The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Pupils celebrate LGBT history with inclusive sport day
Perth pupils celebrated Purple Friday with the city’s first LGBTQI+ sports team in an effort to show sport can be inclusive.
An event launched by Perth Parrots, the Fair City’s LGBT+ sports team, promoted inclusion in sport.
Perth High School’s Prism group battled Perth Grammar’s Pride team for the inaugural floorball silver salver.
The sport is similar to ice hockey but is played with a ball and does not use ice or skates.
It is hoped the event, held yesterday at Perth College, will have inspired pupils to join the inclusive sports team which hopes to develop a youth team for those aged 12 to 18.
And Purple Friday – a day created by LGBT Youth Scotland to raise awareness and tackle homophobia, biphobia and transphobia – is the perfect time to recruit young players.
Frazer Robertson, president of Perth Parrots, said: “We use Purple Friday as a platform to engage local schools.
“For me it is about giving them positive role models that they can aspire to be.
“They can see someone that is like them and is sporty and that is OK because often that is not the perception of being LGBTQI+.”
Perth Grammar pupils narrowly took the win over Perth High School with a 2-1 victory.
But regardless of the results, pupils from both schools left with the hope of joining the youth team when it is created.
Frazer continued: “Rather than just celebrating history, we have made history. We have come together as a club and hopefully this won’t be the last event.
“This is our inaugural silver salver and we hope that next year more schools across Perthshire will join us for a floorball tournament.”
Frazer wants to make schools more inclusive places by showcasing that sport can be played by anyone regardless of how they identify.
He was in primary school when section 28 – the policy that prohibited the promotion of homosexuality – was introduced.
He said: “I fully understand what it was like to go to a school that never spoke about LGBT people positively.
“That’s why there is a lot of stigma that still persists around LGBT identities and why people struggle to come to terms with who they are and come out to friends and family.
“Purple Friday is a life saver. It lets people understand that being LGBTI and part of that community is not a bad thing.
“It is a fantastic thing that should be celebrated and people can be themselves.”