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Stepping out for a fair go
On Sunday 5 February, Fair go, sport! project partners walked alongside representatives from other sporting codes and the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission at the 17thAnnual Pride March in St Kilda.
The wild weather did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd as they cheered on the 50-strong contingent that fielded representatives from the Australian Football League, Basketball Victoria, Football Federation of Victoria and Table Tennis – some of whom were making their first appearance at a Pride March.
Hockey itself was well represented with Hockey Victoria, Baw Baw HC, Camberwell HC, Mentone HC and Old Carey HC flying the flag.
The group was rounded up by VicHealth and Parkville Women (from the Fair go, sport! Steering Committee), Gus Johnston, John Searle (Commission Chair), Brendon Gale (Commission board member), Commission staff and their supporters.
Along with the 'fair go' message, the Commission continued to promote equality, giving out its 'We are not all the same but we are all equal' magnets and stickers, which were very popular with the crowd.
The contingent from Fair go, Sport! and the Victoria Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission
The ‘Equal’ magnet (also available – badges, stickers, postcards and poster)
Fair go, sport! flies the flag at Midsumma
Fair go, sport! will once again have a presence at Midsumma – Melbourne’s arts, sporting and cultural festival that celebrates the pride and diverse achievements of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual and intersex people in the community. There are three events not to be missed so get your diaries out!
Midsumma Carnival, Sunday 15 January
Visit the Fair go, sport! stall and meet the team – project partners, project advocates and pilot club reps – and help yourself to some Fair go, sport! freebies. And while you’re at it, why not find out how your club or sport can get involved in the project?
“We’re here, we’re queer and we wanna play!”
A Fair go, sport! forum, Tuesday 24 January
This forum will bring together the key Fair go, sport! partners and pilot clubs to explain and explore the project – the issues, the approach and the learnings – and showcase a range of positive approaches and practical activities. If you play sport, watch sport, manage sport or just want to get involved, come and join the discussion.
The forum is free to attend but you will need to register to ensure a place. To register, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call (03) 9032 3420.
Download the Fair go, sport! Forum invitation (PDF, 426KB).
Pride March, Sunday 5 February
Pride March is an important community event and always lots of fun. Marching at Pride is about showing your support of Victoria’s GLBTI community and demonstrating your commitment to the spirit of inclusiveness. So how about marching for Fair go, sport! with staff and supporters of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission? It’s a great opportunity to be in the thick of the action.
Everyone’s invited so if you’d like to join us, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call (03) 9032 3429.
For more information download the 2012 Pride March flyer (PDF, 387KB).
Werribee Hockey Club shows its support for a fair go
Werribee Hockey Club celebrated the final round of the season by hosting a Fair go, sport! and Family Day on Saturday, 27 August.
Club President, Lyn Tout, said the Fair go, sport! message had been firmly embedded in the club’s code of conduct, policies and practices and underscored its commitment to fair play and inclusion at all levels in the club.
Two Fair go, sport! Cups were played on the day at the State League 3 level. In both games Werribee was victorious with the women defeating Melbourne University (4-2), and the men easily defeating Baw Baw, another of the project pilot clubs (7-2).
Over the weekend not only did all senior teams get into the spirit of the project and wear the rainbow socks, but all teams also wore rainbow wristbands as well as presenting wristbands to the opposing teams with a card that stated, “Fair go, sport! At Werribee Hockey Club this means everyone.”
The club also proudly displayed a new poster as part of its commitment to the project.
The Werribee women’s State League 3 team welcoming the players from Melbourne University
The victorious Werribee Men’s State League 3 team
Old Carey turns 50, takes on inclusion and fair play
On Sunday 21 August, Old Carey Hockey Club created a bit of magic at Elgar Park when they stepped out in their Fair go, sport! socks, and then scored a 3-1 victory against Melbourne High School Old Boys. Making the evening doubly sweet, the club unveiled its new banner that not only marked its 50th year but was testament to its commitment to the Fair go, sport! ideals of inclusion and fair play.
