Rugby Canada Celebrates Pride Month
Community
The month of June is Pride Month and marks the beginning of Pride Season in Canada. To show our support and allyship with the 2SLGBTQI+ community in Canada, Rugby Canada continues to work to make rugby an inclusive and welcoming sport for all, including through our Community Rugby Fund.
June 13, 2024 (Langford, BC) – The month of June is Pride Month and marks the beginning of Pride Season in Canada. To show our support and allyship with the 2SLGBTQI+ community in Canada, Rugby Canada continues to work to make rugby an inclusive and welcoming sport for all, including through our Community Rugby Fund.
Pride Season is a term that refers to the wide range of Pride events that take place over the summer (June to September) when 2SLGBTQI+ communities and allies come together to spotlight the resilience, celebrate the talent, and recognize the contributions of 2SLGBTQI+ communities.
Historically, Pride gatherings emerged from the first large-scale protests for 2SLGBTQI+ rights. In Canada, the first demonstrations took place in Ottawa and Vancouver in 1971. By 1973, Pride events were held in several Canadian cities, including Montréal, Ottawa, Saskatoon, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg.
Through Rugby Canada’s Community Rugby Fund initiative that began in 2021, special consideration has been given to rugby clubs or community organizations whose projects aim to enhance inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility of rugby within a club, educational institution, or community organization, particularly for the 2SLGBTQI+ community.
Rugby Canada has funded a total of 12 projects that focus on inclusion over the past four years, including four applications from a few of Canada’s inclusive rugby clubs, the Toronto Rainbow Griffins, Ottawa Wolves and Halifax Rugby Club.
Learn more about Rugby Canada’s Community Rugby Fund HERE.
Click below to view a variety of educational resources and to learn more about Pride Month and Pride Season in Canada.
Additional Information, Resources and Content:
A conversation on Pride with Rugby Canada’s Paige Farries and Julia Schell (2023)