Earlier this year, we told you about the legal letters we sent to ten UK sporting bodies, warning them that allowing men to compete in the female category was in violation of the law.
We asked for your support because we believed those letters could start to make a change.
Today, we're glad to share that they have.
Two of those sporting bodies, the Football Association of Wales and the Royal Yachting Association, have now changed their eligibility policies. Competition in the female category will be decided by biological sex, not by self-declared identity.
The Football Association of Wales confirmed the change followed a thorough review of the legal landscape, including last year's Supreme Court ruling and the Equality and Human Rights Commission's Code of Practice.
Other bodies we wrote to are moving too. Swim England, parkrun, and Rounders England have all begun reviewing their own policies.
This is real progress. But we’re not at the finish line.
Robert Clarke, ADF International's Director of Advocacy in London, said:
"While some have updated their policies accordingly, others remain in breach of the law and continue to face substantial legal liability while being an increasingly obvious outlier.
Alliance Defending Freedom remains committed to protecting women's sports in the UK. Across the world, the tide is turning in favour of fairness, safety, and truth on this issue – and it is high time for UK sports bodies to follow suit."
Olympic medallist Sharron Davies MBE echoed that message:
"I welcome the significant progress that has been made – but it is not enough. As long as women and girls are exposed to harmful situations and subjected to an unfair playing field, they will continue to lose out or opt out."
While there has been progress, organisations are creating loopholes. The Royal Yachting Association's new still policy allows individual clubs to set their own rules, leaving fairness and safety to local discretion rather than a clear, consistent standard.
That's why we're not stopping here.
ADF International will keep pressing every sporting body that has yet to act, and keep watching those still leaving loopholes open. Women and girls deserve more. They deserve certainty that when they step onto the pitch, into the pool, or on the track, the competition is fair and the space is safe.
Will you help us finish what we started?
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