Two Fair go, sport! medals were later presented to two ‘men of the match’ – the ‘fairest player’ from each team, as nominated by their own team.
Everyone’s a winner: the Old Carey team in front of their new banner
Men of the match (from L to R): Ben Hartung (CEO, Hockey Victoria), Wei ‘Wedgie’ Guang Wang (Fair go, sport! medallist from Melbourne High School Old Boys), Paul Burrows (Fair go, sport! medallist from Old Carey), Polash Larsen (President, Old Carey HC)
Baw Baw Hockey gets bullish on fair play and inclusion
On Sunday 31 July, Baw Baw Hockey Club hosted its Sponsors Day staging both metro and state league matches and declaring their commitment to promoting fair play and inclusion at all levels in the club.
“We want to be known as a club that is welcoming of everyone including gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender and inter-sex people. From Leongatha to Lakes Entrance, everyone’s invited,” said Keith Sutton, President, Baw Baw Hockey Club and the club’s Fair go, sport! project advocate. Mr Sutton also said the Gippsland-based club had been using Fair go, sport! to implement a Play by the Rules approach within the club, to update its policies and improve its administration.
Ben Hartung, Hockey Victoria’s CEO acknowledged the change that ‘the Bulls’ were ushering in the region. “Baw Baw Hockey Club already provides the people of Gippsland the opportunity of playing in the metropolitan competition and now, with its approach to inclusive sport, creates even greater opportunity to participate in and connect with the community,” he said.
Camberwell Hockey Club strikes the perfect pitch!
On Saturday 2 July, Camberwell Hockey Club relaunched its pitch at Matlock Reserve. Camberwell is one of the four Fair go, sport! pilot clubs.
The club celebrated with a family day and hosted two Fair go, Sport! Cup games against Waverley Men's and Women's State League 1 teams. Camberwell played in rainbow socks bearing the project name. These created enormous interest and were a striking success.
Andrew Minter, President, Camberwell Hockey Club said inclusive sport provides a way of connecting with the community and offers the opportunity to ‘belong’, as he unveiled the club’s new “What you say matters” poster on the day.
“Fair go, sport! has inspired us to explore our club practices to see what is working and what we can do to make hockey more inclusive of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender and inter-sex people,” Mr Minter said.
The Hon Andrew McIntosh, MP, State Member for Kew, and Councillor Nicholas Tragas, Mayor of the City of Boroondara, both recognised the important role of the project and commended the club for its involvement.
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Camberwell Hockey Club's Men's and Women's State Leaue 1 team and friends
(From left: Mayor Nicholas Tragas, City of Boroondara, Mr Andrew McIntosh, State MP for Kew, [fifth from left] Ben Hartung, CEO Hockey Victoria, Ms Anna Burke, Federal MP for Chisholm, Mr Graham Watt, State MP for Burwood, Ms Georgie Crozier, State MP for Southern Metropolitan Region, Dr Helen Szoke. Commissioner, Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, Andrew Minter, President, Camberwell Hockey Club)
Camberwell HC putting their best feet forward
Media launch and project champions
On 29 March 2011, we introduced Claire Prideaux and Katie Allen OAM to the media as Fair go, sport! project champions. As project champions, Claire (a former Hockeyroo and current Hockey Australia Board Member) and Katie (an Olympic Hockey Gold Medallist and the current women’s coach at the Victorian Institute of Sport) will promote Fair go, sport!, advocate the benefits of the project and help rally support for it.
Since then, another project champion has joined the fold, Trish Heberle, a former international national coach and Olympian, who is currently a High Performance Network Manager with Hockey Australia.
