13 February 2024 | Tennis West

In conjunction with the Australian Open Pride Day 2024, Margaret River and Tom Price Tennis Club’s celebrated AO Pride Night. AO Pride Day celebrates diversity and inclusion and is an opportunity to be loud about our values of being welcoming and inclusive for the LGBTQ+ community. 

Margaret River and Tom Price Tennis Club applied for the funding from Tennia Australia, allowing both clubs to host their own Pride Night during the Australian Open 2024.

Margaret River Tennis Club Secretary Kirsty Marek applied for the funding and was pleased with the feedback and interest from the tennis club.

“There is limited understanding in this area amongst many of our members and we managed to pull several people into the circle of knowledge and acceptance, which was great to see.”

“The night itself was sold out. We played tennis and pickleball then had a quiz night afterwards. I’ve had so much positive feedback about it regarding bringing the community together and being inclusive and supportive. It was a fun night.”

Margaret River Tennis Club member Lucy Curtin who organised the event shared her thoughts on the night:

 

This is your first AO Club Pride Night, have you hosted something similar before at MRTC? 

I knew that I would have some support from the women as they had organised my hens party with the pride theme!! When I was worrying about how many attendees we would have, I took confidence in that.

 

What did the night entail? 

We started with social tennis and pickleball, with everyone dressed in their brightest attire. We then went into a 4 round trivia night – including spot prizes, random games and a pub choir-esque round of “the lion sleeps tonight.” Margi Pride, our local LGBTQIA+ not for profit organisation, had a representative attend and spoke to everyone about the Margi Pride goals and how to join if anyone was interested.

 

Why did you want to host an AO Club Pride Night? 

We live in such an open and accepting area that sometimes we forget how important it is to have representation and show inclusivity. I have always felt so comfortable at the tennis club I wanted to share this feeling with anyone else in the community.

 

What was the biggest learning from the education sessions and the pride event itself? 

There were some statistics that I know really hit the attendees of the education session – mostly about mental health in young LGBTQIA+ and questioning teens.  We had spoken about how important sport is to mental health, and how LGBTQIA+ people tend to not feel as accepted in sporting settings

 

As the event came together, what sparked the most joy for you personally? 

So many parts of it! There were some moments throughout the afternoon when everyone was out playing tennis, and wearing their brights colours, that I just felt so stoked to be there, and proud of what we’d brought together. There were so many good vibes! To see a full house when everyone sat down inside was my happiest moment.

 

Will you be applying for the grant again for AO25? 

Absolutely!

 

Funding for the next AO Club Pride Night will open in November later this year. If your club would like to host an AO Club Pride Night in 2025, please contact Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Lead Zara Cavalot [email protected]