Anne Isabella Coombes, 67, who lived in Reading for the majority of her life, decided to protest against Swim England’s decision by wearing men’s jammers whilst competing.

As a fully transitioned woman, this meant that Ms Coombes competed topless with her breasts exposed at the Cornwall County Masters.

Ms Coombes transitioned during lockdown at 62 years old after living the majority of her life as her assigned sex at birth.

She had been a member of Reading Swimming Club for 30 years, and in 2022, she applied to Swim England asking to compete as a female.

After providing a lengthy amount of personal details and reports, several officials decided that Ms Coombes could compete in the women’s division, and she did so in 2023 at a masters in Sheffield.

“Masters swimming is usually very inclusive,” she said. “They do try and let anyone compete. I came second in that race.

“The woman who came first was a whole length ahead of me. She broke the European record; she’s an excellent swimmer.

“I’m trying to emphasise that this is not a trans person coming in and nicking places from other people.”

Ms Coombes was then contacted by Swim England for a consultation, and by September 2023, new regulations were enacted, which meant that she was no longer eligible for the female category.

Their new policy states, “It is widely recognised that fairness of competition must be protected and Swim England believes the creation of open and female categories is the best way to achieve this.

“The updated policy ensures there are entry-level competitive opportunities for transgender people to participate in the majority of our disciplines within their gender identity.

“To progress further, however, the Female/Open categories are utilised as a means to protect fair competition within the sporting pathway.”

The ‘Open’ category refers to athletes with a birth sex of male, trans or non-binary competitors, and any competitor not eligible for the female category.

“I asked them what costume I was supposed to wear, as there are rules around how much fabric can be on your body,” she explained.

“They confirmed that I need to wear a female swimming costume despite having to compete with the men, which ‘outs’ me as a woman who is transgender.

“I explained to the person on the phone that they are not allowed to do that, and he didn’t have an answer.”

As a consequence, Ms Coombes did not compete again in any swimming races until 2025, when she decided to do so in protest.

“I’m trying to show the world that this policy isn’t thought through, and it’s meant to hit trans people and nobody else,” she said.

“There are many who say I should only compete against men because I have a man’s advantage, and that just isn’t the case.

“I want to make it clear through this protest that trans people are not a threat when it comes to sport. We aren’t winning everything, and if we started to, then I would be first in line to discuss other options. Right now, it is a non-issue.”

Ms Coombes has since been told by Swim England that if she arrives at a competition intending to wear a male swimming costume, she does not need to speak to the referee in advance for approval, but it is within his purview to disqualify her.

The guidance states that the swimwear should be in “good moral taste”.

“Deciding on whether exposing my breasts is in ‘good moral taste’ or whether I need to cover them up so that ‘those involved in competitive swimming are appropriately safeguarded’ is an entirely subjective decision of the referee,” she explained.

“In other words, I could turn up to the competition and run the risk of not being able to compete in whichever costume I intend to wear.

“No other swimmer has this concern. These regulations also mean that Swim England is treating me as a male by default.”

On April 16, 2025, the UK Supreme Court ruled that transgender women do not fall under the legal definition of “women” in the context of equality legislation.

Since then, dozens of protests against this decision have taken place across the UK, including two in Reading. The next protest will take place on June 28.

Ms Coombes spoke at one such protest in Truro, calling for action within the trans community.

“Most trans people just want to get on with their lives and be treated as the gender they are,” she said.

“But unfortunately, given what the Supreme Court has done, we need to stand up and say ‘I’m trans, I exist, and you’re not going to silence me.’ Existence is resistance.”