Banned from My Sport for Protecting Women-Only Competition
Banned from My Sport for Protecting Women-Only Competition
Latest: July 30, 2026
Incredible News!! From 30% to 60% RAISED in the past month!!
What an incredible month. The Crowdjustice is now at 60% of the total 50K target for my legal case against Ultimate Pool & I can't tell you how incredibly grateful & how relieved I truly am. Becaus…
Read moreWho I Am
I am Lynne Pinches. For the past 30 years I have been a pool player. I was successful in my sport: in 2023, I earned a professional spot and won a place in the final of the Women’s Champions of Champions.
Why I Walked Away From the Final
My opponent was Harriet Haynes, a trans identified male. But rather than pretend that it is fair to have men in women’s sport, I walked away from the final. This decision was widely reported in national media.
Securing Women-Only Pool
I, along with several other women’s pool players, sought legal assistance to force Ultimate Pool – the organisation that runs the main pool competitions – to change their rules to permit women’s-only pool. Earlier this year, we succeeded: Ultimate Pool changed their rules to protect women-only competition as reported by the BBC.
Harassment and Safety Concerns
As a consequence of taking a stand, I became the target of hostility from trans-rights activists. I have been abused and screamed at by the partner of a trans-identifying male pool player, and at another event had a bottle thrown at me.
I reported these incidents to the police, who said they lacked evidence. They suggested I wear a bodycam to future events in case similar acts of aggression occurred.
What Happened at the Wigan Event
On 6 April 2025, I attended an Ultimate Pool competition in Wigan with my son, who is a junior player. I saw the partner of a trans-identifying player notice me and immediately go to speak to security.
Security then took me into a side room and told me I was not allowed to wear a bodycam in the competition hall due to a filming ban. I explained why I was wearing it, and they said they understood — but insisted that if I wanted to remain in the hall, I had to remove it.
I complied and removed the bodycam. As soon as they believed the camera was off, they informed me that I was being expelled from the event. I was escorted out of the venue, leaving my partner and son inside.
Security staff told me they were acting on instructions from Ultimate Pool. They also said they were aware of the “legal battle” — meaning Ultimate Pool had discussed our efforts to secure women-only competition, which at that time had not yet concluded.
My Unfair Ban
After leaving the venue, I sought an explanation over the following months. Ultimate Pool eventually produced an “incident report” which I believed contained inaccurate information and which was contradicted by my recording.
When I challenged the report, Ultimate Pool told me that unless I agreed it was accurate, I would be banned from all their competition venues. I could not agree to something that was not true. They then carried out their threat: I was banned entirely — not only from competing, but even from attending events as a spectator.
This means I cannot accompany my son to his competitions or watch him play.
Legal Action
The lawyer that helped us secure women’s only pool wrote to Ultimate Pool to challenge this, to demonstrate the ways in which the incident report was incorrect, to provide copies of the recordings that contradict Ultimate Pool’s version of events, and to point out that banning me because of our previous successful attempts to protect women’s sport is an unlawful act of victimisation.
But Ultimate Pool have refused to consider re-admitting me. I am permanently banned.
The lawyer who has helped me over recent years is Peter Daly at Doyle Clayton. We have considered the situation together, and I have concluded that I have no alternative but to litigate against Ultimate Pool for their treatment of me.
Why I Need Funding
We have already concluded the pre-action steps, and now I need to lodge my claim.
The initial target of £5,000 covers:
• Drafting and lodging the claim
• Court fees
• Associated legal preparation
If the case ends with surplus funding, I will ask CrowdJustice to allocate it to other sex-realist / gender-critical cases.
How You Can Help
Your support will help me challenge this unfair ban, defend women’s sport, and ensure that women and girls can compete in fair, protected categories.
Lynne Pinches
July 30, 2026
Incredible News!! From 30% to 60% RAISED in the past month!!
What an incredible month. The Crowdjustice is now at 60% of the total 50K target for my legal case against Ultimate Pool & I can't tell you how incredibly grateful & how relieved I truly am. Because of the support & generosity you, the public, have shown,the Crowdjustice went up an incredible 30% in the past month and is now over 30K. I am truly overwhelmed & honestly cannot thank you all enough 💓
It's difficult to put into words the emotional roller coaster of this past month. After having to pay 4K in costs to Ultimate Pool i thought I may have to give up as this left a huge financial deficit but now I honestly believe that with your help reaching the 50K target is possible & I'm pushing forward thanks to all of you.
I would like to personally thank Graham Linehan for his continued support since the very beginning & the amazing Substack he wrote about my treatment if you haven't read it you can read it here https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/the-woman-in-the-car-park
As well as an incredible month with regards to the increase in the Crowdjustice amount raised. Its also been a very emotional & busy month.
What an honour it was to be invited to speak as a panelist on the sports panel at the 1st Women's Rights Network Conference In London alongside 2 absolute sporting legends Tracey Edwards & Lin Clarke & the fantastic biologist Emma Hilton. I spoke about the impact it has being forced to compete against men in women’s sports. It was a very emotional day & also fascinating & educational covering a wide range of subjects. It's well worth a watch.
You can watch the entire WRN conference here https://womensrightsnetwork.substack.com/p/womens-sport-whats-next
Following that, incredibly I was also invited to do an Interview with Steve from The Edge of the Matrix. He's the U.K.s version of the billboard man. Steve & his videos are fantastic. You can watch our open & honest interview here https://youtu.be/NzEscSjoiwU?is=yfjhkTw9l0zuOcuL
The ban by Ultimate Pool remains & I'm currently still permanently banned from spectating or playing at any Ultimate Pool sanctioned events. This Cruelly prevents me watching my sons play pool at any Ultimate Pool events should they choose to play in them.
As soon as I know more I'll be keeping you all updated as to the next legal steps but in the meantime please keep sharing my story & Crowdjustice link whenever you can in groups & across social media platforms. I still have a long way to go and an even longer road ahead. So please spread the word or donate a little if you can. Thankyou so much for your continued support throughout ❤️ 🙏 Much love & appreciation Lynne Pinches
Lynne Pinches
July 1, 2026
40% RAISED & A DEVASTING 4K Costs to pay to Ultimate Pool. Please Help 🙏
I have some bad news & some good news. The bad news is that last week I had been ordered to pay 4K costs to the defence by 8th July.
This had left a huge deficit in the Crowdjustice fundraiser & not enough money to get to the next stage of case management.
In recent days the WRN shared my story across groups along with the fabulous Genevieve Gluck who shared on X & top man Graham Linehan wrote an amazing Substack piece about my story which you can read here https://open.substack.com/pub/grahamlinehan/p/the-woman-in-the-car-park?r=43ullw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email Graham didn't know about the 4K costs that i needed to recover when he wrote it either.
So I am truly overwhelmed to wake up to discover the Crowdjustice fundraiser has gone up from 25% full to an incredible 40% full in just a couple of days. The public support I have received has been incredible throughout. You have all been there for me since the beginning.
Although the Crowdjustice has regained the 4K deficit I still don't have enough money left to get to the next stage case management so please keep sharing my story to keep it In the public eye & feel free to share it in groups & on social media platforms. Every share & donation means the absolute world to me & helps me to continue fighting this ludicrous & unfair ban.
Thankyou all so much 💓
Much love & appreciation Lynne Pinches
Lynne Pinches
June 13, 2026
**25% ,OF TOTAL RAISED** Its been 12 MONTHS. Ultimate Pool" Defence" received
I want to start by thanking each & everyone of you for your continued support throughout this process & apologise because i need to ask you all for your help again please 🙏. Its been almost 12 months since I was banned by Ultimate Pool & the only route to being a professional player. So far you have helped collectively raise over 13K of the 50K Crowdjustice target which is just fantastic The Crowdjustice is continuous & will remain live indefinitely until the case concludes. Please continue to share the Crowdjustice & donate if you can. Every share & donation means the absolute world to me.
This week Ultimate Pool after an extension sent in their " defence " & request for further information to the court. I am unable to discuss the details of the " defence" at this moment in time but will update you all as soon as I am able to. Having read the " defence," what I can tell you is that I am not giving up & will be seeing this case through to the very end.
Without all of your support I wouldn't be able to fight this cruel & unnecessary ban. I never dreamed that after fighting for fairness in sport & winning one legal case that I would find myself here battling another. I remain STILL BANNED 12 MONTHS LATER.
Please help me to spread the word about my BAN & Crowdjustice link across groups & social media. I still have an incredibly long way to go & your help is immeasurable . The process is truly the punishment. Thankyou all from the bottom of my heart ❤️ much love & appreciation
Lynne Pinches
Lynne Pinches
April 8, 2026
CLAIM LODGED!! I REMAIN BANNED! My Case Against Ultimate Pool
IMPORTANT UPDATE!! Claim lodged at Court!
