News

Alice Springs is a sport­ing town. Whether it’s junior, senior, social or com­pet­i­tive sport, it is part of the fab­ric of life in Cen­tral Australia.

Alice Springs is also a diverse town — some­thing that we take great pride in. We are a melt­ing pot where peo­ple from all back­grounds, cul­tures, reli­gions, gen­ders and eth­nic­i­ties live togeth­er in a wel­com­ing environment.

Alice Springs Town Coun­cil firm­ly believe these two sen­ti­ments go togeth­er. Diver­si­ty and inclu­sion belong in sport.

Coun­cil is of the belief that every­one liv­ing in Alice Springs should be able to par­tic­i­pate in sport and phys­i­cal activ­i­ty in a wel­com­ing and inclu­sive way – regard­less of gen­der, sex­u­al ori­en­ta­tion, abil­i­ty, cul­tur­al back­ground, eth­nic­i­ty, loca­tion or life stage.

Sport has sig­nif­i­cant health and well­be­ing out­comes, both phys­i­cal and men­tal. It is a place that offers a sense of belong­ing and fam­i­ly, often to those that need a safe space. No one should miss out on that opportunity.

Trans­pho­bia has no place in our com­mu­ni­ty or sport­ing organ­i­sa­tions. Alice Springs Town Coun­cil acknowl­edges that mem­bers of the trans­gen­der com­mu­ni­ty face dis­crim­i­na­tion or exclu­sion in a sport­ing con­text, whether that is con­scious or subconscious.

When this hap­pens, these mem­bers of our com­mu­ni­ty miss out on the sig­nif­i­cant health and well­be­ing ben­e­fits of sport that every­one has the right to access. This exclu­sion can also lead to peo­ple feel­ing as though they are not wel­come or safe in our com­mu­ni­ty. That is not acceptable.

Alice Springs Town Coun­cil sup­ports inclu­sion in all sports and we urge sport­ing organ­i­sa­tions across Cen­tral Aus­tralia to ensure they cre­ate a safe and wel­com­ing envi­ron­ment for all Centralians.

There is no ques­tion: sport is for every­one. Alice Springs Town Coun­cil is proud to rep­re­sent a diverse town and pur­sue best prac­tice inclusivity.

Alice Springs Town Coun­cil is com­mit­ted to increas­ing inclu­siv­i­ty by under­tak­ing a review of poli­cies and attend­ing work­shops to become bet­ter informed as an organ­i­sa­tion. We look for­ward to work­ing along­side the LGB­TIQAP+ com­mu­ni­ty to ensure every­one feels wel­come in Cen­tral Australia.