On Saturday 13 July, the De La Salle senior women’s team hosted the club’s first ever Pride Match. The Guns were taking on Box Hill North at home in a crucial match on field. But it was also an important match off field, with the match raising awareness that sometimes life isn’t as easy for some people as it is for others, and that sometimes this can merely be due to who you are or who you love.
With players adorned in rainbow socks and rainbow shoelaces, the pre match address from coach Andrew Donnison touched on how important it is that there are safe spaces for all people to come together and live their lives free of discrimination, as well as how important it is that we all work together outside of the football club to ensure the supportive environment that we all share inside the club is reflected in our every day lives. Captain Drizzy addressed the team just before the first bounce noting just how much the team has banded together over the course of the season, and how much they all live the values of the Pride Match by supporting each other and encouraging each other both on field and off field.
The game itself was a high quality, tight, tough but fair, encounter that was played in excellent spirit, with both teams fighting it out right until the final siren blew with the Guns holding a slender 4 point lead.
Following the match, De La Salle hosted a lunch which was attended by 35 people – players, families and friends from both teams. MC’d by comedian Scout Boxall, the lunch was a celebration of diversity and the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ communities, both inside and outside of football.
We were thrilled to hear from Guns captain Drizzy on their personal journey and how they had found different communities along the way to support them and nurture them, including through football. We hope that we can continue to provide that safe space for everyone within the De La Salle Football Club, but also as individuals out in the wider community.
A huge thanks to Box Hill North coach, Steve Jackson, who was a great support of this initiative and organised a table of 11 from Box Hill North to attend the lunch. Steve spoke at the lunch of the importance of matches and lunches such as this, with both coaches agreeing to host an annual Pride Match and lunch – The Guns certainly look forward to playing for The Pride Cup against Box Hill North next season!
Life can be difficult enough for people without having extra barriers put in place just based on who you are. Ensuring that all people feel included and have a community they can call their own can only lead to a better society for everyone. And in hosting a Pride Match to raise awareness of this, De La Salle continues to contribute to making this a reality.
Read the full game match report here
