2024 Stand Out Cup: Record-Breaking celebration of diversity and inclusion

The Victorian Hockey community smashed records at the 2024 Stand Out Cup, showcasing their unwavering support for the LGBTIQ+ community. The event boasted the highest number of teams (51) and largest attendance (over 400) ever, creating a vibrant and inclusive atmosphere at Footscray Hockey Club over the weekend.

Not only was it our largest Stand Out Cup, the 2024 event marked the first year we hosted Junior Teams in their own grade. Thanks to funding from the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH), we were able to remove the cost of entry for our Junior Teams for this year and give them an introduction to this special day. It was amazing to have our 8 inaugural junior teams join in on the day and show their support to the LGBTIQ+ community.

As always, music was pumping, teams were dressed up and expressing their individual and team personalities, and we even had a mini gazebo city built up around the BSF pitch creating a little corner of activity.

Highlights of the day included:

• New Junior Grade: Thanks to funding from the Victorian Government, the event welcomed 8 inaugural junior teams for the first time.
• Creative Expression: A large canvas allowed attendees to express their artistic side and leave their mark on the day.
• Partnership and Gratitude: Our critical partnerships with Proud 2 Play, Louis Janssen (guest speaker), Footscray Hockey Club, Maribyrnong City Council, umpires, volunteers, and the Victorian Government were instrumental to the event's success.

The Stand Out Cup continues to be a beacon of inclusivity and a testament to the Victorian Hockey community's spirit of togetherness.

A special thank you to all our umpires who were involved on the day, we thank and appreciate you for your services. Without you, the Stand Out Cup would not run. You work so incredibly hard on the day, and we cannot thank you enough.

Thank you to Stuart Westmore for your photography work on the day. Stuart has volunteered his time year-on-year for the Stand Out Cup and we all love his giant group photo. Visit SKW Hockey Pics on Instagram to check out his work.

And lastly, we’d like to thank the Minister for Equality, the Hon. Harriet Shing, the DFFH and the Victorian Government for their support through the funding supplied by the Pride Events and Festivals Fund. The support and funding allowed us to introduce the Junior Grade for the first time ever and make this event more inclusive for all. For more information on the DFFH, please check out their website at https://www.dffh.vic.gov.au/ for more on the incredible work they do.

We had several prizes to hand out on the day. Well done to all listed below:

• Best Dressed Senior went to Paige from the Stingrays
• Best Dressed Junior went to Luka from the Torquay Tornados
• Spirit of the Day went to RMIT Hockey
• Our two Best Dressed Teams were the Spice Girls from Waverley and the Gippyroo’s.

We had some incredible matches played. Even though the day is about having fun and being inclusive, we did have some pennants awarded to our winning teams for the first time ever. We hope this is a nice memento to take back with your team. Please check out our finals results below:

A Grade:

B Grade:

C Grade:

Junior Grade:

The full results and ladders can be found here.

If you have a moment free, we’d love to hear your feedback on the 2024 Stand Out Cup. Please complete this short survey linked below so we can improve in the future.

2024 Stand Out Cup Post Event Survey

View the full photo album here.