It is incredibly exciting for us at Pride Cup to see everyone getting back into community
sport in 2021! On the 8th of May in Yarra Glen, we will see the 7th Annual Yarra Valley Pride
Cup. This marks another year celebrating LGBTIQ+ inclusion in sport on a grand scale with
good ol’ country footy hospitality.
In 2013 when Yarra Glen footballer, and future Young Victorian Australian of the Year JasonBall came out as gay to his mates, they responded by holding a ‘Pride Game’ to show their
support. What began as a rainbow 50m line and a Pride Cup on offer for the winner, was the
beginning of what is now, a national movement of local sporting communities working hard
to change the culture around LGBTIQ+ inclusion in sport.
Throughout this journey, here at Pride Cup Australia we have always strived to do our best
to meet the needs of the communities we serve. During the difficult sidelining of 2020, we
did the now iconic ‘pivot’ to find new ways to keep people and sporting clubs connected
and focussed on health and wellbeing. We created content like Podcasts and interviews and even an entire LGBTIQ+ sports themes trivia series – all to keep our Pride Cup community entertained, engaged and informed.
However, we are thrilled to be back out in clubland! We love the club based work we do at
Pride Cup, and take enormous Pride in the positive impact that every event and every
education session we run has on players, clubs and communities. In late 2019, VicHealthpartnered with Monash University to conduct some research to put evidence behind what
we do; to understand how running a Pride Cup does benefit clubs, and how best to improve
even further on how we approach the task of breaking down the barriers to sporting
participation that LGBTIQ+ people face.
The research has provided some wonderful insight into Pride Cup, and while we were
unable to launch this exciting project in 2020 – we can now! At the upcoming annual Yarra
Valley Pride Cup, Researchers from Monash University will present on their findings, and a
panel of experts will discuss the next steps forward for LGBTIQ+ inclusion.
The launch will be but a small part of the rainbows, festivities and bustle that will be
happening out at Yarra Glen on Saturday, May 8th! To accompany the great local footy and
netball, there will be colourful roving performers, a small market area, hot food and coffee
and some great entertainment. Singer, Writer, Actor, star of stage and screen and friend of
Pride Cup Adam Noviello (most recently of ‘Spencer’ 2020) will be appearing as part of the
opening ceremony prior to the main Pride Cup match to get us all ready for the clash
between Yarra Glen.
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Event Details:
Yarra Glen Recreation Reserve. Melba Highway, Yarra Glen
NETBALL 10:00 am
WOMEN’S FOOTY 10:15 am
PRIDE CUP MATCH 2:00 pm
