I’m Amanda, the Sports Development Coordinator with Your Students’ Association. Last month, I played floorball for Team Scotland at the EuroGames in Bern, Switzerland, bringing home a bronze medal!
Originating in Sweden, floorball is a fast growing stick sport similar to hockey. Very popular in Scandinavian countries and Eastern Europe, the sport is gathering popularity in Scotland with teams all over the country competing in the Scottish Floorball League each year.
I live in Perth and play for the local team, Perth Parrots – Scotland’s first LGBT+ friendly floorball team. As well as focusing on player development in terms of training, the club provides a hub for Perthshire’s LGBT+ community, running a variety of free and heavily subsidised activities and social events such as paddleboarding, climbing and an annual Eurovision party.
Starting in 1986, the EuroGames is the largest LGBT+ multisports tournament in Europe, with teams and athletes from all over the world competing. Cities bid to host the games and the hosting city for this year was the beautiful Bern in Switzerland. Thousands of international LGBT+ athletes took over the city for four days for the games.
Usually, floorball is played with five outfield players and a goalie, however, the format at the EuroGames was three outfield players and a goalie, which required much more speed and stamina that we were used to. We trained hard as a team for months before the tournament day.
Arriving in Switzerland, we marched as a team as part of the EuroGames opening ceremony, celebrating with the many other athletes from different countries. I was interviewed for a Swiss news channel and there were plenty of British Embassy events for us to attend.
The tournament itself was an extremely intense day – Team Scotland had seven matches and potentially the playoffs. As we whizzed through the matches with great scores, the playoffs were looking more and more likely for us, but we were still in disbelief when it was announced that we would be playing Norway in the bronze medal match.
Scotland put on an absolute incredible performance, winning the match 7-1. As the underdogs going into the competition, words can’t explain how much it meant winning the bronze medal and doing it with such amazing teammates/ friends made it all the more special.
After coming home, we were straight back into training and we’ve got big plans for the EuroGames next year. Bring on Vienna 2024!
Throughout June, we asked our staff and students to share their Pride Month stories with us. Student Rebecca Bond shares her struggles with coming out, meeting her fiancé Amanda, and the massive impact that inclusive team sport has had on her.
Hello! I’m Rebecca Bond. I’m studying Vehicle Accident Repair at UHI Perth and will be starting third year this September. I identify as lesbian and my pronouns are she/her. As a 29 year old, I am fortunate enough to say that I am comfortable with myself and in a great place – but it hasn’t always been that way. The process of discovering who I am during my teenage years and coming out in my early twenties was far from smooth and at times much more difficult than I could ever have imagined.
Enjoying Perth Pride in 2022 (my first ever pride!)
Coming out
I’ve owned horses since I was a teenager, which was a very privileged position to be in. But the equestrian community as a whole isn’t the most accepting: although gay men are quite commonplace there are relatively very few lesbians, and gay women would be far more likely to be on the receiving end of homophobic slurs. I remember joking with a friend about the possibility of them being a lesbian and it was instantly met with shock and offence, like I had just suggested they were some kind of violent criminal. This is when I realised that the situation may be far more challenging than I had previously realised, and I decided for quite some years to say nothing.
I had a handful of casual relationships with men over the years, ranging from a few months to over a year, but it never felt quite right. Looking back now it’s easy for me to roll my eyes and say “it’s obviously because I was gay” but at the time I felt that I had to do what was seen as correct within the community I was in. My internal happiness suffered significantly to make sure I was accepted.
During the summer of my 22nd birthday, I started to drop hints towards my sexuality. In general this seemed to be met pretty well, I was starting to feel a bit more relaxed and, even though I knew I had a long road ahead of me, I thought that there was some definite progress being made. What I didn’t realise was that my world was about to come crashing down around me…
Gossiping within the community was in full force. For reasons that I will never understand, some people seemed to think that me admitting the possibility of being a lesbian meant that I was a terrible person and therefore was capable of doing terrible things. Nasty and vicious rumours started to fly around about me. The unaccepting teenage community that I had feared before were now making my fears a reality. What followed was a long and heart-breaking process of trying to get my life back on track.
It’s important for me to add that I also had some of the most amazing and wonderful friends around me who fought so hard to keep me strong. I don’t know how I would have gotten through it without them – in all honesty I probably wouldn’t have. After time, I slowly tried to rebuild my life and had to accept that the emotional scars were going to take a very long time to heal.
