynne-pinches-harriet-haynes-transgender-pool-player/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-12751469/Pool-player-Lynne-Pinches-son-hail-champ-face-transgender-opponent.html

I don’t have enough words to say how much I admire Lynne for what she did.

I have plenty left in the tank to describe what I feel about males who feel the need to cheat in plain sight.

‘Double H’ indeed.

Says everything. That and having the brass neck to actually pick up the trophy.

Only a man would think that was an okay thing to do.

A sorry tale.

I wouldn't pretend to care about competitive pool but one of my pet hates is the old TRA fallback argument [alongside all the others] that, <<with all that's going on this world, is this really a battle we should be fighting.... no, so my side's demands must be accepted in their entirety, without exception>>.

But all that needs to be said can be summarised by quotes from two of the articles linked above.

Ultimate pool's website: "Haynes can lay claim to being the best women’s player on the planet right now".

Comment on social media from someone who appears to know what they're talking about: "What I do know is that Harriet Haynes was a bang average county 'b' player before transition"

It's not just the physical differences in sport like this. Last night Beau Greaves, the women's world darts champion, lost very, very narrowly in the final pool stage round of the (open to both sexes) Grand Slam. She was really good but in the end it came down to the final darts, under huge pressure. Most (any?) male player, even much lower ranked, will have had way more experience of playing competitively in front of crowds, big and small, as well as the hours of practice beforehand. That has to be a major advantage, surely?

Yes, excellent point.

It's a great question to ask people - "so why are there no women winning against men in snooker / darts / chess etc?" They either have to answer with a very sexist "men are better" or acknowledge that women face physical or social barriers in some sports, even if not immediately obvious.

Which then helps people to see how unfair it is to allow transwomen to compete against women.

All that's true, but I think another factor, especially in sports like cue sports, where the physical advantages are there, but not so massive, is simple participation. If as many girls as boys played pool from an early age, it would improve the level of women players generally. Of course you could say that about many activities.

Here you go

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/8247c232-8328-11ee-8006-26a8adc181a5?shareToken=61d3e928bb39d6e7c2d6a63e1c610486

Thanks for the share link 👍

I wish the times had put a picture of Lynne at the top of the article and the picture of the trophy-taker farther down in the piece; Lynne’s been so brave and deserves recognition for that bravery.

Having skimmed through some of the comments on the times piece I just linked to, the Times-reading demographic (prob typically middle class centre right?) are solidly on Lynnes side too.

That's what I think too.

He's probably loving the attention. Whilst crying transphobia at the same time.

Why did he do a gun to the head motion do you think? Strange reaction…

I think there are definitely differences in cueing power, spacial awareness, arm span and they've been discussed on a snooker thread a while ago.

Personally I don't think this is a socialisation/temperament thing as snooker for example has always been non gendered. You'd have thought in all this time, at least one powerhouse, ultra competitive woman would be making major wins in major tournaments.

The evidence we have shows the contrary. Men dominate pool and snooker overwhelmingly, it makes no sense for any man to dominate in women's pool / snooker.

"Did he walk round the table and make the sign of a gun to the head? It was it the twirly fingers like someone mental?"

The latter, I think. Cos he believes "bitches be crazy".

Another day another way to say 'women just need to try harder'.

It is easy to say that Harriet Haynes’ success is down to her being transgender. It is more difficult to accept that Harriet Haynes’ success is actually down to her having a table installed in her house, playing constantly throughout COVID, playing every night and over 20 hours a week, playing competitive snooker, travelling the country to play against better people, having professional coaching and just dedicating herself to her hobby that she loves to play.
This is not a point about gender, it is a point about devotion to one’s craft.

Where is that from Circles?

This Daily mail article. You have to keep scrolling.

www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-12753133/amp/Transgender-pool-champion-Harriet-Haynes-says-bigotry-alive-speaks-time-Lynne-Pinches-walk-protest-against-cites-law-states-right-play.html