Women's pool tournament championship features 2 transgender players after beating female competition

A women's pool tournament championship in the United Kingdom featured two transgender athletes who defeated their female competition Harriet Haynes and Lucy Smith went toe-to-toe in the Ultimate Pool Women's Pro Series Event at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan Both competitors defeated four female opponents each to get to the championship bout CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS COMEach of Haynes' matchups were rather close but Smith dominated in the early going of the bracket Smith defeated Jane Mitchell frames to in the first round and then beat Vicki Lomax - Haynes led the championship match - at a point but Smith came back to cut the deficit to one Haynes though held on to the win According to Ultimate Pool Group Smith won of matches and of frames dating back to before entering the final Haynes owned a winning percentage in lifetime matches and won of the frames before taking on Smith The two players wound up facing each other in the semifinals of the U K Mini Series pool championships in October Haynes won that matchup but lost the championship to a biological woman The rules of both the English Pool Association and World Eightball Pool Federation WEPF state that trans-identified athletes are allowed to compete in the sport with absolutely no restrictions according to their website Those bylaws for the English Pool Association have been under review since December In August the WEPF revealed it was updating its guidelines to only allow those who were born female to play the sport We understand that this decision may prompt questions and discussions within our sport We want to emphasize that our commitment to upholding the values of sportsmanship inclusivity and adherence to regulatory standards remains unwavering the WEPF disclosed at the time Our ultimate goal is to ensure the continued rise and advancement of the sport we all love while maintaining a harmonious balance between inclusivity and the integrity of competition We recognize the importance of fostering an atmosphere where everyone can participate and thrive and we remain dedicated to upholding these principles to the best of our ability But in October that year the WEPF reversed that protection It allowed transgender competitors under the condition that they identified as female for a minimum of four years and submitted proof of lowered testosterone levels Fox News' Jackson Thompson contributed to this analysis Follow Fox News Digital s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter