Thread by @tribunaltweets

We will shortly be live tweeting the morning session of day 2 of the hearing of Harriet Haynes, a male pool player who claims a female identity, vs the English Blackball Pool Federation (EBPF) for alleged discrimination on the grounds of gender reassignment.

The EBPF is run by volunteers and organises county-level competitions in England. In August 2023 the EBPF announced the competitions formerly known as the Ladies’ and Men’s Tours would be replaced with a Female Tour and an Open Tour, and that only women would be eligible to

compete in the Female Tour.

We anticipate an 10am start. We do not provide a transcript of hearings but endeavour to report all we hear accurately and do so in good faith.

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Abbreviations:
J - His Honour Judge Parker
P - tribunal Panel member
HH - Harriet Haynes, claimant or C
RW - Robin White, claimant’s barrister
CC - Colman Coyle, claimant's solicitor
EBPF or F - English Blackball Pool Federation
PT - Paul Thomson, defendant or D1

AG - Anna Goodwin, defendant or D2
SC - Sarah Crowther KC, defendants’ barrister
SS - Sapandeep Singh Maini-Thompson, defendants’ barrister
JRL - JR Levins LLP, defendants’ solicitor
JG - James Goodwin, witness for defendant

W - Woman
TS - Transexual
TG - Transgender

TW - Transwoman
PC - Protected Characteristic
GR - Gender Reassignment
GI - Gender Identity
GRA - Gender Recognition Act
EA - Equality Act
PSSP - Physical Strength, Stamina or Physique
IPA - International Pool Association
EPA - English Pool Association
UPG - Ultimate Pool Group

We begin at 10.09
Clerk Announcing case and court and remote rules. Calling the J in.

J Housekeeping?
RW Reps of C thought contract was in the bundle and finding the correct one and will submit and C cld be briefly recalled and examined on it
SC Happy w this

RW Discussed Prof Paraggio's submission and will shorten and provide to you. The timetable of 3 witnesses will have more equal timetable.
J we'll see how it looks
SC Nothing from me
J What is C excluded from doing? I understood is only prevented from playing for her county.

But partics of claim are more broadly expressed.
RW I will talk to C and confirm this and we could cross examine on this later
J Being pro doesnt stop playing for A team
SC Correct
RW Open A team
SC Maybe explore w today's witnesses
J I dont know if Kent has ladies A or B

J team. Also why is asking why being pro is important as being ranked outside top 32 means can play? That hasnt been discussed. I'm confused why not
RW I'd value 10 mins to take instructions
J Do you have anything further SC?
SC No

J Then I'll leave the court so that you can have these conversations
[adjourn for 10 mins]

J Thank you. RW?
RW Given the changes in Nov 23, Cs case is now limited to county game, which she partic relies on. On p222, point 53 C's interpretation re top 32 is limited to IPA or ultimate professionals. So is additional is her interpretation. The A section is only the open

section. There are Ladies A and B teams in Kent.
J Anything to say SC?
SC No
J Who would you like to call first?
SC Mr Paul Thompson (PT) [he affirms]
SC [agreeing his two WSs] [moving mic nearer] Wait for more Qs
RW Good morning. We're keeping our voice up so plse also do

RW SC asked u about your WS being true, but yr 2nd WS corrected yr 1st
PT Yes
RW Re the statement of truth, can you read it to yrself?
RW Turn to p187 and yr corrections 1st area was when u accepted deposits. Is that the error? You seem to be in doubt about what yr correctin

RW U say are 2 errors in para 41
PT That applies to Jim and Anna
RW [Lists names]. There's no Jim. It's an important Q so compare paras 41 and 44 of your statement.
PT It's difficult for me as I wasnt there.
J Wait for a Q
RW I'm asking Qs re the WSs

RW I'm doing simple stuff at the moment. Is the 1st error about the date? What is the error re Miss Bowshaw
PT I dont know. My fault for not going through it properly
RW Who wrote it?
PT I did
RW Why does it say two errors?
PT It was sent to me. Rule 30 I made clear I didnt

say that
RW At start of statement on p175, I have to take responsibility
RW I'm not asking to hear about convos with yr solic, but must have been interactions to create a WS to sign. Incl para 41 we see. U put yr signature to this w statement of truth above it.

But there were facts u werent sure of
Yes
RW Why wld u do that? U knew it wld be used to defend the claim.
PT It's my fault. I did raise it and I shld have dbl checked it, as I'm not there when things are taken
J I want to be clear re para 4 in 2nd ststement

PT I didnt take responsibility for properly checking it
RW You didnt proof read it?
PT I did but not all the way through
RW Yr 2nd statement says there's 2 errors. In yr correcting statement. What's the error re the 2 ladies?
PT [long pause] No
RW So y've done it again

RW Y've no idea if it's right or wrong?
PT [long pause] No
RW It discussed taking deposits. U dont do that
No
RW It shld have said I discussed and was told x
Yes
RW Did you check about the deposits and whether facts are correct?
No
RW Where do the words on the page come fro

PT It was sent by solictor
RW But u accepted them?
Yes, I didnt check them properly
RW [reads stateemnt of truth] But u signed w/out knowing were true. Is this helpful?
No
RW You had no basis to make that statement?
SC [challenges]