Meeting Amanda
Just over three years on, and at the grand age of 26, I met a lovely and kind woman called Amanda who was of the same age as me and just so happened to be gay too. We had many similar interests and instantly became great friends. I loved listening to all of her fascinating stories about her studies, her lovely friends and her extensive travelling. Plus one massive bonus – she loved horses! We spent as much time together as we could and I felt I could be completely open about what had happened to me. It was still very hard to disclose to anybody what I had been through and I felt so much anxiety telling her the long and painful story about what had happened to me. Her response was simply – “that’s a terrible thing for someone to have to go through, I’m so sorry it happened to you”. I’m going to sound very old school romantic here, but I think that’s when I knew she was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
Myself and Amanda enjoying a trip to the Norwegian Fjords In September 2022.
We started to discuss living together and decided that Perth would be the best location for us. Amanda was keen to be involved in the 2022 Perthshire Pride and joined the committee – She instantly felt welcomed and was excited to get stuck in, helping with the mountains of planning and organisation that was required!
Joining the Perth Parrots
We heard a few people in Perth talk about a sport called floorball. Like the majority of people, we had no idea what floorball was – floorball is similar to hockey in many ways, but you can use both sides of the stick, the ball is lighter and you can kick it! There was a taster session coming up, and this was our first introduction to the Perth Parrots. The Perth Parrots pride themselves on being an LGBTIQ+ inclusive floorball club – They were proud of their inclusivity, and rightly so! We decided to give it a go, and were instantly welcomed into the club, and quickly became friends with people of all genders and sexual orientations who you could tell felt at ease in the environment. Being comfortable about who I was felt like a novelty at first, but as the months went by it became the norm and I realised – that’s how it should always have been!
Being comfortable about who I was felt like a novelty at first, but as the months went by it became the norm and I realised – that’s how it should always have been!
Everybody who trains with the Parrots is welcome to purchase subsidised training kit (and the snazzy tournament kit too) with their own number, surname and pronouns embroidered onto it. This is a great way for everybody to feel involved in the club regardless of whether you want to play competitively or would just like a bit of exercise and some social time! The Parrots social calendar became so busy that a club social committee needed to be formed, and of course Amanda and I jumped at the chance to be on it.
I am immensely proud to say that both myself and Amanda were picked to compete in the 2023 EuroGames as part of Team Scotland, and we will be travelling with the Parrots in July to Switzerland.
Amanda (far left) and myself (far right) with the Team Scotland floorball team for the 2023 Euro Games.
As I type this I’m thinking to myself ‘I’m basically creating an advertisement for the Parrots’ and in a way I am. The Parrots demonstrate perfectly how surrounding yourself with accepting and kind people allows you to accept and be kind to yourself. It is wonderful to see groups developing throughout UHI that are aimed at providing support, sports and social activities and I hope that as many students as possible can make use of them and enjoy the benefits!
Out and About in Perthshire
I often noticed a brand called Leap Sports embroidered on the sleeve of the Parrots kit and for quite some time thought it was the brand of the top! After some google searching I discovered that they are a Scottish based sports charity that promotes LGBTIQ+ inclusion in sport. So when I heard LEAP had posted a job advert looking for somebody to work part time as a ’Community Development Officer’ within Perthshire I knew it was something I had to apply for! I was absolutely delighted to be offered the role and swiftly started my main work project, ‘Out and About In Perthshire’.
The project’s main focus has been to improve the mental and physical health of the LGBTIQ+ community within Perthshire through sport and physical exercise. I am extremely proud of how far it has come since it’s start just under a year ago. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed promoting the project and helping break down the barriers that some were faced with when trying to access sport. One of my first promotional events was attending UHI Perth’s freshers fair last year and I am delighted that some of the students I first met that day are still participating in some of my events. I hope that the partnerships made with local clubs and organisations will start the ball rolling towards an even stronger LGBTIQ+ sports community within Perthshire.
Amanda and I supporting UHI Inverness men’s football team at the Scottish College Finals
HISA Student Elections
Between my role with LEAP and my course at UHI Perth studying Vehicle Accident Repair, I had lots to keep me busy over the past academic year. But I saw another opportunity that I felt would be an exciting challenge – the HISA student elections! The role of Depute President of Activities and Welfare at UHI Perth jumped out at me. The use of social and physical activities to improve people’s health (and therefore welfare) has been my main focus whilst working for LEAP, so the opportunity to do something similar for college students was too good of an opportunity to miss! After a few weeks of working hard and pushing my campaign, I was delighted to be elected.
I can’t wait to get started and hope I can help students to get the most from their experience with UHI. Amanda works for HISA as their Sports Development Coordinator, so we will be collaborating and working together a lot over the next year. I’d love to see the LGBTQ+ groups thrive and will do everything I can to make that happen!
Reflecting…
Looking back to just a few years ago, I realise how far I’ve come in so many ways. I wish I could go back and tell myself how much better it will get, but I think the gruelling challenges I faced are part of who I am now. I can’t say that I wouldn’t have changed them but I know I’ve found a new strength that I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t faced them. I hope that in my roles with LEAP and HISA I will be able to help others overcome their own struggles and show them just how much you can love yourself when you find people who love you for who you are.
