War Memorial Gym comes to life on Pride Night — rainbow flags line the court and flap with the breeze and Thunder, UBC’s mascot, hypes the crowd, adorned with a rainbow cape, to get fans’ blood pumping. Volleyball fans in colourful outfits cheer after every point, their pride flags waving in unison.
This is no ordinary volleyball game.
Similar to football’s Homecoming or hockey’s Winter Classic, volleyball’s Pride Night brings fans together for a night of exciting sport. But Pride Night is special — while it strives to increase awareness and acceptance for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community at UBC, it also serves as a fundraising opportunity for Queer support initiatives across Vancouver.
With the rise of anti-2SLGBTQIA+ rhetoric nationwide and in sport governing bodies, like the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), what impact does UBC Athletics’ allyship have on UBC students?
Though Pride Night has become a staple at UBC, it isn’t too old.
In 2018, after two years as the men’s volleyball head coach, former UBC coach Dr. Kerry MacDonald spearheaded Pride Night alongside a former UBC men’s volleyball team member who was involved with the Vancouver Gay Volleyball Association (VGVA).
MacDonald, who was interested in giving back to the Vancouver volleyball community, held skills clinics and wanted to bring the VGVA to campus, so MacDonald and the VGVA brought the idea of Pride Night to a “very, very receptive” UBC Athletics.
Pride Night was intended to create community with the sport in Vancouver.
“The sport can be played in all sorts of silos ... but the commonality is a love for the sport,” said MacDonald.
“Our big intention was this trying to bring people together around a mutual love of a sport and trying also to shed some light and some awareness.”
In a 2020 interview, UBC men’s volleyball head coach Mike Hawkins told The Ubyssey that Pride Night draws more people to volleyball games than regular fans.
“There were a lot of people there that I hadn’t seen before,” said Hawkins. “I think people, especially in this city and in this university, enjoy those opportunities [to celebrate Pride].”
Hawkins said Pride Night aims to show the community that sports can be a safe environment for Queer people. “I think it’s naive to think that there aren’t LGBT people in sport,” said Hawkins.
A 2020 study found that 48 per cent of Canadian youth who come out are subject to homophobia, slurs and/or bullying. Statistics from Out on the Fields, the largest study on gay athletes, found that 81 per cent of gay men and 74 per cent of lesbians stay closeted while playing youth sports.
MacDonald said he hopes Pride Night and similar initiatives show prospective collegiate athletes that being Queer shouldn’t hinder them from following their dreams.
“My hope is that ... [athletes] feel and they see that this is an open and a safe environment,” said MacDonald.
UBC women’s volleyball head coach Doug Reimer said Pride Night is an opportunity for the teams to celebrate wins made in Queer spaces while educating themselves in what needs to be achieved.
Reimer also said that Pride Night connects the varsity volleyball teams to campus and community groups fighting for Queer inclusion in sport and beyond such as the UBC Pride Collective and the VGVA. The 2024 Pride Night also served as a fundraising opportunity for Qmunity, a Vancouver-based nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of 2SLGBTQIA+ people.
And when it comes to sports addressing initiatives of equity and inclusion, Reimer said the recognition of sport teams and athletes has the power to raise awareness.
“Our team has always wanted to create an inclusive environment.”
“For so long, and it still continues, we have seen [sport as] not necessarily always the safest space, and you see this in sporting culture without question around the world,” Reimer said. “We have to ... be role models in that regard and recognize that we have a lot of learning to do.”
Managing Director of UBC Athletics & Recreation Kavie Toor said when MacDonald brought the idea forward, “it was met with nothing but wholehearted support.”
“My approach with all the initiatives have been around partnering, engaging staff, giving them the support and resource and energy to really feel like they’re championing these initiatives because they feel like it’s the right thing to do versus it coming all top down,” said Toor, who is also the Canada West equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) vice president.
UBC women’s volleyball libero Kacey Jost — who has been on the volleyball team since 2018 — said she has felt this same energy.
“I think the overarching acceptance and feel for the night has been nothing but overwhelmingly positive, I think, in part due to the fact that our team has always wanted to create an inclusive environment,” she said.
