Bulldogs take pride in Ballarat

DAUGHTERS of the west… Red, white, blue, and rainbow.

An AFLW pride match between the Western Bulldogs and St Kilda women’s football clubs will be played at Mars Stadium in round eight of the 2022 fixture.

As co-founder of the club’s LGBTQI+ supporter group, Amy Fabry-Jenkins will be cheering on the Doggies during the pride round clash on Sunday, 16 October at 1.10pm.

“Bulldog Pride is a community group we set up to ensure members of the LGBTQI+ community feel safe at football and enjoy football,” she said.

“It’s also a place for people to come and discover football, and to continue to enjoy football, even after they’ve come out, when it may not feel like a safe place to be.”

Bulldog Pride has worked with the Western Bulldogs since their initial pride match against Carlton, and Ms Fabry-Jenkins is keen to see the game run in a regional setting for the first time.

“The silver lining of Whitten Oval being renovated is that we get a rainbow pride event here in Ballarat, and we’re passionate about supporting local community groups to be involved in this to make sure it’s a real community event that supports, and builds the capacity, pride, and safety of the LGBTQI+ community of Ballarat and regional Victoria,” she said.

“It’s so important that LGBTQI+ community in regional Victoria gets as many events, and gets maybe even more support than we do in the big cities.

“This will mean so much to people who grew up in Ballarat or country Victoria, who continue to live in country Victoria, and those who have moved here from Melbourne.”

Bulldogs midfielder Issy Grant said Ballarat will feel like home while Whitten Oval is being redeveloped.

“To have pride round at the place where we feel comfortable to be ourselves, and can embrace the community, it’s super exciting, and we’re so grateful for the opportunity,” she said.

Two rounds beforehand, the Western Bulldogs and the Geelong Cats will play another AFLW match at Mars Stadium on Saturday, 1 October from 2.10pm.

City of Ballarat mayor Cr Daniel Moloney, a member of the LGBTQI+ community, said Ballarat is becoming a more inclusive place, but there is still room to improve inclusivity in sport.

“AFLW is leading the way in this regard, and I’m hoping that as we start to see more LGBTQI+ players who are visible, and we have more pride rounds, we will create a far more welcoming environment for everyone to take part in sport,” he said.

“We know the benefits of sport for mental wellbeing and general health, so hopefully this can have massive flow-on benefits beyond just one game.”

Western Bulldogs chief commercial and strategy officer Kon Karavias expects Mars Stadium to be “packed” with supporters across both AFLW games, as the three teams are Victorian.