Vancouver Whitecaps to host third annual Pride night

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      At the Pride Legacy Awards on May 28 at the Roundhouse Community Centre, Vancouver Whitecaps sales manager Christine Dunsworth appeared as an award presenter for the Orange (Sports) award.

      She explained how she started working with Vancouver Pride Society two years ago when she noticed how LGBT issues weren't being addressed in sport.

      "When I first met with [VPS executive director] Ray Lam in 2012, I'd been working with the Whitecaps for just over a year and one day I realized that there was a gap," she told the audience. "I came to the sad realization that there just weren't any professional teams in Canada that were bringing the issue of equality in sport into our stadiums publicly, publicly celebrating the LBGTQ2+ community. That was when Ray and I began organizing the first queer-themed major sporting event in Canada."

      At their first event, she said they lit up BC Place with rainbow lights, adorned the soccer pitch with a rainbow flag, and recognized celebrated LGBT community leaders.

      Last year, she said they created a special edition Whitecaps rainbow scarf, with all sales proceeds going to the LGBT–inclusive sports organization You Can Play. She noted that it was their highest selling scarf ever, and the players and anthem singer wore the scarf.

      But they didn't stop there—they even made a You Can Play video to get the message out about literally levelling the playing field to include LGBT athletes.

      The Whitecaps will have their third annual Pride night this year on August 8.

      Finalists of the 2015 Orange (Sports) Pride Legacy Award included Meg Walls, Gilles Beaudin, and Scott Fullerton.

      Walls founded Queer Van Hoops and Queer Van Soccer, and is developing a basketball camp for LGBT youth.

      Beaudin co-founded the English Bay Water Polo Club in 1989. After joining the English Bay Swim Club in 1998, he set provincial records and a few Canadian national records in breaststroke. He has been an elected member of the Masters Swim Association of B.C. Board for 8 years.

      Fullerton won the award. For more about him, see our coverage of the event.

      Comments

      1 Comments

      GZLFB

      Jul 21, 2015 at 9:24pm

      It should be about football, not gay or straight.