A guide for any sporting club, in any code, at any level, to host their own Pride Cup. pridecup.org.au Published by Pride Cup Ltd,Melbourne October 2018 © Pride Cup Ltd , 2018 This document was proudly supported by 4 Foreword 20 WE ARE community PrideCup | Hand 5 Message from Co-founders 21 Game Day 23 Merchandise Book 6 WE ARE Pride Cup 24 Timeline Of The Pride Cup 7 What is Pride Cup? 8 Pride Cup’s Roots 25 WE ARE inclusion 9 Why Do We Need Pride Cup? 26 Pride In Any Sport 10 What’s In It For My Club? 27 Lasting Impact 11 Education 29 Evaluation 12 WE ARE diversity 30 Appendix 13 Where To Start? 31 LGBT+ Organisations 14 Get Organised 34 LGBT+ Community Definitions 15 Set Goals 35 Flags of the LGBTIQ Community 16 Recruit Volunteers 36 Business Sponsorship 17 Find Sponsorship 37 Media Release 18 Marketing And Promotion 38 References 3 Pride Cup | PrideCup | Hand Book No-one should be forced to Sport has a unique power to The St Kilda Football Club is choose between being themselves change hearts and minds, and enormously proud to support and the sport they love. Whether Pride Cup Australia continues to Pride Cup Australia. you’re a player, spectator, leave a lasting impact in sporting From humble beginnings with a volunteer or official, you should clubs all over our country. regional football club bravely feel safe and welcome at your As Commissioner for Gender and tackling homophobia, it has grown local sporting club. Sexuality I’ve had the pleasure of to inspire the now annual St Kilda I’ve seen first-hand how Pride Cup doing the coin toss at Pride games Pride Game in the AFL fixture. transforms grassroots clubs and for Australian Rules Football, Sport is a wonderful vehicle for unites communities with a simple soccer, netball and water polo. I’ve belonging and social inclusion and but powerful message of inclusion even dropped the puck for ice one that should be available to and acceptance, and this booklet hockey! On every occasion I’ve everyone. Helping clubs and is an essential tool to help more witnessed how celebrating leagues around Australia stage clubs come on board. LGBTIQ inclusion brings their own Pride Cups will ensure communities together and has a Pride Cup won the 2015 this important movement for profoundly positive impact on VicHealth Award for ‘Building LGBTIQ inclusion in sport players, spectators and officials. Health Through Sport’ and I am continues to gather momentum. so proud to see it soar to even I’m incredibly proud that this Equality is a key value at St Kilda greater heights. movement began in Victoria – the – we were proud to be the first equality state – and I look forward AFL club to march in team colours I congratulate Jason Ball and to more clubs spreading the at Pride March and are proud to James Lolicato and all involved in message of inclusion and diversity stand shoulder to shoulder with the Pride Cup journey so far. I as Pride Cup Australia continues Pride Cup as it expands across can’t wait to hear more stories of to grow. the country. the lives changed as a result of this incredible program. Ro Allen Matt Finnis Commissioner for Gender and CEO St Kilda Football Club Jerril Rechter Sexuality CEO VicHealth 4 We dedicate this handbook to the many communities PrideCup | Hand whose Pride Cups have inspired us in ways we could never have imagined when we were kids, struggling to Book come to terms with who we were in the world of sport. What started as a 50 metre rainbow line on a Sporting clubs are the heart of local country footy ground has grown into a communities and when they show movement that transcends sport. It has leadership it has a powerful ripple effect. become a powerful symbol of hope and Pride Cups have harnessed the media acceptance, making a lasting impact far spotlight, putting LGBTIQ people and our beyond football ovals and netball courts. allies on the front page of regional papers like no other event. Pride Cup was born in Victoria and its message of equality for all has been brought More towns across Australia are eager to to life in ways that have brought bring the rainbow to their clubs and we’re communities together and continue to ready to help them. We founded Pride Cup inspire us. Australia to offer resources and education to empower those communities. We saw it in the stunning rainbow wings mural painted by a local artist on the side of In this handbook we’ve packaged the the post office in Yarra Glen’s main street. lessons, insights and personal stories from 14 Pride Cups around the country to help We saw it in the stories of LGBTIQ elevate this movement to a permanent place people who had grown up feeling in our national sporting landscape. isolated in their home town of Hamilton, Western Victoria, returning to be greeted Our vision is a world where LGBTIQ people