AFL Outer East: Yarra Glen’s Pride Cup is a great event on the calendar but David Ball longs for the day it isn’t needed
One of the most important dates on the AFL Outer-East calendar, Yarra Glen’s Pride Cup, was again an outstanding success but one of the event’s prime movers longs for the day it will no longer be contested.
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One of the most important dates on the AFL Outer-East calendar, Yarra Glen’s Pride Cup, was again an outstanding success on Sunday but one of the event’s prime movers longs for the day it will no longer be contested.
Yarra Glen treasurer David Ball, one of the driving forces behind the annual game that promotes inclusion and acceptance of the LGBTIQ+ community in sporting clubs, yearns for the day when his club can pack away the special rainbow jumpers and ground markings and the trophy itself as the event is consigned to the pages of history.
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“We didn’t think it would grow quite so big, so quickly,” Ball said. “But, ultimately, I’m hoping one day we won’t need to have it.”
Ball said, while there was still far too much homophobia in the world of sport, things were improving as a younger generation was more educated about inclusiveness and diversity.
“Once that happens, you won’t need Pride Cups,” he said.
Yarra Glen hosted Yarra Junction in the first Pride Cup back in 2014 not long after Ball’s son, Jason, became the first openly gay Australian rules footballer to come out to his teammates.
“He was the first guy playing football at the time to come out,” David said. “He was always a very courageous footballer. I don’t think he expected it to get as much traction as it did.”
From its very humble beginnings, the Pride Cup movement has grown remarkably with St Kilda and the AFL embracing it, NAB coming on board as the major sponsor of the movement and some 120 sporting clubs Australia-wide engaged in some form of Pride Cup event.
“We’re extremely proud of our Pride Cup,” Ball said. “The AFL got involved through St Kilda, who really embraced it.
“How’s that? Little Yarra Glen has inspired the AFL and inspired sporting clubs around the country.
“I think the Yarra Glen Pride Cup has probably peaked, there are Pride Cups all around Victoria now. People would come from Melbourne (in the early days) because we were the only show in town.
“Each year we pick a different team and we try to spread the message through as many clubs as possible. And this year it was Seville, who are in pretty good form.”
But Yarra Glen has never lost a Pride Cup clash and edged home 13.8 (86) to 11.9 (75).
“It was a great game, we were behind at quarter-time and there were lead changes all day and we were still five points behind late in the game,” Ball said.
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