Endeavour Hills SFC, Parkdale Vultures NC, Frankston Dolphins FNC and Murrumbeena FNC will be battling it out for the 2022 Pride Cup this weekend.
The SFNL Pride Round is a highlight of the Southern Football Netball League calendar, strengthened by a partnership with St.Kilda FC in line with their annual match against the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League.
Following the success of the Inaugural SFNL Pride Cup match between St Kilda City and St Pauls Football Netball Clubs in 2016, the league has seen a tremendous growth in passion for the event.
On Saturday in the SFNL A4 Netball competition, second placed Parkdale will host this year's 2022 Netball Pride Cup against Murrumbeena at 12:10 on Court Two.
Belinda MacKenzie is the Netball Coordinator at Parkdale, she expressed how excited the club was to be involved in this year’s Pride Round festivities while learning more about how to support the LGBTIQ+ community.
“We at Parkdale Vultures are super proud to be invited to take part in the SFNL Pride Game to celebrate diversity and inclusion in our game of netball,” Mackenzie says.
The Vultures will be wearing pride-themed rainbow bibs and socks to mark the occasion, hoping to take home the Pride Cup.
“This match is a great opportunity to listen and learn from the LGBTIQA+ community and we look forward to wearing our rainbow bibs and socks with pride!”
Crossing over to the women’s football we will see Endeavour Hills don their Pride Round guernseys at Barry Simon Reserve in what is sure to be a fast-paced match against the Frankston Dolphins on Sunday at 12.
To Endeavour Hills SFC, Pride Round provides them with an opportunity to demonstrate their inclusive environment, where everyone matters irrespective of your gender preferences.
Gail Worsley previously played for the Endeavour Hills SFC and continues to serve the club as an executive member of the committee.
“Some girls don’t want to disclose their sexuality or their journeys in that part of their life because it is hard, we want to give them a safe space to do so,” Worsley says.
Worsley’s passion for the Falcons is unparalleled and has driven her desire to support the girls wherever she can alongside senior coach Marcus Kleinert.
The Falcons aim to provide an open and supportive environment for their members. “We have been working with Monash University, Stand Up events and GameChanger, to ensure we have the right environment at the club.”
Moving away from a derogative culture that was hurtful to members of the LGTBIQ+ community kicked off a big cultural shift at the club.
Sport provides communities with an amazing opportunity to support their members, hosting Pride Cups is shown to significantly reduce homophobic language and behaviour amongst teammates.
There are still incredibly low numbers of participation in grassroots sport within the LGBTIQ+ community, events such as the Pride Cup aim to combat this and provide clubs with the opportunities and resources to build a safe space for their members.
If you would like to learn more about how you can foster an inclusive environment at your club, check out pridecup.org.au and enquire with the SFNL about participating in the 2023 Pride Round events.
