The AFLW celebrates Pride Round this week, an annual celebration of diversity and inclusiveness within the sport.
Pride Round is an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of what Pride represents within the LGBTQIA+ community.
The West Coast Eagles’ 2024 Pride Round Guernsey was designed in collaboration with current player Sophie McDonald, former Eagles Performance Analyst Rob King and designer and artist Taylor Evans.
Reflecting on the design process, McDonald said she wanted the details to exhibit an inclusive and embracing environment.
“I wanted the jumper to reflect some part of my journey into gender and sexuality and how accepted and embraced I felt not only by those parts of the community, but also my family, friends and those that are close to me,” McDonald said.
“I love the way the wings fully wrap around, like they’re embracing you. Also, the detail of having ‘breaking barriers’ inside the collar, applying not only to the queer community and the influence and impact they’ve had but also what the AFLW is doing for the future of footy.”
Focusing on the impact of the round, King highlighted how the design incorporates the importance of the round and how the Eagles are united in supporting the Pride community.
“It's a take on the iconic West Coast Eagles kit, with the gold wings replaced by wings made up of feathers in the rainbow progressive Pride colours,” King said.
“The wings themselves wrap around the body of the wearer, whether that's a fan or a player and that's meant to symbolise the accepting, inclusive nature of not just the AFLW and the Pride round, but also the West Coast Eagles.
“As a club we want to unite and support the rainbow community and let them know that they're welcome and included in pursuing their own sporting endeavours, whatever sport that may be.
“For me, Pride Round is super important because it creates that visibility and dialogue around rainbow inclusion in sports.”
Evans was tasked with bringing the design to life, and said the vibrance of the Guernsey reflects the energy and spirit of the Pride community.
“I wanted to create a piece that not only celebrated LGBTQIA+ people but also conveyed a powerful message of hope and acceptance,” Evans said.
“The rainbow colours enveloping the jumper's wings represent the idea of embracing and supporting the community.
“Cotton On did a great job printing the colours to reflect how I envisaged them, and the final product looks so bold and vibrant.
“I think pride is innately linked with energy and flamboyance, and it’s great that the colours on this guernsey can reflect that.”
