Hockey making its mark at Pride in Sport Awards

Hockey in Australia’s reputation as a leader in LGBTQ inclusion was reinforced at the annual Pride in Sport Awards in Melbourne last night.

The event saw Hockey Australia and Hockey New South Wales maintain its silver status on the Pride in Sport Index, 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.

Impressively, Hockey Victoria and Hockey ACT received gold status, acknowledging the outstanding and dedicated work and commitment done by both Member Associations in this area.

Overall, hockey organisations featured prominently taking out four of the top 11 spots across the gold and silver tiers (4 gold and 7 silver).

Joining the national and state bodies was Sydney’s Bentstix Hockey Club, who achieved silver status in the community sporting organisation category.

In the individual awards, Hockey Australia Chief Strategy Officer and Legal Counsel Michael Johnston was a finalist in the Sports Executive Leader of the Year.

Hockey Australia Board Director Mary Konstantopoulos also featured with nomination for the LGBTQ Positive Media Award for her piece, ‘Holly’s Story’.

“We are proud that as a sport we can acknowledge the effort and inclusivity we have worked towards to achieve these great results,” said Johnston.

“We look forward to furthering our pride acknowledgement and understanding within all levels of hockey in Australia.”

“Most pleasingly we continue to hear firsthand stories from the LGTBQ community of their positive and welcoming experience in our sport. In hockey we accept everyone, just as they are.”

Launched in 2018, the Australian Pride in Sport Awards is the first celebration of its kind dedicated solely to recognising exceptional efforts in making sport more inclusive to all LGBTQ people.

Each year, participating sports/clubs submit evidence against an established baseline criterion which measures best practice.

Full list of 2022 Pride in Sport winners

Pictured above: Michaela Cook (VicSport and former Hockey Victoria), Hayley McKinnon (Hockey Australia), Narasimhan Ravi (Hockey Victoria), Tom Winter (Pride in Sport), Suzanne Henderson (Hockey Victoria), Kate Pulbrook (Hockey NSW), Michael Johnston (Hockey Australia), Jess Moran (Hockey NSW)