DAUGHTERS of the west… Red, white, blue, and rainbow.<\/p>\n
An AFLW pride match between the Western Bulldogs and St Kilda women\u2019s football clubs will be played at Mars Stadium in round eight of the 2022 fixture.<\/p>\n
As co-founder of the club\u2019s LGBTQI+ supporter group, Amy Fabry-Jenkins will be cheering on the Doggies during the pride round clash on Sunday, 16 October at 1.10pm.<\/p>\n
\u201cBulldog Pride is a community group we set up to ensure members of the LGBTQI+ community feel safe at football and enjoy football,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also a place for people to come and discover football, and to continue to enjoy football, even after they\u2019ve come out, when it may not feel like a safe place to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe silver lining of Whitten Oval being renovated is that we get a rainbow pride event here in Ballarat, and we\u2019re passionate about supporting local community groups to be involved in this to make sure it\u2019s a real community event that supports, and builds the capacity, pride, and safety of the LGBTQI+ community of Ballarat and regional Victoria,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bulldogs midfielder Issy Grant said Ballarat will feel like home while Whitten Oval is being redeveloped.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo have pride round at the place where we feel comfortable to be ourselves, and can embrace the community, it\u2019s super exciting, and we\u2019re so grateful for the opportunity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cAFLW is leading the way in this regard, and I\u2019m 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know the benefits of sport for mental wellbeing and general health, so hopefully this can have massive flow-on benefits beyond just one game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Western Bulldogs chief commercial and strategy officer Kon Karavias expects Mars Stadium to be \u201cpacked\u201d with supporters across both AFLW games, as the three teams are Victorian.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DAUGHTERS of the west… Red, white, blue, and rainbow. An AFLW pride match between the Western Bulldogs and St Kilda women\u2019s football clubs will be played at Mars Stadium in round eight of the 2022 fixture. As co-founder of the club\u2019s LGBTQI+ supporter group, Amy Fabry-Jenkins will be cheering on the Doggies during the pride […]<\/p>\n