By Oliver Lees
The Kyneton Tigers are set to show their rainbow stripes.
On May 8, the Kyneton Football Netball Club will host Eaglehawk Football Netball Club (EFNC) for the annual Pride Cup, which was created in solidarity with the LGBTIQA+ (LGBT) community.
First launched in Yarra Glen in 2012, the Pride Cup serves the twin purpose of providing an inclusive environment as well as encouraging members of the LGBT community to be more engaged in community sport.
Kyneton Tigers president Hayden Evans said he wants his club to be considered the “most welcoming and inclusive” in regional Victoria.
“It’s something we’re implementing by investing in all of our football and netball teams across seniors and juniors,” Evans said.
“[Last week] fielding our first all-abilities football team, and now staging this important event that’s part of what has become a national movement across all
sporting codes”.
According to the Active Living Census conducted by the Healthy Heart of Victoria, LGBT people living in the Macedon Ranges are less likely to meet national recommended guidelines around physical activity.
The census, which was carried out across six local government areas in Victoria, found that barely half of people who identified as LGBT were doing their recommended 30 minutes of moderate daily exercise.
Speaking with Star Weekly earlier this month, Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health promotion leader Lauren Tyrell said it can be difficult for sexually or gender-diverse people to feel welcome at sporting clubs.
“We have a strong investment in the needs of our LGBT community,” she said.
“For example, we understand many transgender and gender diverse people feel like they don’t fit in in regular sporting clubs.”
The Kyneton Tigers senior men’s and women’s will don custom-made pride guernseys.
The Pride Cup will kick off with a lunch event featuring AFLW star and league-leading goalkicker Darcy Vescio.
That will be followed by the senior men’s and women’s football matches at 2.30pm and A Grade netball throughout the afternoon.
As well as hosting the Pride Cup, the Kyneton Tigers have also committed to engaging their players in educational sessions that touch on the importance of mental and physical health.
The teams will come together after the day’s matches to celebrate.
