2025 Pride in Sport Awards Nomination Forms

Consider nominating an athlete, coach, colleague, journalist or campaign for their outstanding contributions to LGBTQ+ inclusion within your sport, within the categories listed below.

These awards are announced at the annual Pride in Sport Awards. Each award recognises outstanding advocacy, support and/or contribution to LGBTQ+ inclusion within sport by leaders, role models, allies and more.

Click on the title of each award to download the Nomination Form.

Executive Leadership Award

This award recognises the outstanding contribution of a leader within Australian sport who has led by example in the LGBTQ+ inclusion space and made a significant contribution to the inclusion of people with diverse sexualities and/or genders with their sport or club. This nomination is open to anyone who has a leadership role within sport, regardless of gender identity and sexual orientation.

Culture is led from the top, so Executive support for LGBTQ+ inclusion speaks volumes. Their contributions should include both internal and external work, sending strong messages to potential members, staff, coaches, customers, stakeholders, LGBTQ+ people who engage with your sport, and the general LGBTQ+ public.

Examples of Executive Leaders include Club Presidents, Vice Presidents, Secretaries, Board Members, CEOs, General Managers, Directors of coaching, officiating, and selections and any other respective individual with a senior leadership portfolio within their sporting organisation.

This nominee’s impact on the inclusion of LGBTQ+ inclusion is recognised and acknowledged by others in their sport/club.

Inclusive Coach of the Year

This award recognises the significant impact of coaches (including assistant coaches) within sport who support LGBTQ+ inclusion above and beyond the expectations of their role. This nomination is open to anyone who has a coaching role within sport, regardless of gender identity and sexual orientation.

This nominee has a strong record of advocating and/or supporting athletes with diverse sexualities and/or genders in sport; and their impact on the inclusion of LGBTQ inclusion is recognised and acknowledged by others in their sport/club.

This nominee must have held a coaching role within the assessed year.

This nomination is for one coach only. If you wish to nominate another coach, you must submit a separate nomination.

LGBTQ+ Ally of the Year

This award recognises the outstanding contribution of an individual within Australian sport who does not personally identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, but who has made a significant contribution as an active ally to the inclusion of people with diverse sexualities and genders with your sport or club.

An ally can be anyone who actively and visibly supports LGBTQ+ inclusion. People often use the term ally to refer to non-LGBTQ+ support of inclusion. While non-LGBTQ+ allies are important in lifting the burden of inclusion work from LGBTQ+ employees, LGBTQ+ people can also be allies for other LGBTQ+ people.

Active and Visible Allies are people who tend to want to make positive and effective changes for LGBTQ+ people in sport.

This nominee’s impact on the inclusion of LGBTQ+ inclusion is recognised and acknowledged by others in their sport/club.

LGBTQ+ Inclusive Innovation Award

This submission recognises an innovative inclusion initiative, product, service or governance that promotes the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people within sport and recreation organisations at any level, or across the sport more broadly.

Innovation can occur in new internal inclusion projects, stakeholder engagement, external communications including media campaigns, product and service design, representation of LGBTQ+ people, and many other areas of the work of a given sport and recreation organisation.

Due to the wide variety of sports and size, innovation is often required to ensure inclusion is appropriate to the club, region, and member cohort as a result many service providers are innovative in their inclusion initiatives.

This award will celebrate the most innovative LGBTQ+ inclusion initiative(s) from the assessed calendar year, which have had a strong record of promoting and/or supporting athletes with diverse sexualities and/or genders in sport.

The nominee initiative shows a significant impact on the LGBTQ+ inclusion.

LGBTQ+ Role Model Award

This nomination is for an LGBTQ+ individual within your sport who is highly visible as an LGBTQ+ role model and has made an outstanding contribution raising awareness, advocating for, and promoting LGBTQ+ inclusion within the organisation.

The nominee has a strong record of advocating and/or supporting athletes with diverse sexualities and/or genders in sport; and their impact on the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people is recognised and acknowledged by others in their sport/club.

This award recognises the critical role that LGBTQ+ role models play in sending a message of inclusion within sport.  Your nominee needs to identify as someone with a diverse sexuality or gender to qualify for this award.

Positive Media Award

This award aims to recognise journalist’s contributions towards LGBTQ+ sporting related media that promote the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people within sporting organisations at any level, or across sport more broadly, in a positive frame.

The nominee has a strong record of advocating and/or supporting athletes with diverse sexualities and/or genders in sport; and their impact on the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people is recognised and acknowledged by others in their sport/club.

The nominated work should:

• have raised awareness about LGBTQ+ inclusion in and Australian sporting context
• shown significant positive impact on LGBTQ+ inclusion

This work must have been published, screened, or broadcast between within the assessed calendar year.

The deadline for award nominations is no later than 9:00am Monday 10 February 2025.

Results

Pride in Sport Index results and Award Winners will be announced at the annual award night, which is:

Australian Pride in Sport Awards

Further information will be published on the Pride in Sport website and social media as the event nears.

For enquiries or assistance with award nominations, please email psi@acon.org.au