Firstly, I want to thank everyone who has supported me so far, every share & donation means the absolute world to me. I can finally give you all this hugely important update on my legal case & thankyou so much for your patience. My letter before claim was denied by Ultimate Pool. I remain unlawfully banned from playing or spectating at any Ultimate Pool sanctioned events. The particulars of claim have been completed & sent & on March 3rd 2026 I lodged a claim with the courts. With the help of my solicitor Peter Daly i have lodged a claim against Ultimate Pool at the London Central County Court for 1.1 Direct Discrimination (s.13 Equality Act 2010) on the grounds of religion or belief (s.10 Equality Act 2010) 1.2 Victimisation (s.27 Equality Act)
I wholeheartedly believe I have a very strong legal case & don't want anyone else to be treated this way & excluded from the sport they love & that's why i am moving forward in lodging this claim.
MY REMOVAL IN APRIL 2025.
I had worn a bodycam to 5 previous pool events & this was the 6th. I wore it for my own protection & peace of mind as i had received well documented abuse from trans activists since I conceded the ladies pool final against a man in November 2023.
There is bodycam evidence from the day of my removal in April 2025 by UP security at the Wigan event. The evidence clearly shows i removed the bodycam prior to my removal by UP security. Ultimate Pool claim i was removed by security because i was filming without prior permission from themselves. I do not believe i was removed because i was wearing a bodycam or because i needed prior permission. i refute that completely. Ultimate Pool claim that "They knew my motives" & that they "believed i was there to film "anti trans" protests " & that is why i was removed."
THE BAN CAME LATER IN JUNE.
After 2 months of being ignored & chasing the security incident report regarding my removal in April I sent a DSAR to get an explanation as to the reason I was removed by security. I finally received the incident report however it was alongside a letter containing a final written warning ( I had no previous warnings). I disagreed with the contents of both & replied to say I would like further information from the DSAR as I felt it was incomplete & incorrect. The response I received shocked me completely. They said that as far as they were concerned the matter was closed & until I put it in writing that I agreed it was closed then I would be banned from not only playing but also spectating at any Ultimate Pool event. The next event was 2 weeks away & my 11 year old son was playing in that tournament. Because I had pre booked a hotel & my son was so excited & Dad cannot drive I drove for 5 hours to Bolton so my son could still play but I was not allowed in to watch him. It was heartbreaking for us as a family & still is. Banning me from playing & spectating means, unfortunately, my youngest son can not play at all on the Ultimate Pool tour this year. This has affected him aswell. One of my other son's however is playing this year on the Ultimate Pool tour & we as a family cannot go & spectate. It is cruel to say the least. Taking part in any sport is such a positive thing for mental health & when that sport & opportunity to belong is taken away from you it affects you deeply. There is also a stigma attached to being banned . I have played pool for 35 years & am fighting this so that no one else is put through this in the future because If they can do it to me after a lifetime of playing they can absolutely do it to anyone.
THANKYOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT! 20% OF TARGET RAISED!!
Fantastic news. Thankyou all so much. So far you have helped to raise over 20% of the 50K target required for my court case. Your support has been incredible & is absolutely beyond measure. I wouldn't be here without each & everyone of you keeping me going. I really appreciate your continued support. Please keep sharing my Crowdjustice & story with friends & on social media as I still have a long way to go to reach the 50K but hopefulyy with the publics support worldwide the target will be reached. The Crowdjustice fundraiser rolls over monthly & it doesn't have an end date. It will continue until we get to court. I am currently awaiting a date....
I'M NOT A QUITTER!!
I never dreamed that walking away from playing a male in the final of a female Pool tournament would lead to me being permanently banned from spectating & playing the sport I love but here we are & it isnt a drream. I may of conceded that final but im most certainlly not a quitter. I'm not going down without a fight I will update you all when I receive a court date. Thanks again for your continued support 🙏 from the bottom of my heart ❤️
Lynne Pinches
Jan. 15, 2026
**50K Target to Reach** 15% raised so far. Your Support is Immeasurable.Thankyou
Thank you to each & everyone of you who's helped and supported me or shared my legal case . So far, you've helped raise 15% of the Target & I cant thankyou you all enough. However I still have a huge amount to raise in order to move forward with the case. I believe I have a very strong case for discrimination and victimisation and am asking for your support once again. I realise money is very tight being just after the Xmas period and i appreciate every donation or share. Please share or donate if you can and help me get back to playing the sport I love and lift my ban by Ultimate Pool. Thankyou so much for your continued support ❤️
Lynne Pinches
Dec. 21, 2025
"INITIAL TARGET REACHED"
I'm absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity & unwavering support that everyone has shown me in helping to reach my initial target. Thankyou so much to each and everyone of you. For every donation & every share, because I wouldn't be here without you. My legal team is now working on the pleadings, and expect to file the claim at Court early in the New Year. I will update everyone once that’s completed. The Crowdjustice fundraiser has now moved onto the stretch target & will remain open for donations for the stretch target. I have a long road ahead of me & I'm so grateful for your continued support. It means the absolute world to me.
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