Jon Gray: “I never thought I would be part of a competitive sports team, but here I am.”

Even among sports, quadball is unique. The fact that it spawned from pop culture is enough to make it stand out, but the make-up of quadball also significantly differentiates it from practically every other sport out there. No other sport has such a high proportion of trans and non-binary players in particular. Estimates have around …

Continue reading Jon Gray: “I never thought I would be part of a competitive sports team, but here I am.”

Shivani Dave: “My goal for 2023 is to prove that queerness doesn’t equal whiteness.”

All Shivani Dave ever wanted to do was play football. Unfortunately, for a long time that wasn't really an option. Their local club didn't have a girls' side, so after the age of 10 they were told they could not train with their brother's team anymore. At an all girls' school at that time, there …

Continue reading Shivani Dave: “My goal for 2023 is to prove that queerness doesn’t equal whiteness.”

TRUK United: “People will see us enjoying the beautiful game with a smile on our faces, which is how it should be played.”

More history will be made tomorrow night when TRUK United Football Club returns to action. Last year, TRUK United fielded the world's first ever football team composed solely of trans women in a friendly against Dulwich Hamlet. Tomorrow, the rematch takes place – alongside a similar men's fixture between the same clubs. Created in January …

Continue reading TRUK United: “People will see us enjoying the beautiful game with a smile on our faces, which is how it should be played.”

Zooey ‘Effy’ Perry: “I’m a million layers before you even get to the fact that I’m trans – that does not define me.”

There are not many people that can legitimately say they are the first to do something, but Zooey Perry is one of the few. Known as Effy, Perry is the first trans woman ever to compete in competitive British handball, even going as far as to be part of Olympia's unbeaten title-winning team in 2019. …

Continue reading Zooey ‘Effy’ Perry: “I’m a million layers before you even get to the fact that I’m trans – that does not define me.”

Reuben Jarvis: “I understand the fear but I will never accept it.”

Last month, Scottish Rugby followed the lead of their counterparts in the other home nations by banning trans women from playing the sport. It is one of the latest setbacks for those campaigning for inclusion in sport, and came after a long consultation to determine what steps the governing body would take. While much of …

Continue reading Reuben Jarvis: “I understand the fear but I will never accept it.”

Chris Sherwood: “Every time we go out and play a non-inclusive team, we’re changing perceptions, and I love that.”

There was no sport that Chris Sherwood wouldn't turn his hand to growing up. Being in the UK, football was obviously a big part of his life – and he was in Nottingham Forest's system for a while before being released – but Sherwood also has stories of playing basketball, roller skating, volleyball, table tennis, …

Continue reading Chris Sherwood: “Every time we go out and play a non-inclusive team, we’re changing perceptions, and I love that.”

Proud Doonhamers: “It will get that visibility out there as well for local people to see that other gay people do exist where they live.”

When Queen of the South hosted Edinburgh in the Scottish League One yesterday afternoon, there was an extra visitor in the Palmerston Park terraces – a pride flag. It is the brainchild of the newly-formed LGBTQIA+ supporters' group Proud Doonhamers, which got up and running just a couple of months ago in November. A Facebook …

Continue reading Proud Doonhamers: “It will get that visibility out there as well for local people to see that other gay people do exist where they live.”

Geff Parsons: “We should, in fact, be celebrated, rather than just tolerated or accepted.”

Inclusion has been a constant thread through Geff Parsons' life – and sport has been no different. Admittedly, it was not always through an LGBTQIA+ lens, as Parsons did not come out as gay until he was 28. That meant that his love of sport, and tennis in particular, stretches back far longer than acceptance …

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Rally: “Sport is just an incredible force, and especially within our community I think it deserves all the attention.”

Although preferring solo sports, Duncan Campbell still wanted a way to be part of a community in sport. Based in Barcelona, he had no lack of opportunities to go running, cycling, hiking or climbing, and where possible he would invite friends along. One of those occasions turned into a "big gay hike" as numbers reached …

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Seen & Heard: “I find it really powerful when people see my story and my experience as something that has helped them.”

Seen & Heard is a podcast series hosted by Pride of the Terraces, created in association with LEAP Sports Scotland, Scottish Women in Sport and Scottish Disability Sport. Across the five episodes a variety of topics are discussed, from accessibility of sport in the first instance right through to the impact of global events like …

Continue reading Seen & Heard: “I find it really powerful when people see my story and my experience as something that has helped them.”