Island Games athletes launch Pride in Sport campaign

EY’s Ove Svejstrup, Emily Trebert and Ben Foss will all be representing Guernsey at this year’s Island Games in the Triathlon, Badminton and Table Tennis, respectively, and are all ambassadors of this year’s Pride in Sport campaign. The campaign aims to raise awareness about discrimination, homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in sport, as well as the challenges and barriers that prevent members of the LGBTQ+ community from feeling safe and included in sports.

EY is also sponsoring the Pride House, which is a welcoming and safe space for LGBTQ+ fans and athletes during the week of the Island Games.

In addition to Pride in Sport, EY demonstrates ongoing support for their people participating in the Island Games by offering 2 days additional leave, whether they are participating as athletes or volunteers. Furthermore, EY also continues to lead the way with hybrid flexible working, enabling all three athletes to effectively manage and balance their work and training schedules to ensure they are fully prepared for this year’s competition and able to perform at their best.

Ove Svejstrup is an Assurance Partner at EY in Guernsey and who will also be Guernsey at the Triathlon event. He explains why it’s so important for EY to continue their support of Pride in Sport, particularly in conjunction with the Island Games: “The wellbeing of our people and supporting the local community are core values for us, so I’m proud to see EY sponsoring Pride in Sport once again. Sport is one of the greatest ways to unite people, whether that be as an athlete or spectator, and the Island Games embodies this. Sport should be inclusive to everyone, regardless of gender, sexuality or how a person identifies. As an athlete, you want to compete against the best to push yourself to your limits, and as a spectator you want to see athletes performing at their best. This is only truly possible when a safe space is created, both on and off the track or playing field.

“Being able to align Pride in Sport with this year’s Island Games is crucial to showing all visiting athletes and spectators, as well as our local community, that everyone is celebrated and encouraged to be their true authentic selves. We hope to see many people wearing their rainbow laces and sweatbands with pride, and more importantly, showing their support and unity with the LGBTQ+ community.”

Ellie Jones, CEO of Liberate in Guernsey, said: ‘Pride in Sport is such a wonderful campaign to get involved in as it’s a very visible way to show that you are a supportive and welcoming of LGBTQ+ people in your team or as a supporter of your club. As well as the laces and sweatbands we have a whole week of talks about inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in sport, you can find out all about the Pride in Sport campaign on the www.pridehouse.gg website.”

Laces and sweatbands can be collected from Saturday, 8 July – Friday, 14 July between 12-6pm at Market Square and most of the Island Games sporting venues.

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This news release has been issued by EY Channel Islands.