Speaking of love – Amanda and I are heading off to Vegas to get married later this year. Talk about a fairytale ending!
You can read Rebecca’s fiancé Amanda’s Pride Month Blog here!
UHI have put together a handy section with lots more information for LGBTQ+ students and staff on our website.
Amanda Fleet is a Sports Development Coordinator for Highlands and Islands Students’ Association (HISA) at UHI. For Pride Month, Amanda is sharing a little bit about herself, her experience as an LGBT+ colleague at UHI, and the impact that sports and activity has had on her life.
My name is Amanda, my pronouns are she/her and I identify as a gay woman. I work as Sports Development Coordinator for Highlands and Islands Students’ Association (HISA) at UHI. This is a regional role, based across all the UHI campuses from Argyll to Shetland! I live in Perthshire, with my fiancé Rebecca who is a Vehicle Accident Repair student at UHI Perth, as well as working for LEAP Sports– an organisation promoting LGBT+ participation in sports.
Amanda Fleet, HISA’s Sports Development Coordinator
Working at UHI I have no reservations about being completely open with my identity and have felt nothing but support from my wonderful manager and colleagues. Equality is especially important to me in my role with HISA and I want all students to be able to participate comfortably in sports and fitness, no matter their sexuality, gender, ethnicity, or background. I’ve been able to collaborate on projects with my fiancé, in her LEAP Sports capacity, which has been really exciting for us both. I am also a volunteer for LEAP Sports and enjoy being a part of this brilliant organisation, helping to arrange taster sessions for lots of different sports and working with participants throughout Perthshire.
Amanda and her partner Rebecca taking part in a Pride edition of Perth Parkrun.
For anyone struggling with their identity or coming out, I would definitely recommend playing team sports as I believe that keeping active is fundamental to both physical and mental health. My partner and I both play rugby for Perthshire Ladies and floorball for Perth Parrots- Scotland’s first LGBT+ floorball team. Equality is of the uttermost importance for both of these teams and we have always felt extremely supported by the clubs and our teammates. The social side of sports is almost as important as the physical benefits and within my sports clubs I have found great friends. Obviously, I can’t speak for all sports teams in terms of inclusivity, but LEAP Sports have a section on their website where you can find your nearest LGBT+ inclusive team here. I believe it is of the uttermost importance that the LGBT+ community are given plenty of opportunities and support to get active and involved in sports.
I feel so proud that my partner and I are a part of the LGBT+ community. We bonded over our love of horses when we first met, and I am the perfect size to ride one of her ponies! We regularly compete at showjumping and cross country and we really want to bring more LGBT+ visibility to the equestrian world. We have our wedding planned for this October- a Vegas wedding followed by a ranch stay in Arizona (we knew the trip had to involve horses!).
We’re both very active in the Perthshire community, as part of the team planning Perthshire Pride for the past two years. We’ve also both been picked to play as part of Team Scotland for floorball at the EuroGames in Switzerland next month, an international LGBT+ inclusive tournament. I’m very excited to represent Scotland in a sport that I love, especially alongside such supportive and welcoming teammates. Perth Parrots is more than just a sports team- I also sit on the social committee for the club and we organise many free or heavily subsidised social events throughout the year.
The LGBT+ inclusive floorball team representing Scotland at the EuroGames in Switzerland
I wouldn’t change anything about myself or my life- it hasn’t always been straightforward but I’m so lucky to be where I am now- with a loving partner, a successful career, a supportive group of friends and family and wonderful hobbies. I realise that many of the LGBT+ community aren’t in such a privileged position as myself- the staggering rates of homelessness, suicide and hate crimes against the community show that we’ve still got a long way to go in terms of ending discrimination. Participation in sports often presents additional barriers for the LGBT+ community and we need to work collectively to break down these barriers. We need better representation across all sports, especially traditionally conservative ones like equestrian sports. LGBT+ athletes speaking out means role models for young people- at a crucial time for getting involved in sport. Sport and activity can foster a real sense of community and belonging- no matter your ability, there’s something for everyone!
Sport and activity can foster a real sense of community and belonging- no matter your ability, there’s something for everyone!
Part of my role with HISA is to help students get involved with both UHI teams and community clubs so I’d be more than happy to have a chat with anyone thinking of joining a sports club, making sure that they feel comfortable going along to training and meeting the team. UHI Perth has recently gained a hillwalking club- climbing munros is a favourite hobby of mine and getting out in the hills is extremely beneficial to mental wellbeing.
If you have any questions about getting involved in sport at UHI, please email me at amanda.fleet@uhi.ac.uk.
You can read Amanda’s fiancé Rebecca’s Pride Month Blog here!
UHI have put together a handy section with lots more information for LGBTQ+ students and staff on our website.
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