Anglers quit England’s ladies team after man is selected

Half of England’s ladies’ angling team have quit following the inclusion of a man into their squad.

Three members have withdrawn from next month’s Home Nations shore fishing championship after it was announced that a man who lives as a woman was selected.

Angling Trust, the sport’s governing body, claimed that Becky Lee Birtwhistle Hodges would not enjoy an advantage.

‘Difficult decision’

The Trust said there was no significant safety concern as angling is a non-contact sport but admitted that stronger competitors have an advantage.

Team captain Heather Lindfield called it a difficult decision, “especially as we should be defending our gold medal we won last year”.

Lindfield said: “This is an advantage to our team, but we find it totally unfair to other nations.

“Transgender competitors are ruining our sport, and the Angling Trust will not listen to our views, so this is why myself and the team decided to pull out.”

World Athletics

In March, World Athletics announced that no transgender athlete will be able to participate alongside members of the opposite sex if they experienced male puberty.

It replaced a rule allowing male-born athletes to compete against women if they had artificially reduced their testosterone level below a certain level for twelve months.

President Lord Sebastian Coe said the decision was “guided by the overarching principle which is to protect the female category”, but said the athletics’ governing body would continue to work on transgender eligibility guidelines.

After a consultation of key stakeholders, including 40 member federations, athletes, transgender groups and coaches, the Council agreed that biological men should not be allowed to compete alongside women at elite level.