LGBTIQ-inclusive water polo club the Sydney Stingers will go head-to-head with some of Australia’s best male and female players at Water Polo NSW’s inaugural LGBTIQ Inclusion event this Friday.
Facing down the Sydney Stingers will be Water Polo NSW’s team of “All Stars”, featuring six Rio 2016 Olympic greats and other elite players from the Australian National Water Polo League.
“The Sydney Stingers Water Polo team is an LGBTIQ-inclusive club which means everyone is welcome as long as they come with a fierce attitude and a smile on their dial,” national water polo league player and Stingers coach Michaela Davies said.
“I’m so excited to be playing with them in this match.”
Joining the Stingers’ lineup for the match are 2008 Olympic gold medalist Bec Rippon and the Sydney Stingers’ newest female member Emily Scott.
The match will be held at the Sydney University Fitness and Aquatic Centre this Friday, March 2, on the eve of the 40th anniversary Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. Tickets are available here.
“It’s exciting for us to go up against some of Australia’s best, and to be able to showcase inclusive sport in front of the broader water polo and sporting community,” Stingers spokesperson Daniel Kirkwood said.
Water Polo NSW Sport Development Manager Chris Dyson said the organisation was excited about the event and want to celebrate water polo’s “safe, fun and inclusive” dynamic with the broader Sydney community.
The Sydney Stingers team was founded for the 2002 Sydney Gay Games and is now over 120 members strong, with four teams playing in various grades of the Sydney Metropolitan Water Polo League.
The Sydney Stingers are currently recruiting both new and experienced players of any gender to join the club. For more information, visit the team’s website.
Earlier this month, the Stingers’ northern rivals the Brisbane Tritons announced they would welcome the Australian Water Polo League’s annual Pride Cup event back to Brisbane on March 24.
The Pride Cup was first held in Melbourne two years ago to promote inclusion and diversity in national water polo, and last year was hosted by Brisbane for the first time.
Players from the Stingers, Tritons and the Melbourne Surge inclusive water polo club will don their speedos on their team’s floats in the Mardi Gras parade this Saturday night (March 3).
