Growing up in America, Paul Cunningham’s experience with sport was difficult due to his sexuality.
In 2023, he moved to Australia as anti-LGBTQI+ sentiment brewed in the United States, with Cunningham fearing this would escalate if President Donald Trump was re-elected.
After landing in Melbourne, Cunningham stumbled upon a lawn bowls club in Richmond that unbeknownst to him would be a reintroduction to team sport.
“I kind of avoided team sport for most of my life because of exactly that kind of stuff; not feeling welcomed,” he said.
“My experience with team sport from high school was … overwhelmingly negative.”
Cunningham’s first introduction to the bowls club came through social catch-ups with friends.
Cunningham’s first introduction to the bowls club came through social catch-ups. (ABC News: Saraid Hounihan)
Later, he and husband Don were approached by the club president and asked to fill a team for Richmond at a Pride Cup tournament, where he says he had a “great” time.
It was the catalyst for Cunningham falling in love with a club he has since joined the committee for, with a focus on LGBTQI+ inclusion.
President assumed bowls was a ‘conservative’ sport
Three years earlier, Richmond Union Bowling Club became the first lawn bowls club in the world to host a Pride Cup tournament.
Club president Robert Hutton said the move was about wanting to “open the club up to the LGBTQI+ community”.
Richmond Union bowling club hopes to open its club to LGBTQI+ members. (ABC News: Saraid Hounihan)
Before entering the club, Cunningham came with a range of pre-conceptions, including the idea that bowls was a “conservative” sport.
“I was kind of thinking this was going to be a place where it was like a bunch of conservative old white guys,” he said.Â
Discovering this was not true of Richmond, Hutton made the choice to hold a Pride Cup as a “leap of faith”.
The Pride Cup tournament has become one of the biggest days of the year for the club, with an estimated 250 attendees at this year’s event enjoying the lively atmosphere.
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“It’s just a fun day,” Hutton said.
“It’s a bowls tournament, but I don’t think anyone really gives a rat’s toss whether they win or not.”.
Inclusivity starts with welcoming non-playing members
Cunningham has now been a member of the club for two years, and in his capacity as committee member, has the responsibility of organising the next Pride Cup.
Pride Cup events can help restore the relationship LGBTQI+ people have with sport. (ABC News: Saraid Hounihan)
After firsthand experience of how Pride can be an avenue to reintegrate LGBTQI+ people into club sport, Cunningham hopes to keep it running in an ongoing fashion to maintain the club’s inclusive spirit.Â
“Working with the Pride Cup organisation, you start to really learn about how important it is for clubs to proactively show people that they’re [in] a welcoming environment,” he said.
According to Cunningham, the first step to creating an inclusive atmosphere is to “proactively reach out to people in the community and say, you’re welcome here”.
Part of that strategy is attracting social members who don’t necessarily want to play the sport but come for the atmosphere.
Members join the club for the sport as well as the atmosphere. (ABC News: Saraid Hounihan)
Sharon Menzies is one of those members, and stumbled across the bowls club when looking for a venue to do a show.
She says that although the club was “not exactly five star”, “there was a vibe”.
Menzies, 80, performed in October at the Queen of the Greens drag show, which had over 150 people in the audience, and has more shows locked in at the club.
Sharon Menzies performed at the Queen of the Greens drag show. (ABC News: Saraid Hounihan)
She says she enjoyed the performance because it was an opportunity for straight people to embrace queer culture and re-frame misconceptions.
“When they come, they think, ‘Gee, we had such a good time’,” she said.
Having struggled with discrimination in the past as an intersex person who transitioned later in life, her advice for others is to “develop the intestinal fortitude to just be who you are”.
After joining the club, Menzies has fallen in love with the idea of bowling. (ABC News: Saraid Hounihan)
Sharon didn’t initially come to the club with the intent of participating with the sport but has now “fallen in love with the whole idea of playing bowls” and hopes to get on the greens after finishing rehab on her knee.
Richmond now hopes to attract more women members
Having achieved diversity in its members in some ways, the club now hopes to get more women at the club, with a goal of 50 pe rcent male and 50 per cent female participation.
“It’s very easy for a boy to turn up and play sport,” Hutton said.
Hutton hopes to get more female participation at the club. (ABC News: Saraid Hounihan)
As President, he has reflected on the disparity between his experience and other female family members when it comes to being embraced by sporting clubs.
As it has done for LGBTQI+ members, Hutton hopes the club can become a safe space for women to participate:
“It is not that easy for a girl to turn up and play sports. There are always barriers put in front of them.”With trans participation under threat, fringe sports are bucking the trend
Previously bowls tournaments have consisted of women’s competitions on a Tuesday and men’s on the Saturday.
The club now offers both open championships (for all genders) and women-only competitions.
Hutton hopes that by having the choice of tournaments, more women will be encouraged to participate.
“[We’d like to] throw away the barriers. You can come in here, feel safe, feel welcome and enjoy it.”