Reimer said that university athletic team fans, athletes and coaching staff change over time, which allows UBC volleyball’s initiatives of Queer inclusion and recognition to be an ongoing process.
“It’s not like you can cover this one time and expect that the work is done,” said Reimer. Reimer said addressing Queer communities in sport, whether that’s through inclusive policies or amplifying marginalized voices, can be achieved through consistent and regularly occurring initiatives, like Pride Night.
“We’ve had reach outs from individuals that just very much appreciate that they see our athletes and our coaches involved in Pride Night,” said Reimer. “Even just the simple thing of having a pride flag on some of our ... gear [gives] at least some sense of support or recognition that ... sport [can] become a little bit [of a] safer space.”
“Sport can be a real powerful tool to influence positive change.”
And it’s not just team gear or the annual Pride Night that allows for recognition of Queer communities by the volleyball program. The women’s volleyball team’s official Instagram posts always have a progress pride flag beside the Thunderbird logo. While Reimer couldn’t recall who exactly started the initiative, he said it was a simple decision.
“I can’t tell you the origins exactly, but ... why wouldn’t you do that? Pride Night is one night, but we need ways to be more inclusive ... It’s just showing on a regular basis that we can do small, simple things [for] awareness, education.”
Toor said “sport can be a real powerful tool to influence positive change, but you have to be really intentional about being able to use it.”
“I think the impact [of Pride Night] has been rich and powerful,” said Toor. “I think the reason that has been that way is that our student athletes really take value in their leadership role that they’re playing. Our coaches and staff also do the same.”
Pride Night has been a huge success for UBC’s volleyball programs.
Since 2018, the average attendance for volleyball games has surpassed that of sports like hockey and soccer.
However, according to a 2019 study, 46 per cent of Gen Z sees special Pride items or promotions from a business as a marketing tactic — commonly known as “rainbow-washing.”
“[It] certainly is coming pervasive in sport community that you see themed events across the sport sector and [think], ‘Is there a risk that these events are really for show versus for substance?’” Toor said.
But for Jost, the night is much more than potential rainbow-washing because of how the team addresses it in the locker room.
“It’s really easy to have events like this and sort of throw up a little bit of a holler and a hoot and be like, ‘Hey, great Pride Night,’” Jost said. “But I think the importance behind it too is the educational side where as allies, you have to be able to educate yourself and understand why you’re doing something so that your actions mean more than just a performance.”
Jost also said the women’s volleyball coaching staff asks the team to understand the why behind the team’s support for Queer people and initiatives. “I think we’ve seen the trickle down effect that it’s had,” said Jost.
And MacDonald agrees. He said the safe space that Pride Night aims to foster — on and off the court — is clear in how athletes interact with Pride Night. MacDonald said athletes have expressed “powerful, heartfelt messages and signs of support” regarding pride.
“This isn’t lip service. This is real, and they really feel this way and they feel the support and they want to show support,” said MacDonald. “I’m just really proud of the department and of the athletes and of coach Hawkins and coach Reimer and their continued support.”
Toor said Pride Night isn’t just a “one-off” for UBC Athletics, rather it is “committed to creating inclusive and welcom[ing] spaces through sport.”
Toor is referring to the department’s EDI values outlined in one of their six strategic objectives. Among diverse employee recruitment and retention and employee education goals, UBC Athletics also wants “equity deserving groups [to] feel welcome and are active participants in A&R programs and facilities.”
One of the key performance indicators for the EDI objective is the plan to “increase the number of partnerships in support of affinity groups and programs by 50 [per cent].”
In September 2023, UBC Recreation introduced a swim session for 2 Spirit, Trans and Non-Binary (2STNB) individuals which was met with positive responses. The department also offers a 2STNB fitness hour, as well as Women Only (Trans Welcome) hours.
Currently, Pride Night is UBC’s only varsity fully themed festival for a social justice issue. Some pre-game warmups feature initiatives such as breast cancer awareness or Black History Month, but these never extend into the gameplay. However, Toor said they are looking to incorporate more social justice initiatives into their programming.
“We are looking at extending the suite of offerings to again continue to use sport as a powerful agent for positive change,” he said.
One night of a welcoming atmosphere isn’t likely to bring about substantive, cultural shifts — that lies in the administrative details.
