In Conversation with Matt Hill from Out for Sport
Welcome to Rally’s interview series, introducing you to powerhouse leaders in the LGBTQ+ sports community who are featured on our app. Follow along to learn more about the different sports groups they represent, and how to get connected to queer sports sessions in your area.
We sat down with Matt Hill, co-chair and trustee at Out For Sport, who has been working in diversity, equity and inclusion to improve LGBTQ+ sports for underrepresented groups within the queer community in London.
Matt Hill (second from left, bottom row) with his field hockey team, the London Royals
Out for Sport (OFS), a grassroots organisation connecting queer sports teams, have devoted their work to raising awareness for LGBTQ+ sports across London, promoting participation and support the development of member clubs. They also provide an essential infrastructure for new teams to get started, build community and grow.
Founded in 1998, the organisation was initially led by British sportsman and leader Ivan Bussens, building a foundation for London’s LGBTQ+ sports community. Today, OFS connects forty teams, and the queer sports scene will only continue to grow with the organization’s support.
After reigniting his passion for sport with the London Royals field hockey team, Hill has been serving on the board at OFS since 2016.
OFS’S IMPACT ON THE LONDON LGBTQIA+ SPORTS SCENE
Part of Hill’s work is ensuring that queer Londoners have access to information about all of the diverse sports groups in the city. From dragon boating, swimming, to cycling, there is a wide range of established clubs to try out, and something for everyone, no matter the skill set. Every year OFS organizes a Sports Fair, to bring queer people together and to educate them on all of the amazing groups and sports opportunities in the city.
“It’s similar to when people go to uni, and they have a Freshers Fair. We get all of the clubs stands, and it runs for a whole evening, with drinks and a chance for member clubs to showcase what they have to offer. You can go around and see twenty five to thirty different clubs, find out what they do, and meet people,” Hill said. “That's really popular every year. We're hoping next year to make the event a whole weekend.”
OFS’s annual Sports Fair is a great place to discover LGBTQ+ sports teams across London
Additionally, OFS’s mission revolves around routing funding to grassroots teams, aiming to eliminate barriers to participation for underserved groups within the LGBTQIA+ community.
“We know that we are really underrepresented with women, trans and non-binary players, people from different cultural backgrounds, and under twenty fives,” Hill said. “Across the board all of our clubs struggle. It’s easier to recruit white, middle aged men, but some of the clubs need help with branching out to the community to be fully inclusive.”
In 2022, Nike partnered with OFS to allocate grants for an LGBTQIA+ Diversity and Inclusion Fund to help teams with this mission. A total of seven teams were able to use this funding to create training and taster sessions geared directly at specific underrepresented communities.
Hill shared more about the process behind this deal and Nike’s intentions, and the process behind ensuring the corporation’s intentions aligned with OFS. Hill emphasized how grassroots sports in the UK is extremely underfunded, meaning accepting funding from outsider corporations can be beneficial to OFS’s mission.
Some of the many London teams under the OFS umbrella
Against a backdrop of some companies exploiting the LGBTQ+ community for profit - a practice known as “rainbow washing” - Hill explained how OFS secured the partnership with Nike after a thorough period of due-diligence.
Hill explained how the team at OFS researched Nike’s EDI policies and their past and present actions and attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community, as well as reviewing research Nike conducted and presented to them.
“They came to us actually with some really great research, which they had already independently done on what prevented people from certain communities engaging in sporting activity,” Hill explained.
“Particularly for younger people and those from certain underrepresented communities that we also had identified, they’d identified that they weren't getting involved in LGBTQ+ sport and grassroot sport to the same extent as other people. So we had a shared mission,” Hill said.
HILL’S JOURNEY TO OFS
Hill initially got his start in LGBTQ+-centered sports spaces when he was in his twenties, after moving from Hull to London in 2008. There, he attended his first session with the London Royals, an LGBT+ friendly field hockey club.
“I went onto the internet, and I think I went on to Gumtree. There were lots of different gay sports teams - like rugby and football. There was hockey, which was about 500 meters from my house. So I thought, well, I've never played hockey before, but I'll give it a go,” Hill said.
“I went along and they were really friendly and welcoming. I'd never held a stick or anything. They gave me a stick and shin pads and said ‘go and play’, and I was rubbish, but they didn't care. They were like, ‘it's all good. We'll take anyone, come next week’”, Hill said.
The London Royals after one of the Sunday session, open to everyone
After his first meet with the London Royals, Hill kept returning to sessions. Welcoming energy is a recurring focus within queer sports groups - it makes a huge difference for beginners in any sport, and encourages newbies to return to sessions.
After running the London Royals for a period, Hill was approached by a co-chair of OFS who recruited him to join the organisation. It’s amazing to see how Hill started as a newbie in field hockey, and is now a leader in the queer sports community to energise people to join in.
Hill is still a keen participant with the Royals, and the club was one of the recipients of the Nike Fund - although Hill is quick to point out he had no influence on the independent grants panel! The London Royals used the funding to offer free taster sessions of different sports, alongside a hockey development program designed for trans and non-binary players.
DIVE IN
When asked what advice he’d give to queer people who haven’t tried sports before or haven’t had safe spaces to do so, Hill emphasised that they should just go for it, but also that asking questions is encouraged.
“Do it, don’t just dip your toe in, dip your whole foot in, dip both feet jumping,” Hill said. “Don't feel afraid to ask those clubs exactly what they're about. Reach out to them, because they will always have someone who's going to know the answer to your questions,” Hill affirmed.
“You'll find no matter what age you are, or ability level, that there will be an LGBTQ club that affirms, ‘we don't care, come play with us.’ You don't have to be good at sports. You don’t have to compete, you might want to turn up, play five minutes and then enjoy the rest of the activity from the sidelines,” Hill explained.
Winners of the OFS Awards 2022 • Photo by Chris Jepson
OFS’s work highlights the importance of grassroots efforts in the queer community because of its impact on increasing LGBTQ+ participation in sports. From creating outlets for publicity, channeling funding to group projects, and connecting queer sports enthusiasts together, OFS’s work is essential to the continued growth of queer sports in London. Thank you, Out for Sport, for the work that you do.
Download Rally now to find all of the incredible sports groups in London, and to stay up-to-date with their training sessions and matches. Rally is a brand new social network for LGBTQ+ sports and fitness fans, bringing together sports teams and events from around the world, and helping you make new friends to play sports and get fit with. Download the app now from the App Store.