British transgender darts star speaks out after being blocked from entering English Open

British transgender darts star Samantha Lewis has spoken out after being blocked from competing at the English Darts Open in Devon. The 28-year-old had intended to play in the female category but was allegedly told by organisers that she couldn't feature.

Lewis, who lives in North Cave in East Yorkshire and is employed as a support worker, began her transition at the age of 14.

She fell in love with darts after watching her dad play in pubs and in tournaments, and now competes for the Humberside County darts team after taking up the sport around six years ago.

And discussing her exclusion from the English Open, Lewis told Devon Live: “That was very disheartening getting that message because I’ve always wanted to go down there and play in that competition.

“I finally get the chance to and then I’m told I’m not allowed, just because of my gender identity. It’s broken to me. I don’t feel like I have an advantage over natural-birth women. It’s all to do with the practice you put in.

“It’s a skill sport. I know that you’re using your arm to throw it at the board, but it's having that precision skill to be able to throw something to such an accurate target. I do agree that trans women shouldn’t play [competitively] in physical sports like football, rugby, swimming, boxing. But darts is a skill sport, not a physical sport.”

According to the Devon outlet, Lewis put herself forward to play at the tournament, which took place in Ilfracombe last month.

But she allegedly received a Facebook message at the end of May from a member of the governing body informing her that her entry was being refused. The English Darts representative reportedly stated the decision had come after the player had made “derogatory remarks” about one of their officials on social media, something which Lewis denies.

And Lewis added: “They’re putting it like, ‘It’s to do with all the physical sides of men having more of an advantage, and men win more things.’ But my argument was if that’s really the case, then why haven’t I beaten you all in all these years?

“I’ve only ever made one final, which I lost in. I’ve won one that was just a local competition. The rest have all been losing [in the] first or second round.”

Meanwhile, the chairman of England Darts Tommy Thompson explained in a statement in April: “England Darts has canvassed its players and executives in this very important issue concerning the future of women’s darts, and how England can continue to protect the integrity within our sport for its female members.

“To compete and associate ourselves in events with non-birth gender females in women’s events would be seen as accepting this situation, along with sending a message out that we are condoning and contributing to a situation which will ultimately result in the demise of our women’s sport, a sport many people across our sport, have invested a tremendous amount of time and effort for many years in securing the right of women to have their own championships where they compete on a level playing field with their fellow female born competitors.”