Gymnastics NSW Announces Pride in Sport Partnership

Roll out the rainbow carpet! It is our great pleasure to announce Gymnastics NSW has become a member of the Australian Pride in Sport program.

As part of our inclusive philosophy, GNSW has committed to ACON Health’s program specifically designed to assist sporting organisations with the inclusion of athletes, coaches, volunteers, officials, spectators and employees with diverse genders and sexualities.

Being a Pride in Sport member means a commitment to promoting and changing practices to work towards a more inclusive, safe, and healthy sporting environment for all.

GNSW CEO Aaron Bloomfield says the partnership will help enhance the inclusion of LGBTIQ people in gymnastics.

“Everyone has a right to feel welcome and safe in gymnastics, and indeed within all aspects of life,” Mr Bloomfield said. “We look forward to working with Pride in Sport to create a culture of care for our beautifully diverse community. We want people who identify as LGBTIQ to see gymnastics as a welcome and safe space where they can truly be themselves.”

As part of Pride Month this June, GNSW also presents Pride Ambassadors Dominic Clarke and Mic Whitehouse.

Throughout their time as ambassadors, this wonderful duo will share their experiences and thoughts as part of the organisation’s efforts to foster inclusivity within gymnastics.

Whitehouse, a former High Performance Rhythmic Gymnast and current Head Coach at Le Ray Gymnastics Academy, says the partnership with Pride in Sport is monumental.

“It opens up the conversation and allows for acceptance and opportunity for LGBTIQ and gender diverse people,” they said.

“I am proud to be a queer, non-binary individual. But I never felt like I could be proud of myself or my identity while I was a gymnast. If I could talk to my younger, competing self, I would have told them that it’s okay to be proud and open about who I am.”

Pride is all about celebrating our rights to live freely as ourselves, and celebrating those who pioneered for our community to be seen and accepted, they said.

For Mr Clarke, a Tokyo Olympics hopeful and High Performance Trampoline Gymnast, the opportunity to be an ambassador was welcomed as a chance to inspire others.

“If I can be openly and proudly a queer trampolinist on a podium at a local gymnastics comp, or out on the world stage, it may inspire other athletes to be comfortable in their own skin, speak up and be 100% themselves,” he said.

Data from the 2020 PSI National Survey showed that just 44% of LGBTIQ people felt mentally well within their sport, with 44% of people who are not an active LGBTIQ Ally saying they were too busy to be engaged in individual activities.

Pride in Sport National Program Manager Beau Newell said creating a much safer sporting culture for LGBTIQ people has never been more important.

“By joining Pride in Sport and working with ACON, Gymnastics NSW is showing the community they care about the health and wellbeing of their athletes and members across the state,” Mr Newell said.

“Congratulations to Gymnastics NSW for leading the way in changing Australia’s sporting culture to be more inclusive.”