From left: Tom Kneebone, Clare Prideaux, Andrew Skillern, Katie Allen, Dr Helen Szoke - Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner, Alisha Burjorjee, Ben Hartung and Mary Lofthouse
Fair go, sport! project champions Katie Allen and Clare Prideaux
Pilot clubs
An important part of the project is the opportunity to work with a small number of hockey clubs to try out some interventions to promote sexual and gender diversity, and inclusive environments in their clubs. The four selected pilot clubs are:
- Werribee Hockey Club
- Old Carey Hockey Club
- Camberwell Hockey Club
- Baw Baw Hockey Club
Each pilot club has the support of its Committee and has identified at least one Project Advocate to be the primary contact and to facilitate and encourage their club’s involvement.
The project does not plan to impose any particular activities or interventions on the pilot clubs but hopes the clubs will work on activities that will suit their own needs. These activities could include updated policies and codes, education, themed events, ground announcements, banners, social media, posters or whatever the club thinks might be relevant and effective for them.
Literature review
The project evaluators at La Trobe University were commissioned to develop a literature review to inform and support the development of the project. While the literature review begins with a summary of the evidence of the existence of homophobia and transphobia in sport, its primary focus is on what has and can be done to promote safer and more inclusive sporting environments.
Download the Fair go, sport! literature review (PDF, 190KB).
Midsumma Festival and Pride March
The Midsumma Festival at Birrarung Marr on 16 January provided Fair go, sport! with the opportunity to connect with people attending Victoria’s biggest and most vibrant event for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex community. At the Commission’s information stall, Fair go, sport! received a lot of airplay and positive feedback.
Fair go, sport! received another plug at the Pride March – which closed the Festival – on 6 February, with a strong contingent, comprising staff from the Commission, Hockey Victoria and Hockey Australia, marched with project placards upfront.
Fair go, sport! contingent at the Pride March 2011
About the project
Fair go, sport! is aimed at promoting safety and inclusiveness for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex (GLBTI) people involved in the hockey code.
This 16-month project, which commenced in June 2010, will develop and trial:
- methods for engaging and educating participants at various levels in hockey including, for example, administrators, managers, board members, coaches, officials, players and spectators at the local, state and national level
- resources and tools that promote strategies for responding to issues of gender and sexuality and tackling discrimination using club-specific and code-wide approaches
- a model for engagement that can be adapted within other sports.
GLBTI people continue to face widespread discrimination, which prevents them from participating in sport generally and can affect their social, psychological and physical wellbeing.
The benefits of being able to participate and be involved in sport can have a profoundly positive impact, as inclusive sport provides a way of connecting with the community and offers the opportunity to belong.
Fair go, sport! is a joint initiative of Hockey Victoria, Hockey Australia and the Australian Sports Commission (which is also funding the project), and is managed by the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.
Steering committee
Fair go, sport! is supported by a steering committee that includes, Gay and Lesbian Health Victoria, RJM Trust, Sport and Recreation Victoria, Transgender Victoria, VicHealth and Victoria University, as well as representatives from hockey clubs and associations.
Media and resources
Download the Fair go, sport! literature review (PDF, 190KB).
Check out Camberwell Hockey Club's What you say matters poster (PDF, 171KB)
Werribee Hockey Club has also produced a What you say matters poster (PDF, 148KB)
Media releases
Werribee Hockey shows its support for a fair go - 27 Aug 2011
Old Carey turns 50, takes on inclusion and fair play - 21 Aug 2011
Baw Baw Hockey gets bullish on fair play and inclusion - 31 Jul 2011
Camberwell Hockey strikes the right pitch with inclusion in sport - 2 Jul 2011
Commission and Hockey Victoria strike a pose for IDAHO - 17 May 2011
Commission and hockey team up for sexual and gender diversity - 29 Mar 2011
Commission welcomes Come out to Play report and moves to tackle homophobia in sport - 20 May 2010
Commission backs sports stars and speaks out on homophobia in sport - 19 Apr 2010
Opinion piece
Find out more
For more information about Fair go, sport! contact Peter Gourlay (project officer) on (03) 9032 3420 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Alternatively you can send us a completed expression of interest form (PDF, 300KB).