with rainbow messages in every shop feel included and welcome, and we believe window. that sport has the power to help get us there. Thank you for joining us on this journey. And we saw it in Traralgon, Gippsland, when the local power station lit up its cooling James Lolicato and Jason Ball towers with rainbow lights providing a potent display of acceptance for anyone driving into the town. 5 WE ARE Pride Cup 6 Pride Cup began as a powerful gesture of mateship PrideCup | Hand in a country footy club and has grown into a national movement for change that unites Book communities. This celebration of diversity is transforming Pride Cup bridges this gap by offering a the sporting landscape through marquee visible display of hope and acceptance to rainbow-themed fixtures – the universal LGBTIQ players. It provides hands-on symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, education to help players, coaches and transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) officials to create inclusive sporting pride – sending a clear message that environments. everyone is welcome Pride Cup strengthens clubs, brings in sport. communities together and creates ripple Sporting clubs are the beating heart of local effects far beyond the playing field. communities, however research has found that discrimination and abuse has locked many LGBTIQ Australians out of the games they love. 7 When Jason Ball publicly came out as gay in 2012, his PrideCup | Hand teammates from the Yarra Glen Football Netball Club wanted to show him they had his back. This act of true Book mateship became the spearhead of a national campaign to tackle homophobia and transphobia in sport. The team from country Victoria, came up It was an event that galvanised the entire with the idea to stage a Pride Cup. They community and became the inspiration for themed one of their home games around the now annual AFL Pride Game, first celebrating diversity and inclusion, with played between St Kilda and Sydney in players wearing rainbow jumpers, and the 2016, which turned Melbourne’s Etihad 50 metre lines painted in rainbow colours. Stadium into a sea of rainbows. Since hitting the national stage, communities across Australia have joined the movement, with Pride Cups being staged in clubs around Victoria, South Australia and Queensland. 8 Sport brings people together, forging social bonds and PrideCup | Hand providing significant mental and physical health benefits. But discrimination remains a major barrier to participation Book for LGBTIQ people. Research shows that: Transgender, gender diverse and intersex – 80% of Australians have experienced or people face unique barriers to participation witnessed homophobia in sport, in strictly gender-segregated sporting including slurs such as ‘faggot’ or ‘dyke’. environments. This is perpetuated by – 75% believe openly gay spectators would transphobia, negative stereotypes and not be safe at a sporting event, myths about how gender relates to – A staggering 87% of young gay men and physical strength and sporting ability. 75% of young gay women remain in the closet while playing sport. The effects of this kind of exclusion can be profound, contributing to the disproportionately high rates of mental health issues and suicide among LGBTIQ people. Pride Cup’s powerful message of acceptance has been shown to reduce these feelings of isolation and bring LGBTIQ people back into sport by creating a safer, more inclusive environment. ‘I stopped playing footy because I routinely heard the words ‘faggot’ and ‘poofter’ on the field or in the stands and I was terrified of what would happen if my teammates found out I was gay. Years later, seeing players in rainbow jumpers at the Pride Cup moved me to tears. It was the first time in my life I felt like I belonged in the sporting world.’ Jason Ball Pride Cup Founder 9 Making your club more inclusive strengthens community PrideCup | Hand bonds and makes your club more welcoming to a whole new base of supporters, players and volunteers. Book LGBTIQ Australians make up Bigger crowds can also lead to greater approximately 15% of the population and potential for attracting sponsorship will represent a significant proportion of opportunities. The economic flow-on your local community – (and their families). effect for the wider community is an increase in visitors spending money on Pride Cups have the ability to bring accommodation and hospitality, and in disparate communities together to form a local retail stores. united bond in showing acceptance and inclusion. By taking a leadership role in developing these valuable relationships, your club will Some Pride Cups have attracted crowds form stronger ties with local businesses, up to four times larger than a regular schools, media and local government.