Historic announcements made to tackle homophobia at World Cup of Gay Rugby

Video of press conference/Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeVsYBBEx-M

29 Aug - As the Bingham Cup kicked off today in Sydney, two Rugby World Cup winning Wallabies’ captains joined senior federal politicians for every major Australian party, as the International Rugby Board (IRB) and the Australian Rugby Union made history. The IRB is believed to be the first major international sporting federation to publicly endorse a gay sporting event while the Australian Rugby Union is the first Australian sport to adopt a range of policies aimed at eliminating homophobia. Other international sporting organisations, such as FIFA (soccer) were challenged to follow rugby’s lead.

“We should commend and celebrate the support around the world to address homophobia and discrimination in sport. There is still a great deal of work to do, but I’m hopefully we’ll soon see a time when athletes at all levels feel comfortable being open about their sexuality and playing the sports they love without fear of discrimination,” said John Eales, the most successful captain in Australian rugby history and a board member of the Australian Rugby Union.

Another Rugby World Cup winning Wallaby captain, Nick Farr-Jones, joined Eales at the media conference. Both sporting legends are Bingham Cup Ambassadors. “I’m proud rugby is taking a leadership role in tackling homophobia and other forms of discrimination. I hope this encourages the other major international sports to take similar steps,” said Farr-Jones. 

In a show of bi-partisen, high-level support in Australia for ending homophobia in sport, the two international rugby legends were joined by senior politicians from all major, Australian parties:

- Malcolm Turnbull, a senior Australian cabinet minister

- Australian Labor’s Anthony Albanese, Shadow minister for Infrastructure and Transport

- Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Green Party.

World First

The IRB’s board has provided its support to the International Gay Rugby Association and Board, and the event it overseas, the Bingham Cup. Chief Executive Brett Gosper said: “Rugby recognises sport’s wider responsibility to society and its ability to drive social change. Sport can cross barriers. Sport boosts self-esteem and Sport promotes inclusivity and celebrates diversity. We are proud as Rugby grows across every continent that the sport’s strong values of solidarity, integrity, discipline, respect and passion still make a real difference in modern society.”

“The Bingham Cup is a symbol of the power of sport to drive social change. It has opened hearts and minds and will continue to inspire future generations to participate, to express themselves and to have fun,” said Gosper.

Full letter is in the Bingham Cup media centre  www.binghamcup.com/news/media-centre/

Bingham Cup organisers have made driving social change a major focus of the 2014 tournament, leading a number of historic initiatives to help tackle homophobia in sports. This included commissioning the first international study on homophobia in sport as well as working with the Australian Rugby Union to tackle discrimination. The ARU was the first major Australian sport to commit to implement policies in alignment with the anti-homophobia and inclusion framework, which it did last year and then followed-through with implementation this week.  Other sports followed the lead of the ARU, making similar commitments in April of this year.

See ARU Press release in the Bingham Cup media centre

www.binghamcup.com/news/media-centre/

Senior Australian federal cabinet minister Malcolm Turnbull was also at the Bingham Cup’s opening. He said, “A person’s sexuality should be completely irrelevant whether they are playing sports or doing anything else in life.  I’m proud Australians are playing such a significant role in highlighting the need for change. We need to continue working proactively to find effective approaches to address homophobia and change sporting culture.” Turnbull, who is the Federal Communications Minister, is long-time advocate for same-sex equality. He has also made a significant contribution to support the Bingham Cup.

Jeff Wilson, Chairman of the International Gay Rugby Association and Board welcomed the high level support in Australia and from around the world, "The partnership with the IRB and the ARU on issues relating to ending homophobia and discrimination in the Sport of Rugby is ground-breaking. The leadership of both organisations demonstrate that the sport of Rugby is dedicated to creating an environment where players can feel comfortable being honest, authentic and open about their sexual orientation, without the fear of discrimination. This remarkable support will hopefully incite other professional sporting organisations at all levels to follow suit while continuing to create a culture of inclusion and diversity inside the Sport."

