We the London Royals Hockey Club are deeply concerned by England Hockey’s 2025 Trans and Non-binary Participation policy. We strongly feel that this policy is exclusionary and divisive. 

As the UK’s only LGBTQ+ Hockey Club, England Hockey approached us as part of the policy review and we made our stance incredibly clear: trans and non-binary players should be able to play for the team with which they identify, or where they feel most comfortable. Our feedback and the feedback of trans and non-binary hockey players and LGBTQ+ organisations has clearly been disregarded in the creation of this policy. 

By splitting the sport into a Female category (only for people assigned female at birth, who are not taking, or have ever taken, testosterone) and an Open category, England Hockey are sending the strong message that trans women are not women, and they do not belong in the sport. The reality is that the Open team will almost entirely be made up of men, and therefore any trans woman wishing to play hockey would need to out herself in order to play. 

The policy and the proposed implementation is abhorrent, illogical and promotes a culture of policing who is and isn’t a woman, exacerbating an already toxic environment for trans people to simply exist in. The negative impact this policy will have on the mental health of trans and non-binary hockey players far outweighs any perceived competitive advantage England Hockey believes trans women have in the sport. 

This policy goes against what we The London Royals believe our sport is about – we believe everyone should be able to play and enjoy the sport we love. England Hockey, we implore you to withdraw this new policy.

We call on our supporters, club members and hockey family to take action to support the trans and non-binary community by amplifying our message, and letting England Hockey know your views on their new policy by emailing trans.policy@englandhockey.co.uk.