“If we want to bring meaningful change, we have to change our policies,” said Toor.
Toor said that all student athletes have a code of conduct “that has some elements that cover inclusivity” and all new staff must complete training on creating a welcoming and inclusive environment.
However, a written document does not always translate into a change in practice. A code of conduct does not prevent sanctioned behaviours; it just outlines the consequences of being caught. A larger, more thorough conversation needs to be had — one Jost said is happening.
“It’s really easy to have someone type out a policy and what they want to do but I think overarchingly, UBC Athletics and then the teams themselves are doing more,” Jost said. “I obviously can’t speak to other teams, but I know that we all early on set the tone of what we are expected to be a part of and what we want from our team.”
Jost also said that policy changes can be muddied by needs for a department’s neutrality on subjects such as homophobia, but that at UBC Athletics, “there has been an avoidance of neutrality.”
“[It’s] more of a ‘We need the standard and this is the standard that we’re following,’” said Jost.When it comes to coaching, Reimer said the key aspect of the job is leadership. Reimer said EDI policies, including the national volleyball governing body Volleyball Canada’s (VC), are important to expose coaches and athletes — who will “be the future coaches” — and raise awareness for Queer issues.
VC is a leader in policy regarding homophobic language and anti-homophobic and transphobic actions. In 2020, it became the first Canadian national sport body to release guidelines for clubs and provincial and territorial governing bodies on what 2SLGBTQIA+ discrimination looks like and how it affects athletes. VC also has a Trans Inclusion Policy. Approved in 2019, the policy said athletes can participate in competitions for the gender which they identify with “and not be subject to requirements for disclosure of personal information beyond those required.”
VC “prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression” and “believes that trans athletes should have equal opportunity to participate in sport and strive for excellence.”
Despite inclusion policies, anti-Queer discrimination is still prevalent.
“In Canada, the United States and the world, [you] see so many examples of legislation that are making life and sport harder for people that identify as Queer,” said Reimer.
In January, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said hormonal treatment, puberty blockers and gender-affirming surgery for children 15 years and younger will be prohibited. Additionally, parents must provide permission for their children aged 15 and under, to use names other than their birth name at school. The Saskatchewan provincial government passed its Parents’ Bill of Rights, which requires consent from a parent or guardian “when a student requests that their preferred name, gender identity, and/or gender expression be used” at school, and New Brunswick changed provincial policy to no longer mandate teachers to use the preferred pronouns or names of Trans students under the age of 16.
These discriminatory ideas still prevail at UBC.
In April, the NAIA announced that beginning August 1, Trans women will not be allowed to compete in women’s competitions.
The UBC track and field, golf, baseball and softball teams compete under the NAIA league. The Humans Right Campaign, an American 2SLGBTQIA+ rights organization, responded to the ruling calling it “discrimination” and “dangerous.”
U Sports, Canada’s university sport governing body, which other UBC teams, including volleyball, compete under, said in April to The Ubyssey it is not intending to revise its policy in response to the NAIA’s change.
In 2018, U Sports announced its Transgender Athlete Policy, which states that Transgender athletes can compete under either their gender identity or their sex assigned at birth.
In an August 26 statement to The Ubyssey, Toor wrote UBC Athletics values all student athletes and “prides itself on ... providing an environment where trans, non-binary and gender-diverse members of the UBC community have a place and feel welcome and supported.”
When asked if UBC will continue to participate in the NAIA after the association’s new policy, Toor did not answer but said UBC Athletics “will continue to evaluate the impact of this decision informed by core principles of fairness, equity and safety.”
“We remain committed to supporting all of our student-athletes in and out of competition.”
Despite this decision, UBC Athletics tries to champion 2SLGBTQIA+ rights at Pride Night.
“I’m just really proud of the department to continue to make [Pride Night] an emphasis,” said MacDonald. “[Pride Night] has a far deeper purpose and meaning than just sport, which I’m really proud of.”
And when it comes to the impacts of Pride Night, Jost and Reimer said that the initiative, above all else, allows people to learn.
“I’ve just seen ... some of the discrimination [Queer people and athletes face],” said Reimer. “I’m learning, and I want to try [to] just open up that space for others to learn as well.”
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