Australian hockey’s reputation as a leader in the LGBTQ+ inclusion space was recognised again last night at the annual Pride in Sport Awards in Melbourne.
Notably, Hockey ACT took out the top award, winning the 2023 Sporting Organisation of the Year and scoring the highest ever mark on the Pride in Sport Index. This mark saw Hockey ACT maintain its Gold Status which it achieved for the first time last year.
Hockey featured heavily throughout the awards with Hockey Australia, Hockey Queensland and Hockey Victoria all achieving Silver Status and Hockey WA earning Bronze Status.
Hockey organisations took out five of the top 16 spots across the gold, silver and bronze tiers (5 gold, 6 silver and 5 bronze). View the full list of 2023 Pride in Sport winners.
The Pride of Sport Index is the first and only benchmarking instrument specifically designed to assess the inclusion of people with diverse sexualities and genders within Australian sporting organisations and codes more broadly.
“Hockey Australia is proud of the work it has done through the Pride in Sport Collective, supporting our LGBTQ+ community and creating safe, welcoming and inclusive environments,” said Hockey Australia Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Manager, Melissa Gmeiner.
“Our commitment to the Pride space is evident through the 2023 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Plan, with Gold Status in the Pride in Sport Awards a highlighted action.”
“Hockey Australia will continue to strive to be leaders in this space.”
The Pride in Sport Awards have been running annually since 2018 and is the first celebration of its kind dedicated to recognising exceptional effort in making sport more inclusive to all LGBTQ+ people.
The awards are based on participating sports/clubs submitting evidence against an established baseline criterion which measures best practice.
Hockey will continue to work in this space with exciting initiatives such as Pride Round coming up in June.
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