Bushrangers show strong commitment to diversity with two new partnerships
Written by Kade Matthews
Bushrangers Basketball are showing no signs of slowing down this holiday season, signing two big partnerships demonstrating their commitment to diversity before the year is out.
The newest team to join the Women’s Netball and Basketball League, The Southside Flyers have become their official diversity partner and the club they support. They are also partnering with Transgender Victoria (TGV) to guide and strengthen their commitment to transgender and gender diverse people in Basketball.
Bushrangers may be small but they have a very big purpose. As Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland’s (and soon to be Canberra’s) first LGBTIQA+ basketball clubs they are tenacious in their drive to improve visibility and engagement for those who have fallen through the cracks of mainstream team sports.
They understand the importance of linking up with mainstream sporting bodies and clubs to combat the preconceived notion that basketball is not a safe space for the LGBTIQA+ community – especially its transgender and gender diverse folk.
This is why outward expressions of shared inclusion goals from elite clubs like Southside Flyers, Transgender Victoria and Bushrangers Ambassador triple Olympian Shelley Gorman are so important for the LGBTIQA+ community.
As diversity partners, Bushrangers Basketball, Transgender Victoria and Southside Flyers have agreed to join forces to: promote inclusion and understanding in the wider basketball community; exchange ideas on how to promote and foster safe spaces for the LGBTIQA+ community and especially their transgender and gender diverse players/members; and coordinate and cooperate with each other regarding projects and/or activities of mutual interest in order to achieve their shared goals for promoting inclusion.
During Midsumma, the Bushrangers will be part of a Queer Soiree at the Carlton baths where they host training on Sundays. All are welcome to join, details here.
