Play with Pride: From campus groups to sporting clubs, queer spaces help build community - Geelong Spectres

Spectres Australia Pride Basketball and Geelong Spectres launch local team

Spectres Australia has been featured in a recent Armstrong Creek Times piece exploring why dedicated queer spaces remain essential for community, connection and belonging, with our newest club, Geelong Spectres Pride Basketball, front and centre.

The article notes that more than one in twenty Victorians openly identify as LGBTQIA+, yet supporters say dedicated groups and venues still play a vital role in fostering connection and support, particularly in regional areas. It draws a link between two Geelong community pillars: Deakin University's Geelong Queer Collective, which gives students a home base to meet peers and access support, and the newly launched Geelong Spectres.

Geelong Queer Collective president Claire Elder spoke to the importance of having dedicated spaces where people can "ask questions" and organically build friendships, noting that homophobia and transphobia remain a lived reality for many in the community. She emphasised that queer-specific spaces help lower the psychological barriers that can otherwise keep people from engaging.

Geelong Spectres Pride Basketball launched on 12 June as the eighth club in the national Spectres Australia network. Spectres Australia CEO and Geelong club president Andrew Bondini, who has spent more than 25 years building queer-friendly basketball spaces, said the club exists to give people room to switch off and connect.

"For the two-hour period that we run these sessions, we give people the ability to take all the weight off their shoulders and have a fun, safe, inclusive experience," Bondini said.

He added that for regional communities in particular, the focus is on improving physical and mental health outcomes through sport — and that no athletic experience or ability is required to take part.

Early interest in the Geelong club has been strong, with the next session set for August. If you're in the Geelong region and want to get involved, get in touch via our Geelong club page.

All interested community members, players, supporters, and families are encouraged to attend.

For more information or to register, visit VIC - GEELONG | Spectres Australia

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