J It says you can be punished for contempt of court for making a statement that isnt true and yr not having to admit to this in court
RW Thank you YH
RW Can u explain basis of yr honest belief for truthfulness of statements re the Ladies in paras 41 and 4?
PT I never said tha

J Is that yr answer?
PT Point 4 was sent by email and had to be sent back immed w/out reading it fully. It's my fault completely.
RW Now re the men applying, U said ? doesnt apply to them in para 41 [hard to hear w noises] Yr the chairman
PT The deposit for Fs were taken by

RW U dont take deposits as Chair?
No
RW U made a statement that deposits were taken and the deposit rule was followed.
PT I wldnt speak to anyone as the 2 tours ran differently. Ben Flack wld pay on the day. The Ladies wld be taken before getting their
RW U say would have

PT The deposit rule. Jim and Anna pay up front but others pay on the day.
RW Did u know that
PT Of course
RW But yr WS said paid in the same way
PT They're ran totally different
RW So why does it say that?
PT I thought was ok but I didnt pick it up

RW You have the same warning so dont have to A. What evidence did u have to say they were made in the same way?
PT Come again?
RW [repeats the Q]
PT I shld have picked up applied, it's my mistake.
RW Is there anything else u want to correct?
PT I'm not 100% sure

[reading]
RW Both WS say about the deposit rule. Applied in the same way in 1st WS changes to slightly differently in the 2nd WS. I'm intreuged.
PT We're volunteers across the country. each one done differently and no rules written down. From 2025 there will be standardised

rules. They're run very different.
RW U say she's eligable for open tour since relaxed rules for profess - the Open Tour. But cant play for Kent?
PT But nothing to do w profess rule. Is because C is a bio man and we decided a rule that cant play in womens

RW But only trans wld want to play here
PT Kent has nothing to do w this
RW So no bar re profess for Kent?
PT It's cos a bio male from birth
RW There's a lot of bio males in yr org?
Yes
RW Vast maj dont want to play in ladies
They're not allowed
RW Many havent come forward

PT They're not allowed
RW Earlier in yr WS, the AG says event in July 22 where a box for anon comments
PT She told me a box went round but dont know pros and cons of it. It might have been that date
RW The oddity is yr org says was important that those comments made?

PT U have to think of their concerns
RW But doesnt come to mgmt for a year. Why?
PT Subject was taboo to a degree. U cant say what u want as called a bigot or t'phobic. And waiting for IOC direction. I arranged the seminar in Jan for July.
RW Where is discussion re Jan?

PT Why wld I include it? I dont put every convo in
RW U have mtg on 30th July w PP presentation. And announce 27th Aug. Yr AGM is always beginning of Oct. AG says that signif matters delat w AGM?
Yes
RW Only 5 weeks away?
PT And? Yes
RW TG women ahve been playing for yrs at

that poin tin yr org.
PT I cant recall. Yes, 4-5 yrs
RW Why the urgency?
PT WHat about the 100s of W it affected. Am I expected to ignore. We had loads of complaints [RW had suggested 15-20]
RW Dates of complaints
PT We had complaints and was a new thing for all of us that

PT we didnt know how to manage. If I could do it all myself I would have said no to the C as I know males are superior. Simple as.
RW Look at p279. Yr name at bottom. Did u write this?
PT Yes, and I chose all the words
RW Ultimate pool have a announcement on the same day.

They both start w the same words [reads out] Did u write 279?
Yes
RW Did u write 277
Yes, I wrote a couple of days before to post on Mon. UPG put a post out. I didnt think we shld follow immed from them and I put on FB. Returned after 5 mins and when reread Andrew Johnson

called and suggested rewording the bottom. we agreed to redo the bottom and resend it. I have nothing to do w UPG. The RBPF run their own business. I run the amateur.
RW You were bound in to making an earlier release
PT Yes he was on exec so I did what he suggested. why wld I

put this in my WS?
RW All 3 orgs made announcement on same day
PT I was going to leave to Monday
RW Did u read the anon complaints AG gathered? the 15-20?
PT Cant recall
RW U took a yr
The issue was so delicate. Y'd be called a bigot and had to tread carefully. Dont get

things 100% correct. I dont need to take that to an AGM
RW These facts much more likely to be due to coordiantion between gps?
PT I had no covos w WPPF or UPG. End of.
RW Y've seen Cs claim and mentioning safer environment had given her cause for concern.

PY I cld see what Andy meant and have a H&S background.
RW U worked..
PT Are u suggesting I copied it? Why is this beyond belief?
RW The 2nd para [reads both statements] It's beyond belief y'd use the same words in 2nd para
PT I writ this. it was ready to go for the Mon.

I cant recall if I asked others to check.
RW [reads re aim to grow sport]
PT So we use the same words or jargon? So what?
RW Yr story is you just click to send out. U must have seen the announcement before u sent it?
PT I didnt. I dont care if u call me a liar

RW Y're saying u wrote 279 before reading UPG
Yes
RW The prompt to send was 279?
And...
J U need to answer the Q
PT He convinced me to post early
RW U hadnt seen 277?
No
RW That's incredible evidence to beleiev. Yr other evid was incorrect
PT I admitted that re proffread

PT But this is what happened about the announcement [speaking very forcefully]

RW I'd like a 10 min break.
[court adjourns]

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