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00:00They removed trans women from competing against biological women.
00:10I wouldn't be allowed to compete in the female section.
00:14To almost be called a threat, I just couldn't really deal with that at that time.
00:20I thought that was an extreme wording.
00:24I've never really considered myself a trailblazer.
00:27I'm just a woman who is trying to live their life.
00:34I'm Harriet Haynes.
00:35I play pool at a regional and international level.
00:40Pool is my hobby and my love, really.
00:44In pool, every break is different.
00:46There's going to be clusters of balls that you have to solve and sort out.
00:53It's a puzzle that you can never really solve.
00:57My mum was a pool player.
00:59She played for a team in Basingstoke.
01:02I remember her bringing back a trophy.
01:05I was really, really proud of her.
01:11I just witnessed women playing pool and it was just a normal occurrence for me to see
01:16other women playing pool.
01:18I was always interested in playing pool.
01:21When I transitioned, I was working a 9-to-5 for the first time and it meant I could go
01:25out in the evening more often.
01:28That's kind of where I really got the bug for it and got a lot better.
01:37I found it really homely at the academy in Basingstoke.
01:40It was a really safe place to go and everyone was very welcoming there.
01:46I kind of just felt really safe and just enjoyed the game.
01:53Last year, I was removed from the English Black Ball Pool Federation's female category.
02:01They removed trans women from competing against biological women.
02:07I received a phone call stating that they were placing the ban on trans women competing.
02:13The English Black Ball Pool Federation never contacted me.
02:16They released a statement almost identical to the other statements that were released.
02:22They wished that players could play in a safer environment.
02:25I was shocked.
02:27To say that it was so that they could play in a safer environment kind of meant that
02:33trans women were a threat to other women when actually on the circuit, we were just treated
02:39like other women in social circles.
02:42We were sitting with each other in the bar, chat.
02:47It was bizarre really.
02:50It was something that I just couldn't really deal with at that time.
02:55I thought that was an extreme wording.
03:01Trans women have been playing pool in the women's section for many, many years.
03:05The sport was always really, really welcoming and that's why I kind of felt at home playing
03:12it.
03:13Up and down the country, women beat men on a daily basis.
03:16Yesterday, I witnessed a woman player in the Prima Division beat three different men.
03:22It happens every single day of the week.
03:27This is the Champ of the Champions from 2018.
03:31It was the first year that I was playing in the EPA and I managed to qualify for the
03:37Champ of the Champions and then go through and beat the current world champion en route
03:46and then win the final.
03:47I'm very, very proud of that.
03:49It brings back good memories.
03:51Probably one of the best atmospheres I played in.
03:55Under pressure from our legal team, they still haven't withdrawn the ban, unfortunately.
04:03We are due in court on the 7th of April, 2025, which has taken almost two years to get there.
04:15It's been a long, long time coming.
04:18I'm hopeful that the courts see our side and that they put this to bed, really, for
04:29us.
04:30It's affecting me playing in the black ball side of things with the Kent team that I've
04:38been playing with since 2019, who are kind of like a family and, you know, I miss playing
04:44with them and they miss me.
04:50I've been playing pool as well for the past year with this on my shoulders, really, and
04:58it's a big burden to have and I've just been living my life as best as they could up until
05:04now and just trying to get through it every day.
05:08So it will just be a massive relief if we win the case.
05:17Pool isn't a gender-affected sport.
05:20We've proved with the experts that trans women have no advantage.
05:24It's pool.
05:25We're not talking about boxing or golf.
05:27You're playing with an implement that is, well, my cue is 16 ounces.
05:36I should be allowed to continue playing in the female competitions.
05:42You know, I am a woman.
05:43I have a gender recognition certificate.
05:45I'm treated like a woman on every other basis of my life.
05:50I have no advantage, but we're going to be proving that in court, so I should be allowed
05:55to play in the women's section.
06:02I've never really considered myself a trailblazer.
06:05I'm just a woman who is trying to live their life, and all I want to do is just be treated
06:10the same as any other woman.
06:11I'm treated like a woman every single day of my life, and this is the only aspect of
06:16my life where I'm not, which hurts a lot.
06:21I will continue to seek fairness and to want to be treated fairly.
06:35I will continue to seek fairness and to want to be treated fairly.