PLAY WITH PRIDE

Whitsunday Sea Eagles Pride Match This Saturday

By Bronte Hodge

Get ready for the upcoming Pride Round for Whitsunday Sea Eagles, with all five Sea Eagles team’s competing.

Celebrating the LGBTIQA+ community, the pride match has become a staple for regional AFL with the 2023 Pride Round being hosted at the Sea Eagle’s home ground, Whitsunday Sportspark.

The Senior Women’s Sea Eagles team celebrated the day by organising special pride guernseys.

The Mackay AFL Pride Round is coming up and the Whitsunday Senior Women’s Sea Eagles are marking the match with special pride guernseys and celebrations at their homeground.

The cause is close to the team’s heart, with some of the members identifying with the LGBTIQA+ community, and eager to wear the team pride guernseys with pride, advocating for acceptance and inclusion.

2023 will be the second year the Women’s Sea Eagles have donned the pride guernseys and is a memento to the message they wish to send out into the community.

“I think it's important to note that wearing these jerseys, being in the paper and things like that shows the community that this is a safe space,” said team president, Sheridan Callcott.

“This is no prejudice or anything like that and you're not going to be discriminated against. This is a place where you'll absolutely be accepted.”

"After centuries of social taboos that made people afraid to be who they are, it's not good enough to just give tacit acceptance to people of different sexual persuasions: we've got to make an overt statement that lets them know it is safe to be who they truly are, so they know we're a safe and welcoming club,” said team mate, Julia Bates.

“I play alongside my daughter for whom anything less than a clear commitment to welcoming and valuing the LGBTIQA+ community will no longer be acceptable.”

Georgie Carland was president for the team in 2022 and oversaw the first inclusion of the pride guernseys for the team.

“Last year, it was a great way to promote awareness within the community,” she explained.

“It's quite important. Even though we are progressing as a society, not enough is being done.

“There's still a lot of stigma around it and discomfort and that sort of thing, so, it's just trying to educate everyone.”

Over the season, the team has become a family for the players, where the older players coach and mentor the younger players and they each give a helping hand when they can.

“We're just here to have fun, be social and make friends, you know, and be around supportive people,” explained Sheridan.

In particular, due to the Whitsundays rural location, the Whitsunday Senior Women’s Sea Eagles team is made up of women aged 16 and upwards.

“We don’t have an under 17s team, so girls join our team.”

However, the Whitsunday Sea Eagles continue to support their 14- and 15-year-old players, including them in training and in the sport as much as they can.

Everyone is welcome to be in the grandstand at this weekend Pride Round, with the Whitsunday Senior Women’s Sea Eagles up against the North Mackay Saints, at the Whitsunday Sports Park AFL field, at 1.50pm.

Senior Men’s will play at 1.50pm as well, with the Junior teams competing at 9.15am.

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Julia Bates, Sheridan Callcott, Georgie Carland and Lana Rademeyer of the Whitsunday Senior Women’s Sea Eagles repping their pride guernseys ahead of this weekend’s Pride Match. Photo credit: Bronte Hodge

Lana Rademeyer, Julia Bates, Sheridan Callcott, and Georgie Carland are excited for the upcoming pride match, with their special guernseys to match

Sheridan Callcott, president of the Senior Women’s Sea Eagles team is eager to advocate for the LGBTIQA+ community with this speciality match

Being a part of the team, Julia Bates welcomes the advocacy and inclusion of diversity in the sport. Photo credit: Bronte Hodge