"We accept that it's not a unanimously accepted position" - PDC boss defends transgender policy ahead of Noa-Lynn van Leuven's Grand Slam of Darts debut

This weekend in Wolverhampton, the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts get underway and this year, one of the most talked about players pre-tournament is the history-making debutant, Noa-Lynn van Leuven. The 28-year-old Dutch darter becomes the first trans player to play in a televised PDC tournament against men.

Ever since Van Leuven's emergence on the darting scene, there have been questions raised about the fairness of having trans darters competing in the women's game, with senior figures in the sport such as Deta Hedman and Aileen De Graaf raising vocal opposition. With Van Leuven having qualified for the Grand Slam of Darts via the PDC Women's Series, these dissenting voices have emerged again, but PDC chief executive Matt Porter insists the current rules and regulations are fair for all.

"We took legal advice and we took some ideas from policy that other sports bodies, the IOC and other governing bodies have put in place," Porter explains in conversation with Sky Sports. "Ultimately, we came up with a policy that we believe to be fair. We respect the fact that not everybody agrees with that and we accept that it's not a unanimously accepted position. However, it's a position that we've adopted and that we believe is fair. Noa-Lynn's been playing - and others - have been playing under that rule for a number of years now. Noa-Lynn's started to achieve more success in recent years, hence the opposition to her has become more vocal, which is the way of the world. Again, it's something we respect but ultimately we have a policy in place and it's one that we're comfortable with."

The tournaments held under the PDC banner are played via the guidelines of the DRA. "The Darts Regulation Authority as the world governing body for Darts encourages mixed gender events. The only exceptions are the Women's Series and Women's Matchplay operated by the PDC," these guidelines state. "Darts is open to all who wish to be involved in any capacity and we encourage all trans and non-binary participants to take part."

Van Leuven opens her Grand Slam of Darts campaign on Saturday evening with the unenviable task of Michael van Gerwen being her opponent. Also in Group G are Gary Anderson and Ryan Joyce, giving Van Leuven a tough task to progress.