Written by Amelia Barnes
Netball Victoria's year-round commitment to supporting the LGBT+ community has been recognised in the 2023 Pride in Sport Index (PSI) as a Gold Sporting Organisation.
The PSI is an independently administered national benchmarking system used to assess LGBT+ inclusion within Australian sport. An initiative of the Australian Human Rights Commission and the Australian Sports Commission, the index provides the opportunity for all national and state sporting organisations to have their LGBT+ related initiatives, programs and policies reviewed, measured, and monitored.
The PSI is produced by Pride in Sport, a national not-for-profit sporting inclusion program spearheaded by Australia’s largest LGBT+ health organisation, ACON.
2023 marks the first time Netball Victoria has achieved a gold ranking on the PSI. The organisation has steadily improved its score since its initial involvement with the index, receiving a participating ranking in 2021, silver in 2022, and now gold.
Netball Victoria was one of five organisations nationally to receive a gold ranking in 2023 alongside Hockey ACT, Macquarie University Sport, Tennis Australia, and Touch Football Australia.
In addition, Netball Victoria’s Community & Junior Development Manager Tanya Gamble was one of four finalists for the LGBTQ Executive Leader Award at the 2023 Pride in Sport Awards.
“The amount of passion and dedication and commitment in that room was just really nice to be around,” said Gamble of the awards.
Gamble is proud of Netball Victoria’s improved commitment to supporting LGBT+ people in netball as reflected in its gold ranking on the PSI.
“It shows our commitment internally and externally,” said Gamble. “We want to ensure that we're providing an inclusive and safe environment for the LGBT+ community to get involved and be part of our sport, and if we are not continuing to improve or maintain what we are doing, then that's not going to happen.”
Among the initiatives Netball Victoria has introduced over the past 12 months is a new Policy for the Inclusion of Transgender and Gender Diverse People in community netball, developed in consultation with Proud2Play and the P2P Advisory Board.
The Melbourne Vixens recently participated in the first Inclusion Round of Suncorp Super Netball, choosing three inclusive initiatives to highlight under the theme ‘Everyone Belongs’. including LGBT+ and CaLD (culturally and linguistically diverse) communities, and people with a disability.
The Victorian Netball League (VNL) continues to be a leader in its support of the LGBT+ community with the third annual league-wide Pride Round happening today on International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT).
Gamble oversees all of the diversity and inclusion programs at Netball Victoria including those related to the LGBT+ community. She previously spent many years working in social welfare and is passionate about the role sporting organisations can play in supporting disadvantaged and minority groups.
“People that come from disadvantaged backgrounds and minority groups are needing that support, that connection, and that security … To bring that into a different context, netball is just as important in providing that sense of belonging,” Gamble said. “In my mind, community sport is so crucial for everyone's wellbeing.”
Gamble said Netball Victoria’s visible and vocal support and inclusion of the LGBT+ community is important across all levels of the sport. This includes clubs using appropriate visuals and language to indicate they offer a safe environment, and fans turning up to support initiatives such as Pride Rounds.
“When I talk to someone who identifies with the LGBT+ community, they often say that if they turn up to a netball club and there's nothing that makes them feel welcome or feel that they belong, they will walk away and they won't go back, so it's really important,” said Gamble.
Netball Victoria will continue to develop and grow in its inclusion and support of the LGBT+ community by embedding their needs within every level and department of the organisation.
Gamble said, “I’m very passionate about the fact that everyone should have an opportunity to belong and be involved in a sport that they choose to be part of, but also to feel safe and secure doing that.”