Homophobia in sport remains a serious problem, according to one of the international experts involved in conducting the first international study on homophobia in sports, called Out on the Fields (www.outonthefields.com). The study was commissioned by the Bingham Cup. Experts at six universities are involved, including an Australian pioneer in the field, Dr. Caroline Symons. “Homophobia is often not directed at any one individual but rather it;s part of a sporting culture. For example, when men in team sports don’t perform as well as they are supposed to, people say they are 'playing like a pack of girls, playing like a pack of poofs'. This can be very damaging to closeted gay people, in particular."

Others at the press conference:

- Andrew Purchas, Bingham Cup President and Sydney Convicts founder

- Dr. Caroline Symons, Victoria University, pioneer of homophobia in sport research

- Jason Ball, openly gay Australian Rules football player




About the Bingham Cup

The 2014 Bingham Cup, the world cup of gay rugby, is being held in Sydney from August 24 to 31. Event organisers have led a range of initiatives aimed at tackling homophobia in sport in the lead up to the tournament including the study mentioned above. In April, they also organised a national televised event where the heads of every, major professional sport signed the ‘Anti-homophobia and Inclusion Framework’ developed by the Bingham Cup. This committed them to eliminating homophobia and making sport welcoming and inclusive. Supporters of the Bingham Cup include Destination NSW, the City of Sydney and principal partners Commonwealth Bank, Telstra and aussieBum. The Bingham Cup has a goal of challenging stereotypes and perceptions of gay men. More info: www.binghamcup.com

Waratahs Rugby Media Release

Monday August 25, 2014

Gay rugby players arrive in Australia: NSW Waratahs host massive joint training session

Gay rugby teams from around the world have arrived in Australia to try to win the Bingham Cup from three-time world champions, the Sydney Convicts, ahead of the stereotype-smashing world cup of gay rugby, which begins this Friday.

More than 500 international gay rugby players are expected to attend a training session this Wednesday (August 27) with Waratahs players Matt Lucas (Manly), Jed Holloway and Ben Volavola (Southern Districts), plus Wallabies coach (and former Waratah and Wallaby) Andrew Blades.  As long-time supporters of the Sydney Convicts, the Waratahs along with numerous other elite rugby players and teams around the world, are providing significant support to the gay teams as a way of sending a strong message of acceptance of gay athletes.

The Bingham Cup is a gruelling tournament of intense rugby with 24 teams playing six games over three days. Almost 1,000 players and supporters representing 30 gay and inclusive rugby clubs from 15 countries have arrived in Australia for the Biennial event, named after 9/11 hero Mark Bingham.  The event is one of the largest 15-a-side rugby tournaments in the world and while most participants are gay, in the spirit of inclusivity, many teams have straight players.

One of the strong contenders to win the Cup is London’s Kings Cross Steelers, the world’s first gay rugby team. Like many athletes taking part in the tournament, the team’s first grade team captain, Chris Buckmaster, used to believe being gay and playing a tough sport was an impossible combination.

“I grew up in a rugby dominated society where being gay was not even an option, let alone being gay and actually playing competitive sport. This led me to believe that I could not possibly actually be gay myself, given I excelled in sport and was also the school prefect at a private all boys school. All of my misconceptions about myself and gay people were demolished when I went to my first training session with the Kings Cross Steelers, I was very surprised by the high level of rugby and focus on the game.”

There is intense rivalry among the international gay teams, particularly Sydney, London, New York and San Francisco as well as among the three Australian teams from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Interestingly, Brisbane beat Sydney earlier this year at the Australian Gay Rugby championship.

"Too many people may assume that a bunch of gay guys holding a rugby tournament is just an excuse to have big party with a rugby theme - but nothing could be further from the truth,” says Dany Samreth, captain of the San Francisco Fog RFC, the team Mark Bingham played for before his death.

The San Francisco Fog RFC hosted the first Bingham Cup in 2002, after Mark's death on Flight 93, which he helped crash into the fields of Pennsylvania. “We have been training very hard over the last two years and have received strong support from high level athletes and coaches. We’re very focused on winning our third Bingham Cup and bringing it back to San Francisco where the tournament began.”

Issued by Waratahs Rugby